A specialist in the practice that advocates for a holistic approach to tackling health, the Hong Kong-based coach shares her insight with Tatler
What is gut health and why does everyone seem to be talking about it?
We ask Tricia Yap, the founder of Limitless, a Hong Kong training studio offering functional medicine and fitness, for her advice. Yap, who recently appeared in a Tatler House Stories panel discussion on nurturing health across life stages, is a coach certified by the US-based Functioning Medicine Coaching Academy. Functional medicine advocates for a holistic approach in finding root causes in illness.
See also: Fitness Warrior Tricia Yap On Female Empowerment And Defining Success
What does the gut do?
Your gut does more than just digest food. The gastrointestinal system starts at the mouth and ends at your rear: it is responsible for the digestion of the food you consume, absorption of the nutrients from your food, and detoxification—the removal of waste from the body.
The gut is home to the human microbiome—a complex ecosystem of bacteria, viruses, archaea and fungi. Moreover, 70 to 80 per cent of your immune system lies within the gut, where the intestinal microbiome and intestinal lining play a large role.