How to Heal Your Gut

Key Take-Aways:

• The gut microbiome refers to a collection of gut bacteria, viruses, and fungi that normally live in your gastrointestinal tract. This diversity is important for good gut health, and the good bacteria present in the gut help you absorb nutrients, digest food, control inflammation, and support your immune system.

• An unhealthy Western diet with too little dietary fiber and whole foods, inactivity or lack of exercise, poor sleep, high stress levels, and antibiotics can lead to gut health issues and upset the balance in the gut microbiota between healthy bacteria and unhealthy bacteria.

• Poor digestive health can manifest as frequent digestive system symptoms, changes in bowel habits, an unhealthy gut lining or leaky gut, fatigue, insomnia or poor sleep, food intolerances, food sensitivities, food allergies, food cravings, unintended weight loss or weight gain, mental health issues, migraine headaches, skin conditions, and autoimmune diseases.

Is it true? You are what you eat.

There’s a famous saying; you are what you eat. And it’s true because gut health impacts whole body health, including your immune system, heart, lungs, brain, several other organs, and even your mental health. As a result, poor gut health can cause more than just gastrointestinal disorders like irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease.

Please keep reading to learn more about the gut microbiome and how you can improve gut health and lead a healthy life.

What is a healthy gut?

The gut microbiome refers to a collection of gut bacteria, viruses, and fungi that normally live in your gastrointestinal tract. This includes both healthy gut bacteria and disease-causing bacteria. At any given time, there can be as many as 200 different species of microorganisms living in your gut. This diversity is important for good gut health. The good bacteria present in the gut help you absorb nutrients, digest food, control inflammation, and support your immune system.

The number of beneficial bacteria outnumbers unhealthy gut organisms in people who are healthy without any gut issues. Most people can maintain this balance in their gut naturally. However, various things can upset the balance in the gut microbiota between healthy bacteria and unhealthy bacteria. This can cause digestive symptoms and poor gut health.

What causes an unhealthy gut?

Some of the diet and lifestyle factors that can lead to gut health issues include:

An unhealthy Western diet with too little dietary fiber and whole foods and too much of certain foods like highly processed foods.
Inactivity or lack of exercise.
Poor sleep.
High stress levels.
Antibiotics (they kill both bad and good gut bacteria).

What are the signs of an unhealthy digestive tract?

Poor digestive health can manifest as:

Frequent digestive system symptoms like gas, bloating, abdominal discomfort, and heartburn.
Changes in bowel habits (diarrhea or constipation).
An unhealthy gut lining or leaky gut, which allows toxins and gut bacteria to go beyond the digestive tract.
Fatigue.
Insomnia or poor sleep.
Food intolerances, food sensitivities, and food allergies.
Food cravings, especially for sugar.
Unintended weight loss or weight gain.
Mental health issues like brain fog, mood changes, anxiety, and depression mediated through the gut-brain axis.
Migraine headaches.
Skin conditions like acne, dandruff, atopic dermatitis, rosacea, and psoriasis mediated through the gut-skin axis.
Autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), celiac disease, and inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis).

How do you heal a damaged gut and maintain gut health?

You can acquire better gut health with the following strategies:

Diet

Eating a healthy diet is key to improving gut health. It helps to maintain the number of beneficial gut bacteria. Nutrient absorption from a healthy diet is also key to maintaining a healthy intestinal lining and gut function.

Eat lots of whole grains, plant-based foods, and fresh vegetables and fruits, including citrus fruits.
Make sure you are getting enough dietary fiber.
Include some prebiotic foods and probiotic foods in your diet (e.g., yogurt). This includes fermented foods that have healthy probiotic bacteria, which keep disease-causing gut bugs in check. Talk to your healthcare provider about taking probiotic supplements if needed.
Eat anti-inflammatory foods like berries, avocados, broccoli, green tea, and fatty fish (salmon, sardines, anchovies) to maintain a healthy microbiome.
Eat slowly and mindfully to enjoy your meals and give your digestive enzymes time to work.
Keep a food diary to track your nutrient and fiber intake and make better food choices.

Other lifestyle factors

Engage in regular physical activity.
Get at least 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.
Control stress levels with yoga, meditation, deep breathing techniques, etc.
Stay well hydrated.

How long does it take to heal the gut?

You cannot heal the gut overnight. If you have an unhealthy gut or ongoing gut issues, give yourself at least 3-6 months to develop a healthy gut with the above-listed strategies.

References: