The phrase “gut health” is getting used a lot these days in both Western medicine and traditional healing circles. People have started to realize that so much of our body’s functioning relies on what we eat, and how well we digest and absorb that food. In this article, we’ll delve deeper into gut health and its important link to your well-being.

What Exactly Do We Mean by Gut Health?

 

In order to jump into this way of thinking, it’s important to understand what is meant by having good gut health. Essentially, your digestive tract—stomach, small intestine and large intestine—has an array of bacteria and microbes that live in it. To have good gut health, these microorganisms need to be in the correct balance. At any given time, you can have around 200 different microorganisms living in your gut. These can be bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Some are bad for your body, and others are bad for you when their levels are too high. Balance is the keyword when it comes to good gut health.

 

Benefits of Good Gut Health

So, why is gut health so important? Studies have shown that there’s a direct link between the state of your gut and many other diseases in your body. These include autoimmune diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, and other gastrointestinal issues. Cancer, cardiovascular disease, and even your mental health are also linked. There are plenty of other health benefits to improving your gut health, including:

- Higher energy levels and easier weight loss
- Better sleep
- A clearer complexion 
- Improved mood
- Better cognitive function and the ability to concentrate
- The ability to fight off diseases and illness with more effectiveness

How Do You Know If Your Gut Health is Bad?

There is no one answer to this question because poor gut health can be related to a variety of different imbalances. With around 200 microorganisms living in your gut, it’s hard to say exactly which one—or one—is out of balance or shouldn’t be there. This means that you should be on the lookout for several different symptoms, such as:

- An Upset Stomach: From simple indigestion to chronic diarrhea or constipation, your stomach not working correctly is usually the first sign of an imbalance in your gut. This is because an imbalance will prevent your body from digesting food properly.

- Poor Sleep and Feeling Tired: Poor gut health can very quickly lead to interrupted sleep or even insomnia. You’ll also likely feel tired or fatigued all the time. This is because you’re not getting the nutrients that your body needs to function correctly, meaning you’re using up your energy stores.

- Fluctuations in Your Weight: Again, the inability to absorb nutrients properly will result in your body either holding onto fat to store extra energy or shedding fat quickly because it’s unable to regulate your blood sugar levels.

- Unexpected Intolerances to Food: When your body is struggling to absorb the food you’re eating, you’ll find that it starts to react to foods that you may never have reacted to before. You may find that you can’t drink milk anymore because the lactose isn’t sitting well, or wheat and gluten suddenly become a problem. Symptoms of intolerances show in bloating in your abdomen, pain in the area, indigestion and even diarrhea.

- Flare Ups of Skin Conditions: From breakouts of pimples to eczema or even psoriasis, poor gut health can lead to a variety of different skin conditions. You’ll know it’s gut health and not something topical because your skin won’t recover when you change your skin products.

Steps for Improving Your Gut Health

Let’s now take a look at what you can do to improve your gut health and keep it healthy over time. Remember, once you’ve got the balance right, you want to keep it there so that you can feel the benefits consistently over time. It’s all about healthy habits.

- Increase Your Probiotic Intake: You can look at taking a supplement or getting your probiotics from fermented foods. These include common foods like yogurt and sauerkraut, as well as some newer options like kimchi and kombucha.

 

- Limit Your Refined Sugar Levels: Refined sugars can have a massive effect on the microorganisms in your body, making many of the bad ones flare up. This means limiting how much sugar you add to your diet, reducing your alcohol intake and staying away from desserts that are full of sugar.

 

- Look For Fiber-Rich Foods: Fiber is great for slowing down your digestive process, allowing your body to absorb nutrients from all the good foods that you’re eating. Eat plenty of fresh vegetables and a variety of fruits, as well as whole grain carbohydrates like brown rice.

 

- Exercise Regularly: Keeping your body moving is an essential part of gut health. The exercise burns up the sugars in your body and promotes a strong diversity of bacteria in your gut. The physical motion on your abdomen of certain exercises like abdominal curls can also help to massage the gut, keeping the digestion and absorption process going smoothly.

 

- Bring Down Your Stress Levels: There is a strong connection between your gut and your mind. Think about it. When you get nervous or anxious, you often feel butterflies in your stomach or need to go to the toilet. This is due to your enteric nervous system that regulates the gut and it’s the reason why the gut is often called the second brain. When your gut reacts instinctively to stress or nerves, it will impact your digestion. But when you reduce your stress levels, you allow the body to focus on actions like good digestion rather than taking up space in your brain with worry.

 

- Look After Your Whole Body Through Your Gut: When your gut is happy and healthy, you’ll find that your whole body is a lot happier and healthier, too. You’ll also see that you can fight off diseases easier and keep your mind and body working at optimum levels for longer.