Gut Facts

The gut is an amazing place! Did you know that:

• The human gut is home to 1-2 kg of bacteria - that is the same as 1-2 bags of sugar!



• There are 1000 times as many bacteria in our gut than there are stars in the milky way (100 trillion vs 100 billion)



• There are 3 times as many phage (bacterial viruses) in our gut than there are bacteria



• There are over 400 species of bacteria in the gut



• The surface area of your intestine is greater than that of a tennis court



• Food takes between 24-36 hours to pass through the Gastrointestinal Tract



• We produce between 1-1.5 litres (a large mineral bottle) of saliva in our mouths each day



• Saliva helps us swallow our food and starts the process of digestion



• To swallow food we use 22 muscles and we can even swallow standing on our heads



• The stomach can hold anything from 50ml to 4 litres of liquid



• The stomach is full of a very stong acid which would cause a serious chemical burn to the skin



• The liver is the body's largest gland



• Newborn babies pick up bacteria during their births, and during the first few days of their lives their gut becomes colonised by bacteria



• 100% of people have bacteria in their guts



• It is World Digestive Health Day on May 29th each year