Let’s Talk About Gut Health
Gut health is quite the hot topic in the health and wellness space, and for good reason as more and more research shows the connection between your gut and many of the human body’s functions.
So we’ll start with the obvious - gut bacteria and what a healthy gut looks like:
We have hundreds of billions of bacteria in our gut and we need a good balance between what’s referred to as “good” bacteria and “bad” bacteria. When you have more bad bacteria than good, that’s when you have what we call dysbiosis - an imbalance of bacteria so to speak. In most cases, your body can remedy this imbalance on its own, with the help of good nutrition habits.
You may have heard your gut referred to as your “second brain.” The reason for this is that the gut and the brain work synergistically and the state of your gut can actually directly affect anxiety levels, depression, stress, etc. So, when gut health is particularly poor, we’re not going to feel well mentally or emotionally either. We of course can’t do much without our brain functioning properly, so it’s worth it to pay attention to your gut health.
Many times, digestion is a huge reason why our gut health is off. We need adequate hydrochloric (HCL) acid in our stomachs to digest food properly. If we don’t, it postpones the rest of the digestive enzymes that need to be secreted to break down the carbohydrates, protein, and fats that we consume.
This can lead to a plethora of issues down the line because your body is unable to break down and absorb the nutrients that it needs, which can show up in several ways.
Physical Symptoms of Poor Gut Health
If your digestion is not working properly, you can expect a lot of issues to crop up and even certain diseases over an extended period of time.
Typical signs of gut issues include:
Bloating
Constipation
Diarrhea
Stomach discomfort
Skin issues/acne
Hormone issues (these are secondhand, as our bodies need nutrients from food to uphold proper hormone function)
(Not all of these necessarily mean that you have gut issues, but could be worth looking into if they have been ongoing problems with no explanation).
And it works the opposite way, too. If someone is diagnosed with autism, ADHD, anxiety, depression, etc. this too can affect the gut. It’s more of a two-way road than we realize.
So, How do we Fix Your Digestion and/or Gut Health?
Finding a solution is very bioindividual. When we work with clients, our first step is to look at your nutrition. Some people can also fix their gut through diet changes (more whole foods, fruits & vegetables, healthy fat sources, water intake, fiber intake, etc.).
Food sensitivities or intolerances (not talking true actual food allergies here) could very well be the culprit with gut problems too; however, we see a lot of cases where clients are sensitive or intolerant to certain foods because of the diet they currently maintain. If we clean up the diet and heal the gut, oftentimes they can start eating those foods again. But if those intolerances persist, we will then assess them on a more nitty gritty level.
Our next step (or first step if your diet is in check) is to examine habits & lifestyle. What are you doing to manage stress? Are you getting enough sleep? Those two can be huge factors that sometimes solve the problems in time if addressed properly. Stress also has a lot to do with your body producing or not producing HCL. If you’re extremely stressed, tense, not breathing deeply, eating on the go, etc. your body is not going to produce enough HCL.
If you notice a theme here, we’re talking about looking at root causes of the issues, rather than resorting to supplements right off the bat.
And since many will ask - supplementation can help, yes. BUT this isn’t a long-term solution for healing. When we rely on supplements for too long, we don’t allow our bodies to work naturally the way they should, but they rather become reliant on support. You can supplement with HCL if you need it, but if you don’t need it or you have a more severe condition (i.e. Gerd or stomach ulcers), supplementing with HCL can actually make you feel a lot worse. This is why it’s important to work with a doctor/practitioner and figure out what’s right for you.
Want to go deeper with digestion and the gut-mind connection? Check out Episode 51 of the BIN Radio podcast.