Gut health doesn’t only have to do with the digestive tract and how it functions. The term has come to mean a state of physical and mental wellbeing enabled by what occurs within the digestive tract — including the activities of the 38 trillion microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses) that support the healthy functioning of the human body.

At the most basic level, mindful eating is simply paying attention while you eat. It may sound simple, yet this seemingly mundane task has the capacity to offer you a vast array of life-changing insights and has enough depth to keep you busy exploring new territory for at least a lifetime! This Cheat Sheet discusses the benefits and rewards of mindful eating and the four A's to changing your habits and achieving mindfulness.

Food additives may be natural or synthetic. For example, vitamin C is a natural preservative. Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are synthetic preservatives. To ensure your safety, both the natural and synthetic food additives used in the United States come only from the group of substances known as the generally recognized as safe (GRAS) list.

Allergic reactions aren't the only way your body registers a protest against certain foods. You might have experienced this when eating a food you like, but that doesn't like you. Other reactions to foods include the following: A metabolic reaction: Food intolerance, also known as a non-allergic food hypersensitivity, is an inherited inability to metabolize (digest) certain foods, such as fat or lactose (the naturally occurring sugar in milk).

Genetically engineered foods, also known as GMOs or bioengineered foods, are foods with extra genes added artificially through special laboratory processes. Like preservatives, flavor enhancers, and other chemical boosters, the genes — which may come from plants, animals, or microorganisms such as bacteria — are used to make foods more resistant to disease and insects, more nutritious, and better tasting.

The safety of any chemical approved for use as a food additive is determined by evaluating its potential as a toxin, carcinogen, or allergen, each of which is defined here. Defining toxins A toxin is a poison. Some chemicals, such as cyanide, are toxic (poisonous) in very small doses. Others, such as sodium ascorbate (a form of vitamin C), are nontoxic even in very large doses.

A food allergy can provoke a response as your body releases antibodies to attack specific proteins in food. Your immune system is designed to protect your body from harmful invaders, such as bacteria. Sometimes, however, the system responds to substances normally considered harmless. The substance that provokes the attack is called an allergen; the substances that attack the allergen are called antibodies.