Your gut—otherwise known as your digestive system or your gastrointestinal (GI) system— digests the foods you eat, absorbs nutrients from it and uses those nutrients to fuel and maintain your body.
“The gut plays a huge role in the health and well-being of our bodies,” In addition to digesting food and absorbing nutrients, “the gut is in tight communication with the brain, playing a constant game of telephone and influencing a number of factors, including immune activity, GI muscle contractions and fluid secretion. And the gut is a key player in the body’s immune system—over 70% of your immune cells reside in the gut.”