There’s more to gut health than gut health. Your gut is home to trillions of microorganisms collectively known as your gut microbiome. And they don't just hang out there. Research continues to uncover connections between the gut microbiome and systems throughout the body — from digestion and immune function to skin and metabolism etc. Welcome to The Glee Lab — where we make sense of the science without making it feel like a science lesson. Gut → Digestion Your gut microbiome is part of the digestive ecosystem itself. The microorganisms living there interact with what you eat, ferment certain fibres and produce compounds including short-chain fatty acids. The balance and activity of these microorganisms can influence what's happening inside the gut — which is one reason researchers are so interested in the relationship between the microbiome and digestive wellbeing. Gut → Immunity Your gut and immune system talk. A lot. A substantial amount of immune activity takes place around the gastrointestinal tract, where the body is constantly interacting with food, microorganisms and the outside world. The microbiome is part of this relationship, interacting with immune cells and compounds involved in immune signalling. That's why researchers continue to study the connection between the gut microbiome and immune function. Gut → Skin Your skin and gut have more in common than you might think. Both are complex ecosystems and important interfaces between your body and the outside world. Researchers refer to a potential gut–skin axis, exploring how the microbiome, immune signalling, metabolites and the integrity of the gut barrier may relate to processes occurring in the skin. Gut → Metabolism When certain gut microbes ferment fibres, they produce compounds including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). These microbial metabolites are one of the ways scientists are investigating how activity inside the gut may communicate with systems elsewhere in the body.