The gut is home to over 100 trillion strands of bacteria and microbes, known as the gut microbiome, which play’s an integral part in important functions, includingnutrient absorption to elimination, producing certain vitamins and maintaining a healthy immune system. Whilst the ‘second brain’ isn’t directly capable of ‘thinking’ for you, it does communicate quite extensively with the ‘head brain’. The fact that the gut can be responsible for large parts of our overall well being makes a lot of sense if we think about it. If the gut is unbalanced, it doesn’t function properly. That means it won't be able to absorb and distribute nutrients properly, which are key functions that are linked to all areas of health from digestion and stomach pains to hormone production and mood swings.  What scientists are now beginning to understand is that the mind-gut connection might in fact also be the ‘gut-mind’ connection, as imbalance in either entity affects the other. Thus, it is no surprise that some of the most common signs of stress are also signs of poor gut health, however the question remains, did the poor gut health cause the stress, or did the stress cause the poor gut health? Either way, having good gut health will be key to your productivity and well being at work.