The Gut
Gut health has become a popular topic in the past few years. It is life-changing when people learn all their gut does and how important it is to our health! Your gut is your entire gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth to the colon. When you hear gut health, think of the ratio between good and bad bacteria living in the gastrointestinal tract along with the lining. The gut can affect countless aspects of your health. Here are a few:
1) Digestion: The bacteria in your gut affect how your food is broken down and how well the nutrients are absorbed.
2) Immunity and inflammation: Your gut is the home to the majority of your immune system, meaning the health of your gut affects your ability to fight off sickness and other illnesses. When your gut’s immune system is activated, it releases pro-inflammatory cytokines (byproducts of cells).
An inflamed gut gets a weak lining, which is supposed to be a barrier of protection, but gets weak and allows toxins, undigested food, and bacteria to leak from your gut into your bloodstream.
Chronic inflammation shows up all over the body, including joints, blood vessels, and the brain. This takes us to the next topic: how does the gut influence these other areas of the body, like the brain and skin?
3) The brain-gut axis
The most common route to brain inflammation from the gut is when inflammatory cytokines leak through the gut lining and into the blood (leaky gut). Cytokines travel through the blood and enter the brain, triggering your brain’s immune response. The amazing part is that we can strengthen our gut lining to stop the inflammatory loop, and the best way to do it is through the foods we eat.
The gut also influences the brain by affecting mood and stress through communication through the vagus nerve. Two ways we get to actually feel this communication is when we feel “butterflies” when nervous and when we feel hungry (or full). When we feel butterflies in our stomach, we feel how our brains and gut communicate, the anxiety and stress hormones travel through nerves and can be felt in both places. Feeling hungry is also a way we feel the communication between the gut and brain. When the stomach is empty, hunger hormones are released in the gut and travel to the brain to make you feel hungry.
4) Skin-gut axis
Your gut can send inflammation signals and toxins through your blood to your skin. Your skin is a detox pathway for your body, a way your body pushes out toxins. When the gut struggles with not enough good bacteria, too much bad bacteria, or leaky gut then inflammation and toxins reach the skin.
Here is a list of some common signs your gut needs improvement
Frequent bloating, gas, or indigestion.
Stinky breath
Food sensitivities.
Skin inflammation.
Fatigue and mood swings
Constipation/Diarrhea
Our gut health can be turned around with a few simple lifestyle changes and diet tweaks.
