IMPROVE YOUR GUT HEALTH

What your gut says about your health

Your gut is a very clever piece of kit! It can tell you a lot about the state of your health. 

What is your gut?

Your gut is the gastrointestinal tract that is the long tube that starts at the mouth and ends at your bum. 

It harvests a whole village of millions of bacteria and bugs. It plays a vital role in the process of metabolism and digestion of foods. 

Something you hear quite frequently is ‘a Healthy gut = a healthy mind’, and this statement is actually true and backed up by thousands of studies.

Many links have been found through studies that claim an unbalanced community of gut bacteria can impact your mental health, and sleep and stress levels in a negative way. 

So…if you have a healthy gut then everyone’s a winner right?. In theory yes, but in reality, we often can not find the exact source of the imbalance within our gut in order to correct it so we try many different processes of elimination from what we drink and eat. 

Often there are some common themes that emerge that might be a good indicator of an unhealthy gut. We spend thousands of dollars on doctors’ appointments, naturopaths, and dieticians, but still have no answers to why we feel so yuk or unwell, yet if we had looked at how our gut is behaving maybe we could save so much red tape and get sorted and feel better quicker!

You may not be aware, but the majority of the immune system is located in the gut. It means the health of one will inevitably affect the other and can impact everything from your skin, to your mood. The surprise effects of your gut don't end there. If you're suffering from any of these issues, there's a chance your gut might hold the answer...

Studies have found that as they age,  women are slower at emptying food through the digestive tract more than men, typical right!!!

This may be the reason that millions of  women suffer cramping, bloating, fullness and nauseated feelings more often than men. 

Live bacterial supplements such as probiotics and prebiotics can sometimes alleviate these uncomfortable symptoms. 

Eating a balanced healthy diet full of nutrients, fibre, legumes, fish and grass fed meats can all help to lessen the unpleasant symptoms of an unhealthy gut. 

Do you suffer with these issues? 

The Gut and Bodyweight

Our gut bacteria is a very clever influencer on how we crave certain foods and how they in turn impact our weight gain. 

If for; example you are overweight for your frame, have an unhealthy gut with an imbalance in the good and bad bacteria, scientists can often predict what they will see under the microscope compared to someone that is very lean, eats well and has a balanced body fat %. They will often see more bad bacteria than good which will manifest in some of the symptoms we have listed. 

The Gut and the Brain

Many studies have found that the state of your mental health can be attributed to the state of your gut. Amazing right! 

When you think about it, we are feeling a bit low and it’s your time of the month, you reach for the 6 pack of cinnamon doughnuts or ring for domino’s pizza for the 3rd time that week. No healthy food has passed your lips in that week, only processed salty, fried, sugary food so you can only imagine what your gut has received and what your gut is trying to process. 

Eating a diet full of processed foods can turn your good healthy gut bacteria into bad bacteria and that can affect the way you function. Many of the bad bacteria in your gut produce toxins that will infuse the intestines and the brain which will then affect your mental wellbeing. 

Some of those unwanted gut to brain symptoms might be headaches, migraines, brain fog, reduced ability to focus, irritable mood swings, bouts of crying and sadness, the list goes on and on. 

By eating a healthy balanced diet your good bacteria will produce Serotonin which is our happy go lucky neurotransmitter in our brain that makes us feel happy, warm and fuzzy! 

The Gut and your Immune System 

Ever wondered why you seem to catch every cold and virus going? 

Our gut bacteria is the first defense in the fight against colds and flu. If your gut is nice and healthy then a cold virus has difficulty in getting through to raid your bloodstream and make you sick. 

So… if your gut is out of whack then, you know where we are going with this! You will get sick frequently as the defense built in the gut is broken and can be invaded by viruses more easily. 

How the Gut Affects Skin and Joints

If you have a really unhealthy gut with bad bacteria in overdrive you may experience skin issues, breakouts, dryness and inflammation. The same with your joints, swelling, pain and stiffness can become a common problem.  Again, if the first defense, being the gut is not in a good state and damaged, the immune system, located in the gut, will need to be on alert constantly to fight and stop these harmful products getting into the blood. 

I bet you are currently envisaging millions of little green bacteria’s chanting “fight fight fight” !

Evidence is in abundance to show that, imbalanced gut flora, having leaky gut or being diagnosed with food allergies have all been associated with skin issues such as eczema.

Often culprits such as dairy and sugar can be a big offender, causing lots of women especially to suffer with skin breakouts and inflamed joints. Many women find that by removing dairy from their diet, their skin issues improve over the space of just a few weeks. 

The Gut and Heartburn

The awful yukky, chewing a fur ball feeling in your upper chest can be relentless when you have gut issues. Heartburn is a digestive disease that causes a burning sensation in the oesophagus.

The main reason for this feeling is, if you have unhealthy gut bacteria, the digestion of food can take longer than it should. Food then begins to ferment in the gut releasing a gas which pushes stomach acid up into the oesophagus. 

You often will feel a lump in your throat that feels like something is stuck there but really it is because of acid. Taking some heartburn relief from over the counter can be helpful. 

The Gut and Sleep 

Sometimes by eating late at night or eating something really hard to digest like a four course meal containing rich starchy or sugary food,  you may find yourself not able to sleep for feeling so full or that ugly heartburn feeling rears its head. 

Try to eat earlier in the evening or sit for a while propped up in bed to let the food settle in for the night. You can also try taking a walk or light exercise after your evening meal to get everything moving in the gut and your digestion working more effectively. 

If you have a really restless night try keeping a food diary of what you ate the day before, then look for consistencies in your food diary to see if eating certain foods affects your sleep. You may also see other symptoms pop up when you eat certain food. A food and symptom diary can be a great way to pick up on any food sensitivities. 

The Gut and Thrush

Many studies have linked gut issues to an increase in yeast levels in the vagina. 

Lactobacilli is the main group of friendly bacteria in the vagina. These friends join forces to create a defence that forms an acidic environment that protects women from infection. 

Many studies have found that if your vaginal flora has a low defence then you are susceptible to infections such as Bacterial vaginosis, Thrush, Cystitis and other urine infections. Consuming live probiotics can help to build a village of good bacteria that in turn will line the vagina with ammunition to fight infections. 

The gut is so much more complex and affects our well-being and even happiness levels so much more than people often give it credit for. If you suffer any of the symptoms discussed above, it might be worth having a go with a food diary for a few weeks, you could even show the findings to your GP or Naturopath. Integrative practitioners are a great way to go if you are concerned about your gut health and feel like you need some guidance finding your way back to optimum gut health.