All Roads Lead to the Gut
When we think about our body’s contact with the outside world, we often think of our skin as the greatest barrier between us and our environment. However, our gut’s surface area is much more expansive than our skin, stretching 32 square meters, or the size of half a badminton court.
Because of this, it’s safe to say our digestive system is actually the greatest point of contact our bodies have with the world around us, usually in the form of what we eat and drink. What we put into our bodies can either nourish us, or trigger an immune response. In fact, 70% of our body’s immune responses happen in the gut, where our immune system is an ecosystem of bacteria. This is called the microbiome.
When this ecosystem in our gut is out of balance, we are in a state of dysbiosis, resulting in a number of different symptoms throughout our bodies, including:
Brain fog
Acne, rashes, and eczema
Joint pain
Bloating and gas
Diarrhea or constipation
Fatigue
Chronic congestion
Leaky gut
Acid reflux
And that’s just to name a few. But the good news is, what we EAT has the power to radically shift our gut flora and get it back in balance!
So how does dysbiosis occur, and what can we do to prevent it?
Well, there are a number of factors that can disrupt a healthy gut flora, many of which may have happened to us when we were young, such as being born by C-section or not being breastfed. Antibiotics, alcohol, and stress can also throw our gut health out of balance. (To find out what could be triggering dysbiosis in your body, let's chat!) Repairing our gut is possible. One way we can do this is by paying attention to what we eat, and what we don’t.
Finding the right foods for your gut is a process, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach, but I will do my best to give us some different approaches to experiment with!
One step we can take to support gut health is taking probiotics.
You have probably heard of these! They are found in fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, yogurt, and kefir, but are most effective and potent when taken in pill form. However, not all probiotics are created equal, and some due diligence is required to find a probiotic that has been properly manufactured. For some helpful tips on how to find the best probiotics out there, check out this article.
Equally, if not more important, than probiotics are prebiotics.
These are the food that feed the probiotics we take as well as the existing bacteria in our gut. Prebiotics can be found in supplement form, but depending how you look at it everything we eat can be considered a prebiotic. That is because all the food we eat is feeding something in our gut, whether good bacteria or bad. If we are eating sugars, processed foods, and artificial ingredients, the bacteria that eat those things will grow. On the other hand, if we are eating whole, clean, nutritious foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, the “friendly” bacteria in our digestive system will grow and thrive.
To explore if dysbiosis is the cause behind your symptoms, and what unique steps you can take to support your digestive system, check out my website and see if holistic health coaching is the right fit for you. I would love to chat with you about ways we can work together to optimize your health!
