6 Things You Might Not Know About Your Gut Health

The gastrointestinal tract (GI) is essential to your health as it transports food from your mouth to the stomach, converting it into stored energy and absorbable nutrients, and shuttles the waste back out of your body. It’s also full of bacteria that help you process food and help your body maintain overall well-being.

Unfortunately, the GI tract has been linked to some health aspects, like chronic illnesses and emotional stress. Such health issues may lie in your gut or microbiome, which are the bacteria and microorganisms in the intestines and stomach.

Keep in mind that certain behaviors, environments, and foods may influence gut health. So, it matters to keep your gut healthy. To know more information, click here.

There are other things you might not know about your gut health, and these include the following:

1. Gut Health May Keep Your Skin Clear

Your immunity lies in your gut. Take note that you have hundreds of naturally-occurring bacteria in your gut. Most of these are good bacteria beneficial for your digestion, while some can be bad bacteria that may contribute to causing illnesses.

If your gut isn’t healthy, it may affect your overall health and your skin’s overall appearance, including inflammation, spots, rosacea, and eczema. To get a clear complexion and avoid skin problems, your diet is a crucial factor because gut bacteria influence your overall health, which helps improve your skin. You can also consider probiotics for acne or any skincare products that contain prebiotics and probiotic extracts to help you fight against skin conditions like eczema.

Unlike probiotics that help improve the good bacteria in the body, prebiotics is insoluble fiber or non-digestible substances that promote healthy bacteria growth. Sometimes, prebiotics serves as food for probiotics. Thus, consuming both can make them more effective.

2. Gut Health Serves Like Your Second Brain

More often than not, you may experience a tingling sensation from your stomach when you’re anxious or nervous. Your enteric nervous system is a sophisticated and complex network that contains millions of nerve endings that connect to your gastrointestinal tract. They connect your brain and gut.

That’s why changes in your gut health might be linked to mood disorders like anxiety and depression. Also, eating probiotics may work similarly to antidepressants to ease the symptoms and anxiety. Like kimchi and yogurt, probiotics are good bacteria known to have health benefits.

3. Gut Health May Affect Your Immune System

Most people have already experienced bloating, loose stool, upset stomach, stomach virus, or cramping at some point in their life. But some people experience such symptoms regularly. It isn’t a healthy or normal occurrence. If you experience those symptoms, contact your doctor immediately and get a medical checkup. It’s because the said symptoms may indicate conditions, such as:

• Allergies
• Crohn’s disease
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Your gut may also influence some aspects of health. Remember that the nutrients you take are broken down and spread throughout your body. Therefore, if you take more or less than enough of a certain nutrient, your body may respond to it by not working properly. It may result in a compromised immune system. If you don’t want this to happen, maintain your gut health to keep a healthy immune system.

4. Gut Health May Play A Role In Arthritis

It’s related to how your gut plays a role in keeping your immune system healthy. Remember that an overactive immune system may result in autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. An overgrowth of particular kinds of bacteria may trigger an inflammatory response that may target the joints.

The microbes in your gut may also impact treatments and make specific arthritis drugs less or more effective. However, further research is necessary to explore the connection between joint health and probiotics. Although early results have shown that probiotics could be more effective than taking medicines like ibuprofen, you should talk to your doctor first to know whether or not it’s good for your current health condition.

5. Gut Health May Suffer From Consuming Too Many Vegetables

Cruciferous and crunchy vegetables contain more nutrients, such as cauliflower, sprouts, and broccoli. However, eating too many of these vegetables may result in an upset stomach.

If you want to improve your gut health, avoid eating lots of raw food and eat soothing soups or steamed and sautéed vegetables instead. You may also consider foods with digestive-boosting enzymes, such as lemon, endive, dandelion, grapefruit, and chicory.

Home-cooked meals are also essential. It’s because when you always eat out, you can’t control the additives, sugar, and salt. When cooking your meals, try using organic produce that’s free from pesticides and herbicides, as these can also compromise your gut health.

6. Gut Health Can Be The Key To Keep A Healthy Weight

Everybody knows that what you eat may have an impact on your health. However, there’s more than that because there’s a difference in the gut of people who are obese compared to lean individuals.

One of the reasons behind it is that the bacteria in your gut can help break down fat, impact the production of ghrelin leptin and other appetite-regulating hormones, and extract the calories from food. If there’s an imbalance between bad and good bacteria, your digestive system might not do its job well.

Therefore, if you want to keep a healthy weight, you should never take your gut health for granted and do your best to improve it. To achieve results, embrace healthy lifestyle changes and choose the best foods for gut health to see the difference.

Tips To Maintain Your Gut Health

Staying healthy will help you maintain your gut. Fortunately, there are various ways to maintain good gut health, and these include the following:

• Follow a healthy, balanced diet
• Exercise regularly
• Stay hydrated
• Get enough rest

It’s also crucial to avoid bad habits, including excessive alcohol consumption and smoking. If possible, limit processed and red meats or dairy products. Having a food journal or diary may come in handy to keep track of your food intake. Just don’t forget to consult your doctor first before you add anything to your diet to avoid hurting your gut health.

Conclusion

Gut health is no doubt essential to your overall well-being. So, do your best to keep your gut healthy and keep the above things in mind. If you experience symptoms related to your gut, never consider self-medication and consult your doctor immediately to avoid any serious health issues in the long run.