07 Jun Gut Health 101 – quick overview Why its important for your health

Your gut health orchestrates health / contributes and influences so many systems in the body. So its important to look after it or know the signs of an unhealthy gut. When we get symptoms we complain about (anxiety, acne, bloating, itchy skin) its the warning sign that something isn’t right within the body.

The gut is very influential to so many parts of the body and so many systems it can at times seem confusing that your gut health is controlling of these issues or symptoms. For example there is a direct connection with your gut and your brain through the vegas nerve so your gut health directly effects your mental health (anxiety, brain fog, depression) because it produces neurotransmitters (like serotonin) for the brain. Also your gut health and immune system are closely intertwined, your skin health, a lot of hormones are produced in the gut for your sex hormones and other hormones are controlled through the gut for your thyroid, weight management and metabolism are again effected by an unhealthy gut… the list goes on but hopefully you get the idea.

So this is why when our gut is unhealthy you can start to see symptoms in the body…

Unfortunately western medic still looks at the body in compartments even though the scientific evidence is there that a lot of our health is influenced by the health of our microbome and gut health. When you have a heart issue you see a cardiologist, when you have skin issues you see a dermatologist. These fields of medicine are very important I’m not denying that… these specialists have way more knowledge in their fields than I ever will but the downfall is they will be focusing on the one area not the root cause of your issues. I’m pointing this out because its your job to look after your overall health.

If you have small somewhat irritating symptoms they are the warning sign there is something going on internally, something is imbalanced… its the canary in the coal mine. Some people are more sensitive than others but that’s just human nature… we are all different.

Looking at the gut lining and the health of your gut microbiome (bacteria that live in your gut) is the best place to start for the most common health complaints.

Your gut lining is only one cell thick so it is easily damaged by poor diet and lifestyle choices so it needs to be nourished regularly. Eliminating problematic foods like sugar, dairy, gluten, processed packaged food, harmful seed oils (commonly called vegetable oil/canola oil) or alcohol are a good place to start as they can be very damaging on the gut lining and the beneficial gut bacteria.

Now the gut lining is important to nourish because its actually where the beneficial bacteria live… they form a mucosal lining on the gut wall and that’s where they colonize. We know that having more beneficial bacteria is in favour of health so we need to provide the best environment for them to thrive and in return you will be rewarded with better health outcomes.

Almost everyone knows that probiotics are beneficial for you and this is 100% true, but what we need to do is help the beneficial bacteria in your gut thrive. Probiotics do not replenish or replace the bacteria in your gut, so its important to help the ones there thrive. When we eat healthy plant and fiber rich foods these feed the beneficial bacteria. When we eat processed foods, sugar and “unhealthy” food we feed the bad bacteria that can outnumber the good guys and throw off the balance in the gut. So practicing good gut health is something that needs to be nourished and worked at daily!!

I struggled with a laundry list of issues when i first came across the importance of gut health and it was a lifesaver for me mentally because the overwhelm of trying to resolve my sypmtoms 1 by 1 was not working and i was stuck in this unhealthy mental space. This is the reason that I am obsessed with spreading the work of gut health because it is one area that you can focus on that can improve overall health. When we just focus on fixing one symptom it can be disheartening when you don’t achieve results especially if you are not focusing on the root cause of your issues. Focusing on the gut is really about fixing the root cause of the issues or symptoms.

Hopefully this video conveys how important it is to nourish and look after your gut health… I have been there in a bad place where i can sad, confused with all my symptoms and going from health professional to health professional was sending me broke!! Healthcare sure is not cheap. Looking after your gut health is a very cost effective way to look after your health in the long term.