New Delhi, Oct. 7 -- Most conversations about gut health begin and end with probiotics. The research points to something broader. The gut is an ecosystem comprising five groups of organisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses, archaea, and protozoa) and also functions as an endocrine organ. Bacteria make up around 97 to 99 percent of a healthy community, and the remaining groups are a small but influential minority.

Do probiotics balance your hormones?

Balance matters more than numbers.

The gut is an endocrine organ

Around 90 percent of the body's serotonin is made by enterochromaffin cells in the gut. Spore-forming bacteria from the microbiota stimulate that production, which in turn influences gut motility. Fermentation also drives appetite a...