Do you worry about having a healthy gut? Most people should worry about it, but they don’t. A healthy gut contains trillions of microorganisms in your intestines. These microorganisms can be negatively impacted by many things that we all experience every day. In these days of uncertainty, we all experience stress. Stress can kill off these microorganism – rather it’s the chemicals in our body that are produced when we experience stress that does the killing. Refined products and sugars can negatively impact these healthy organisms. Eating quickly will most likely result in many nutrients not being well absorbed which negatively impact healthy microorganisms. Lack of exercise too will negatively impact a healthy gut. Also, alcohol and smoking kills these healthy microorganisms. In addition, lack of sleep will negatively impact these microorganisms.
So, a lot of what we do in our current life, which is hectic, stress-filled, and not having enough time to take care of ourselves, will negatively impact our gut health. So be aware, and control what you can.
Some simple signs of an unhealthy gut are:
- An upset stomach
- Skin rashes
- Sleep disturbances
- Unintentional weight gain/loss
- Constant fatigue
- Autoimmune diseases
- Food intolerances
In addition to these signs, studies have shown that dysbiosis, a gut microbial imbalance, can play a role in cardiovascular disease and cardiometabolic disorders like Type 2 diabetes.
There are things you can do to help promote a healthy gut. These include eating well and avoiding sugars and refined foods. Getting your sleep and hydrating. Also, make sure you take care of yourself and try to minimize stress in your life. Try to slow down and be intentional. Lastly, don’t forget your workouts….
At times it hard to control the stress in our lives, get sleep, eat healthy and hydrate. Therefore, there are some simple things you can do. You can take a supplemental probiotic which would help. However, these can be expensive and a bit unpredictable depending upon the source and quality. You should experiment with some, but make sure they come from quality sources and have studies (independent ones) to support the claims made.
You can also get probiotics from food sources. Ever hear of kefir? It’s a great source of probiotics. Kimchi is now popular and comes in various flavors and levels of spiciness. In addition, you can get great probiotics from kombucha. Sauerkraut is another healthy source of probiotics.
The science on this subject is evolving. There are not a lot of findings that conclude which probiotics are healthy, and which one are bad. Therefore, be careful.
Fermented food, as noted above, is a great source. However, cooking fermented foods kills the good bacteria. You want to eat them before cooking them. However, you need to be careful in creating your own fermenting foods. It’s a fine line between fermenting and creating mold or spoiling foods. You need to be educated.
Therefore, be healthy, eat healthily, and be aware of our gut. If you have questions, DM me……
