Good Health Starts in the Gut

In our new health campaign we will be covering the importance of gut health as a major pillar of wellness. The next articles will explain the importance of a healthy digestive system, what illnesses are being researched and linked to poor gut health, simple changes you can make not only to reduce inflammation, but also increase the good bacteria and support the digestion process. At the end of the articles series, an E-book will be released exclusively to subscribers containing an introduction guide to help you achieve optimal gut health, which includes carefully designed meal suggestions for lunch and dinner with recipes to kick start the process.

What exactly is the gut?

When talking about the "gut" we are often referring to the digestive group of organs which forms part of the digestive tract. The stomach, small intestine, large intestine and anus. These organs are part of the complex digestive system that starts in the mind when we think about food and ends when our bodies excrete the unused sub-product of digestion.

The full digestive tract is composed of the mouth, salivary glands, liver, gall bladder, appendix, pancreas, oesophagus, in addition to the gut.

All organs play a huge part in ensuring our body breaks down, absorbs, metabolises food and also eliminates any unwanted substances from our system.

Each of us has an internal complex ecosystem of bacteria located within our bodies that we call the microbiome and is defined as a “community of microbes". The vast majority of the bacterial species that make up our microbiome live in our digestive system.

Most people think of bacteria within the body as a cause of getting sick or developing certain diseases, but did you know that at all times there are actually billions of beneficial bacteria present within all of us? In fact, bacteria make up our microbiome, an integral internal ecosystem that benefits our gut health and the immune system.

Some researchers state that up to 90 percent of all diseases can be traced in some way back to the gut and health of the microbiome. Your microbiome is home to trillions of microbes, diverse organisms that help govern nearly every function of the human body in some way.

Poor gut health can contribute to leaky gut syndrome, autoimmune diseases, arthritis, heart disease, inflammation, mood disorders, learning disabilities and common allergies.

How does the gut affect overall health?

Throughout our lives, we help shape our own microbiomes (The collection of microbes that live in and on the human body is known as the microbiota. The microbiome refers to the complete set of genes within these microbes).  Plus they adapt to changes in our environment. For example, the foods you eat, how you sleep, the amount of bacteria you’re exposed to on a daily basis and the level of stress you live with all help establish the state of your microbiota.

The microbiome or ‘gut microbiota’ determines how our body communicates to us. For example, certain types of bacteria will cause chemical messengers to stimulate the desire for sugary foods. The bacteria loves the sugar so they ‘ask’ for it. We observe this as a feeling for something sweet. Different types of bacteria will cause you to feel bloated after eating, some give you bad breath, others give off lots of gas and cause flatulence, whilst types of yeasts such as candida can alter the pigmentation of the skin and cause dry itchy flaking of the skin all of which are undesirable conditions to deal with.

Your gut health can also impact how your body extracts nutrients from your diet and stores fat. Gut microbiota seem to play an important role in obesity, and changes in bacterial strains in the gut have been shown to lead to significant changes in health and body weight after only a few days.

What damages the gut?

Inflammation and or infection are the biggest factors in damaging gut health.

The goal is to get rid of things that negatively affect the environment of the gut, such as inflammatory foods, infections, and irritants like alcohol, caffeine, or NSAID’s.

Infections can be from parasites, yeast, or bacteria. A comprehensive stool analysis is key to determining the levels of good bacteria as well as any infections that may be present. Removing the infections may require treatment with herbs, anti-parasite medication, anti-fungal medication or anti-fungal supplements.

Here are some of the most common inflammatory foods that disrupt your gut health:

• Gluten
• Grains
• Refined Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners
• Refined Vegetable Oils (Sunflower, Safflower, Canola, Soybean)

As mentioned above, one of the major sources of pro-inflammatory omega-6 essential fatty acids in our diets are vegetable oils. High oleic vegetable oils such as sunflower, safflower, canola and soybean oils should be avoided to reduce systemic inflammation and damage to the intestinal lining. Instead, use unrefined coconut oil, grass-fed butter or ghee for cooking on medium-high heat, and extra virgin olive oil for your salad dressing recipes.

What are the signs / illnesses linked to poor gut health?

Signs You Have an Unhealthy Gut:

• Digestive issues like bloating, gas, diarrhoea
• Food allergies or sensitivities
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Mood swings, irritability
• Skin problems like eczema, rosacea
• Diabetes
• Autoimmune disease
• Frequent Infections
• Poor memory and concentration, ADD or ADHD

I like many have suffered with poor gut health for many years in fact. I had dry skin, itchy scalp, blemishes on my skin all over my arms and back and always felt bloated after eating. I suffered with these conditions for many years and after a few visits to the doctors I was always given skin cream and informed it was a skin issue, nobody ever pointed me in the direction of how my gut health was. In my case my problem was related to the foods I was eating and the beneficial foods I was not including in my diet.

What can we do to heal the gut?

The key for us to influence our gut health is to learn how to get the beneficial bacteria inside our digestive systems and how to eliminate the bad guys.

1. Make a “healthy gut shopping list”

It’s difficult to stay on track with a gut health diet if you’re not prepared. Prepping your meals at home with gut-friendly foods will prevent you from reaching for convenience foods that are loaded with refined sugar and vegetable oils. We will share a great list for you in the E-Book at the end of the campaign.

2. Begin an elimination diet

Foods that damage gut health should be avoided for at least 6 months to allow sufficient time for your gut to heal. Doing an elimination diet with the help of a licensed healthcare practitioner can be helpful for creating a gut-healing action plan that’s realistic for you to stick to.

Your diet plays a big part in establishing gut health and supporting your microbiome’s good bacteria. Research over the past several decades has revealed evidence that there’s a direct link between a person’s microbiota, digestion, body weight and metabolism.

3. Take supplements for gut health

You may want to consider taking nutritional supplements for gut health, such as pure aloe vera juice, which can help soothe the intestinal lining. Marshmallow root and liquorice root are also helpful for reducing digestive discomfort, while probiotic supplements can also be taken to restore healthy gut bacteria.

4 Download the Ebook

At the end of this campaign to get a full shopping list of all the best foods you must have as well as flavoursome recipes to inspire you to make great tasting healthy food.

Next articles

Over the next few articles I will be discussing all the best foods to introduce to help lower inflammation of the gut as well all the foods you must eliminate and avoid and why. I will be sharing with you lists of all the foods that helped get rid of my bloating and dry itchy skin conditions that caused me many years of frustration and had caused candida overgrowth in my gut.