How to improve gut health

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Hippocrates, the Greek physician known as the Father of Modern Medicine, is said to have stated that “all disease begins in the gut.”  While this may not be 100% true for every disease experienced by every person, more and more research shows that our gut health plays a far larger role in many chronic diseases than we used to believe.  We’re not just talking about conditions like heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We’re including allergies, pain, mood disorders, and nutrient deficiencies in the mix.

Our gut is where we process the nutrients we ingest and absorb from our food, and those nutrients are the building blocks of every single part of our body.  But, unfortunately, the gut also is home to disease-causing bacteria, viruses, parasites, and toxins. It’s also

More and more research is focusing on the connections between our gut and other areas of our body, such as our brain.  For example, the gut-brain axis is where the central nervous system (CNS) and the cells and neurons in the gastrointestinal tract, called the enteric nervous system (ENS), interact with each other in a complex, two-way communication system. The ENS is the gastrointestinal (GI) system’s own nervous system.

So, let’s talk about the roles that our gut and our gut microbes play in our overall health. Then I’ll share some tips to improve your gut health naturally.

The two pillars of gut health

Our gut’s main role is to serve as a barrier, letting in the things that we need for our health and keeping out those things that should stay out. We want nutrients to be let in and absorbed, and we want to eliminate waste and toxins.

This seemingly simple role of the gut is super-complex, and the process can break down in so many places. One major concern is the fact that our guts can–and do–leak.  When the gut acts like a long tube with holes in it, it can allow bacteria, undigested food, and toxins to permeate its lining and wreak havoc when they pass into our bloodstream.  That leaking of the gut can lead to inflammation, which is the basis for many diseases that don’t seem linked to the gut but are, indeed, subtly connected.

DID YOU KNOW: About 70% of our immune system lives in and around our gut.

A healthy gut is definitely not a leaky gut. A healthy gut maintains its barrier, efficiently processes food, and shuttle waste out of the body for elimination. Maintaining a healthy gut barrier is the first pillar of gut health.

The gut also hosts billions of friendly, health-promoting microbes that help us digest and absorb nutrients. They fight off disease-causing microbes, create vitamins for us, reduce inflammation, stabilize blood sugar, and boost mental health.  So, keeping your gut microbes happy is the second pillar of gut health.

How to improve gut health

There are a lot of natural ways to improve gut health. Let’s start with what to stop.

Eliminate…

• Remove the causes of our gut health woes, and stop giving our guts junk to deal with. How about cutting out added sugars, processed foods, and alcohol? Try that for a few weeks, and you will be amazed at how much better your body (and gut) feels.
• Get rid of other gut irritants, such as dairy and grains, which contain common compounds known to irritate some people’s guts. Sometimes you only need to eliminate them for a few weeks to see the difference in your health.

Incorporate…

• Eat nutrient-dense foods to allow ample macro- and micro-nutrients into our gut to maximize absorption. These nutrients help our bodies build and repair our gut and every other area of the body.  Some of the most nutrient-dense foods include dark leafy greens, colorful fruits and veggies, liver, and fish.
• Ingest probiotic-rich foods and drinks–think fermented foods like kombucha, kefir, miso, sauerkraut, and kimchi–to replenish gut microbes.  Remember, the second pillar of gut health is to create happy microbes.  Make these fermented foods a regular part of your daily diet.
• Get fiber-full.  Fiber whisks away bad bacteria and toxins so that the body can eliminate them. Fiber also helps to feed our friendly resident microbes that help us absorb and digest our food better. Not eating enough fiber increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.   Which foods have a lot of fiber? Whole foods, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, and even cacao.
• Focus on the non-food health factors.  Don’t forget uber-important lifestyle factors like getting enough sleep, stressing less, and getting the right amount (and intensity) of exercise for you. It’s easy to forget some of these simple but crucial factors that link what we do with our bodies and how well they function.

In summary…

The proper functioning of your gut is key to your overall health. There are two pillars of gut health: maintaining a good intestinal barrier and serving as a effective host to healthy gut microbes.

The main ways to naturally improve both of these pillars of gut health are:

1. Eating nutrient-dense whole foods that are rich in probiotics and fiber; and
2. Eliminating common gut irritants, such as added sugar, processed foods, and alcohol

Recipe: Probiotic-rich fermented carrots (Serves 12)

Ingredients:

• 32 ounces warm water
• 4 tsp salt
• 4 medium-sized carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 clove garlic, smashed (optional)

Directions:

1. Make a brine by dissolving the salt in water.
2. Place carrots into a clean canning jar, packing them in tight. Make sure to leave about 1 inch of head space at the top.
3. Fill the jar with brine, making sure to cover the carrots completely. Weigh the carrots down to make sure they don’t float (you can use a “fermenting weight”).
4. Close the jar and let it sit at room temperature for 1-4 days. The longer it sits, the more the flavor will develop. Feel free to open and taste.
5. Serve and enjoy!

Tip:  You can enjoy these fermented carrots as a side dish or even as a snack.

References:

https://authoritynutrition.com/does-all-disease-begin-in-the-gut/

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-nutrition-gut-health

http://neurotrition.ca/blog/your-gut-bugs-what-they-eat-and-7-ways-feed-them