Love your gut

Love and understand your gut.

To help our body thrive and be in the best condition it can possibly be we need good gut health. Research has shown that there is a significant possibility that good gut health may affect our sleep, immunity and even weight loss. The term ‘gut health’ refers to the balance of healthy ‘live bacteria and harmful ‘bad’ bacteria.

Digestion is the process that occurs within the digestive system. The digestive system is a complex network of organs that manages the process of breaking food down into different compounds and passing out what we don’t need as waste (poo!). The process can take anything from one to three days. During that process the digestive system does not absorb food, it extracts and absorbs nutrients, and this is essential to wellbeing. The food we eat must be broken down into amino acids from proteins, fatty acids from various fats and simple sugars from carbohydrates, as well as vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients.

The digestive system is made up of the digestive tract (gut), and other organs that help to break down and absorb food. It works to break down food into the essential nutrients that are absorbed into the blood stream and are used for energy, growth, and repair, which is known as the digestive process

When you think about the function of the gut it makes sense that it plays a key role to our overall health.

The mouth, oesophagus, stomach, and intestines work together to extract the energy and nutrients our body needs to thrive from it and then we simply excrete (poo) the waste.

It has over 100,000 nerve cells which are closely linked to our emotions, which is why sometimes when we are stressed or nervous, we can suffer from diarrhoea. Therefore, eating a meal when we’re stressed can cause symptoms like bloating, as our body is focused on fight or flight, rather than digesting our food.

We all have trillions of microorganisms from thousands of different species living inside of our bodies and their collective term is the microbiome. We each have a totally unique microbiome consisting of not only bacteria, but parasites, viruses, and fungi too.

As time goes on, our microbiomes grow and change - and is influenced largely by our diet and environment. For example, when infants transition from milk to solid foods, their microbiome will be affected. The microbiome plays a crucial role in our essential day-to-day bodily operations, but also has the potential to cause harm. It’s all about balance and the bad bacteria tends to coexist in healthy people, however, problems tend to start when this balance starts to tip in favour of the harmful bacteria. This is when symptoms of an unhealthy gut are likely to arise.

However, the modern buy lifestyle can sometimes compromise our gut health, which isn’t hard to do as our gut is incredibly complex. Almost everyone has suffered from some form of stomach upset in their life. Some people experience this as IBS, gluten intolerance and indigestion.

How can a healthy gut improve overall health?

A healthy gut with the right balance of bacteria may help your body in the following ways:
• Immunity: maintaining a healthy balance of bacteria in the gut can help to support and even boost your immune system
• Heart health: evidence suggests that probiotic supplements may help control total cholesterol levels in the blood
• Digestive issues: a healthy balance of bacteria in the gut has been seen to help with bowel disorders such as lactose intolerance.
• Sleep and fatigue: our gut microbiome may affect the quality of our sleep. This is because our gut is responsible for producing most of our serotonin – a hormone that affects sleep

3 signs of a healthy gut
• Healthy bowel movements
• You’re not bloated often
• You can poo without pain

5 signs of an unhealthy gut
• Constipation or irregular stools
• Upset stomach
• Poor sleep
• Inflammation
• Spot-prone skin

4 foods and supplements to help you have a healthy gut
The food you eat can have a significant impact on your gut bacteria diversity.In general, high intake of animal proteins, saturated fats, sugar and salt can create an environment in which pathogenic bacteria thrives.On the contrasting, eating complex carbohydrates, plant proteins, omega-3, polyphenols and micronutrients is associated with better beneficial bacteria growth and function.
• Yogurt - Yogurt is made by fermenting lactic acid in milk with Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilu.
• Probiotic foods -These are live microorganisms that interact with your own microbiota, sometimes helping to restore a balance. You can also get probiotic drinks that work in the same way. Examples of probiotic foods include yogurt, sauerkraut, kefir, pickles, kimchi, and tempeh.
• Prebiotic fibre - Prebiotics are non-digestible foods (fibre that passes through the GI tract undigested) that can be beneficial for gut health. Examples of foods high in prebiotics include bananas, onions, artichokes, garlic, oats, honey and asparagus.
• Vitamins and minerals - Micronutrients are important for supporting regulating energy metabolism, immune function, and cellular growth, and they can also have a positive effect on your gut.

Rebalance your gut bacteria

We can try to reduce chronic inflammation by improving our gut health with diet and lifestyle changes designed to boost the number and diversity of our gut microbes.

This means reducing stress, keeping active and aiming for a balanced, diverse diet based on whole foods. Eat an abundance of fruit and vegetables in a rainbow of colours.

Fill up on lean protein, healthy fats, a range of wholegrains, legumes and pulses, nuts and seeds. And avoid or limit processed foods, artificial ingredients, and refined sugars.

Feed the microbes in your gut with fibre-rich foods such as bananas, asparagus, onions, garlic, leeks, oats. And replenish the microbes with naturally beneficial bacteria found in fermented foods like natural yoghurt, miso, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, other pickled vegetables, kombucha, and aged cheese.

It can be useful to include natural ingredients in your cooking too. Look for recipes that use the spice turmeric (active ingredient curcumin ), ginger, and oregano.Tip:to get the best benefits form turmeric use freshly ground black pepper at the same time, it increases the absorption rate.

How to improve gut health naturally

• Follow a FODMAP-free diet -Quick reference low fodmap chart
FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. These are groups of carbohydrates that are not absorbed by the gut, so they ferment and bacteria feed on them, causing unpleasant gut behaviour.
• Consider taking friendly bacteria supplements
These have been shown to be beneficial in some people with gut problems and there is some evidence they may also help with mood fluctuations associated with gut issues. If you are in any doubt about taking these particularly if you are taking other medication then you should speak to e medical practitioner first.
• Reduce your fibre intake
Too much fibre can overstimulate the gut, making symptoms even worse. Ask a medical practitioner for advice before cutting out any food groups.
• Exercise
Exercise raises your heart and breathing rate, which in turn stimulates the waves of muscle contractions that move stools through the gut – a process called peristalsis.This helps the gut operate more efficiently, which means food spends a shorter time in the bowel. Current Government guidelines are for adults to do 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise, like cycling, running or brisk walking, each week. Strength training should also be included to work our muscles and help bone density. Good examples: yoga, dance, gardening or lifting weights – on two or more days a week.If you have a job where you sit down most of the time, aim to walk about for a few minutes every hour.

Help your gut bacteria

The main goal of any gut-healthy diet is to increase the number and variety of good bacteria in our digestive system.

Here are some ways you can do that:
• Minimise stress
• Get active
• Limit sugar and processed foods
• Fill up on gut-friendly foods
• Up your natural bacteria intake

Try to eat more foods that contain live bacteria and yeasts, aka probiotics – some are naturally fermented, while some have cultures added.Avoid milks and drinks that are flavoured and sweetened, as this can negate their effects. Instead, pick naturally fermented foods

Good choices:
• Live, natural yoghurt
• Kefir – a fermented milk drink
• Kombucha – a fermented tea drink
• Kimchi – Korean pickled vegetables
• Sauerkraut – German pickled cabbage
• Other pickles
• Miso
• Aged, unpasteurised cheese