Updated Feb 22, 2021 | 19:10 IST
Our body plays host to millions and millions of microbes living in a symbiotic relationship with ur body. These friendly bacteria are a vital part of our survival mechanism. Intestinal flora of friendly gut bacteria | Photo Credit: iStock Images
Key Highlights
The bacteria in our gut help digest the food that is present in the intestines and also helps maintain proper bowel movement.
You may have noticed how when you are given some antibiotics, this flora dies, and you suffer stomach upsets and unregulated bowel movements.
The human body is inhabited by millions of tiny living organisms. This flora of living organisms - as a whole - is called the human microbiota. Bacteria are microbes found all over the human body, espeially on the skin, inside the nose, inside the mouth, and especially inside the gut.
How to live longer: Key lifestyle tips to promote longevity (Image: Getty Images) This means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions, and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, explains the NHS.
The Eatwell Guide shows that to have a healthy, balanced diet, people should try to:
Eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day.
Base meals on higher fibre starchy foods like potatoes, bread, rice or pasta
Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks)
Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other protein
EXERCISE and longevity go hand in hand but the benefits associated with different intensity levels is the subject of ongoing research. One large study found vigorous-intensity exercise conferred the greatest longevity benefits.
Tracing the activation mechanism of mitochondrial stress response and longevity in C. elegans. Credit: Terytty Yang Li and Arwen W. Gao, EPFL Scientists.