25/10/2023
At long last the public is cottoning on to the simple but important notion of preventative health – the idea that you don’t go to the doctor after falling ill – you go before so that potential future illnesses can be identified in advance and action taken immediately. Randox, a leader in the field of diagnostic medicine, is in the forefront of this profound change in health care – one that opens up the possibility of delivering enormous benefits to individuals and society at large. For these reasons, we were delighted to lend our support to the recent launch of the Goodwood Gut Summit hosted by the Goodwood Estate. The summit theme was on gut microbiome, which play a key role in promoting the smooth daily operations of our body.
Broadcast online, the summit aimed to respond to the urgent need for widespread education and communication about rapid progress in dietary health. The summit came after a stark warning contained in two landmark studies into the effects of ultra-processed foods on our diet and its effect on our microbiomes. This newly published research concluded that eating ultra-processed foods – such as ready meals, fizzy juice, cereals, and fast food – drastically increases our risk of serious health issues, such as high blood pressure and diabetes. It can also raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
The BBC journalist Justin Webb led the conversation with a world-class line-up of speakers, including, Dr. Chris van Tulleken, Jessie Inchauspé, Dr. James Kinross, Professor Pekka Puska and Professor Edward Bullmore.
Topics covered included inflammation, mental health and the microbiome , insulin, obesity, ultra-processed foods , the growing cost of poor nutrition, and the need to drive fundamental shifts in our food systems in order to move to a healthier future for all. There was a discussion on using the many curbs on the promotion and sale of tobacco as a model for the food industry. Tighter regulation of food manufacturers and their marketing strategies could be the way forward here. As authorities in their respective fields, the speakers shared their knowledge and vision on these important topics, as well as considered new solutions to personal and societal health challenges, helping the formulation of some key achievable goals.
The partnership with the summit is underpinned by two Randox Laboratory divisions.
Randox Food Diagnostics is dedicated to improving the global food security chain. It provides the global food market with screening solutions for antimicrobials, toxins, growth-promoting hormones and veterinary drugs in animals and animal produce, as well as testing meat, milk, honey, grapes, seafood and feed products.
Food product testing is essential to ensure that what we consume is safe from physical, chemical, and biological hazards. It tells people precisely what they are eating and so helps them make informed choices and makes sure that goods on the supermarket shelves comply with safety standards.
Randox Health, the consumer-facing side of Randox Laboratories, is primarily focused on accessible, preventative health testing and offers full body health checks that identify early signs of disease before symptoms occur.
What is gut microbiome?
Picture a bustling city on a weekday morning, the pavements flooded with people rushing to get to work or to appointments. Now imagine this at a microscopic level and you have an idea of what the microbiome looks like inside our bodies, consisting of trillions of microorganisms (also called microbiota or microbes) of thousands of different species.
These include not only bacteria but fungi, parasites, and viruses. In a healthy person, these “bugs” coexist peacefully, with the largest numbers found in the small and large intestines but also throughout the body. The microbiome is even labeled a supporting organ because it plays so many key roles in promoting the smooth daily operations of the human body.
A person is first exposed to microorganisms as an infant, during delivery in the birth canal and through the mother’s breast milk. Later on, environmental exposures and diet can change our microbiomes to be either beneficial to health or to place one at greater risk for disease. Read more about it here (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/microbiome/)