What is Gut Health?

What Exactly Does Gut Health Mean?

The term “gut health” has definitely become a buzz word in today’s health industry, but a lot of people don’t understand exactly what that is. They have a small view of gut health as being just your digestive system and think that if they don’t have digestive symptoms, it’s nothing to think about. This is the WRONG approach.

“All disease begins in the gut.” -Hippocrates

Your gut microbiome (that means the bacteria that resides in there) is the foundation of your health. We strive to have more good bacteria than bad in our system. This makes up an ecosystem that helps to break down the food we consume and absorb nutrients. However, this ecosystem does much more than that!

There is research that comes out all the time linking our gut health to inflammation, immune health, mood and fat loss.

Diversity is Good!

We want lots of different types of helpful bacteria in our guts. Our gut bacteria has a major effect on insulin sensitivity. This controls the way our body breaks down carbohydrates and how it turns into fat. When your body is sensitive to insulin, it will burn carbs instead of store them. There is a correlation between low gut bacteria diversity and obesity and inflammation. Inflammation can cause heart disease, pain, arthritis and depression.

Your Mind is in Your Gut

There is a lot of evidence that a health gut microbiome can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. Neurotransmitters can be produced in the gut and are altered it isn’t a healthy environment. The gut-brain axis is a two-way street. If you change one area, it makes a difference in the other.

What Can I Do To Ensure A Healthy Gut?

1. Eat fiber. Soluble fiber (fruit, beans, vegetables, oatmeal) feeds the bacteria in the colon and can prevent weight gain.
2. Be careful with antibiotics. Antibiotics save lives no doubt, but they are being used too often for symptoms that aren’t always due to bacteria and sometimes there are natural approaches to take before taking a 10 day course. Antibiotics kill all good and bad bacteria. If you take an antibiotic, make sure to take a high dose probiotic for at least 6 months.
3. Get sleep. Your body repairs itself while you sleep. The hormones, melatonin and prolactin, are produced during healthy sleep cycles and can improve gut bacteria balance.
4. Maintain a healthy weight. Obesity damages gut bacteria diversity.
5. Eat fermented foods or take probiotics. Fermented foods contain probiotics in them which are the beneficial bacteria we’re talking about. Sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha are amazing fermented foods to try. When you take a probiotic, make sure to take one with multiple strains of bacteria in it!
6.  Take healing supplements.  We also want to make sure our gut isn’t leaky which means that the tight junctions in the gut system are letting bigger protein molecules through which can encourage your immune system to attack them thus creating autoimmune disease and other syndromes. To heal the gut lining, take supplements such as L-glutamine, marshmallow, zinc, quercetin, or bone broth.
7.  Limit your exposure of toxins.  Make sure to eat organic foods as much as possible (especially the dirty dozen).  Limit your consumption of highly processed foods that have lots of ingredients or you are unable to pronounce them.  Toxins harm gut health!

Don’t ignore this facet of your health – it literally is the foundation!

Before starting supplements, make sure to talk to a health professional to determine which would be best for you.

For more information on gut health, listen to What is Leaky Gut and Do I Have It? on The Ali Damron Show.