Why gut health matters

Gut health is a topic that has gotten a lot of attention recently. New studies and advanced technology have uncovered findings that show how important gut health is for your overall health, including the potential for disease prevention and improved brain health.

What is gut health?

The term gut health refers to the overall well-being of your digestive system, particularly the gastrointestinal tract, including your stomach and intestines. Within your gut are bacteria and other microbes that help you digest food. 

Maintaining a healthy balance between the helpful (or good) bacteria and the unhelpful (or bad) bacteria is fundamental for a healthy digestive system.

What is the gut microbiome?

The trillions of bacteria, or microbes, in your gut are collectively referred to as the microbiome. The gut microbiome is important for maintaining good health because it contains approximately 70% of your immune system.

What is the gut-brain connection?

The gut-brain connection refers to the communication system between your gut and brain. These two systems are connected through millions of nerves, most importantly the vagus nerve, which sends signals to both your brain and gut. This connection includes the nervous system, hormones, and the immune system, linking gut health to immunity, mood, and even mental health.

Why is gut health so important?

Your gut breaks down the foods you eat and absorbs the nutrients your body needs to feel its best. The healthier your gut is, and the more diverse food you eat, the better you will be able to absorb nutrients and keep out potential toxins. 

The more we discover about the gut-brain connection, the more evident it becomes that supporting your gut health is also important for your mental health.  

How does gut health affect your overall and mental health?

Having good gut health and how you feel throughout the day go hand-in-hand. When your gut is out of sorts, it doesn't just affect digestion but can also impact your energy levels, sleep, mood, and your immune system.

Because so much of your immune system lives in your gut and thrives off of the food you eat, maintaining good gut health and eating a healthy and diverse diet means you are supporting your immune health.

Some mental health conditions are linked with chronic gut conditions. For decades, it was believed that issues like anxiety and depression contributed to gut conditions. However, recent research suggests that it might be the other way around. Additionally, researchers are now exploring how the gut may affect cognition.

How does your microbiome affect your immune system?

Immune cells in the gut interact with your microbiome. By communicating with immune cells, the gut microbiome can control how your body responds to infection.

A diet high in animal proteins, sugar, processed foods, and saturated fat results in less diverse gut bacteria. In comparison, a fiber-rich diet creates more diversity and composition of bacteria.

According to UCLA Health, gut bacteria are the healthiest and support strong immunity when their hosts (that's us) consume food that is high in fiber.

Signs of an unhealthy gut

There are plenty of obvious signs that you are suffering from poor gut health. The most common include digestive symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, gas, and indigestion.

However, other symptoms of an unhealthy gut that are not necessarily associated with digestion may include:

• Feeling tired all the time
• Extreme food cravings, especially for sugar
• Skin irritation like acne, eczema & psoriasis
• Frequent mood changes
• Migraines

How to maintain a healthy gut

Improve your diet: Your diet is the leading cause of bacterial imbalances in the gut. Reduce or eliminate processed foods with unnatural ingredients and foods high in sugar and fat.

Eating whole foods like fruits, vegetables, and lean protein can help maintain a healthy gut. Foods high in fiber are especially beneficial to maintaining proper gut health.

Take a probiotic and/or prebiotic: Enzymes, probiotics, and prebiotic supplements can help repair gut health.

Eat slowly: Digestion starts when you put food in your mouth. Properly chewing your food gives food a larger surface area, so when it does meet the digestive enzymes further down, it can get broken down a lot easier.

Manage stress: Research suggests anxiety is affected by the gut and vice versa. Finding ways to manage your stress levels could help reduce uncomfortable digestive symptoms.

Get moving: Move as much as you can throughout the day. Even short walks can improve digestion and help you feel less bloated.

Get good sleep: Evidence shows that your gut microbiome and sleep are interconnected. Microbe depletion is associated with a lack of serotonin in the gut, which can affect sleep/wake cycles.

Foods that can support a healthy gut

• Yogurt and kefir
• Fermented foods – kombucha, sourdough, kimchi, and sauerkraut
• Whole grains
• Leafy greens
• Brussels sprouts
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Mango
• Bananas
• Avocado
• Olive and coconut oils
• Almonds
• Beans
• Salmon
• Bone broth

Do your gut some good

Remember, maintaining good gut health is crucial to improving overall health. You can experience positive results by making a few simple food and lifestyle changes or including probiotics or prebiotics in your wellness routine.

Sources.

Information for this article was collected by the health and wellness experts at GOLO using the following sources:

Parkview Health

UCLAhealth.org

NIH: Impact of the Microbiome on the Immune System

Pubmed

Hopkins Medicine

Frederick Health

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