Sometimes itās obvious what upsets your stomach and makes you feel sick. You take precautions by washing your hands, avoiding certain foods and supporting healthy detoxification. As it turns out, these are all important aspects of your gut health.
Iāve written a lot about gut health and how an unhealthy gut can wreak havoc on your overall health. Thatās because itās something I experienced a lot firsthand. Even though I looked healthy, my gut health was telling a different story. My digestion wasnāt great, and it showed in my skin, my hair and even my mood!
Having a healthy gut can ensure that your body, mind and spirit are healthy. On the other hand, poor gut health can sabotage your physical health and even your mental health in some sneaky ways.
What causes an unhealthy gut? And how do you know if youāre gut health needs improvement? Here are symptoms that hint at your gut needing a little loving attention.
When your gut is healthy, your gut microbiota is in balance. Your good gut bacteria keep the bad gut bacteria under control to keep you healthy. When everything is working the way it should be, your gut health may seem āout of sight, out of mind.ā But when something is wrong, you can feel it everywhere.
There are a few unwanted symptoms of an unhealthy gut:
Related: Signs of an Unhealthy Gut
Itās not always easy to tell whatās affecting your gut flora and gut healthā especially if youāve been dealing with an unhealthy gut for a long time. Some factors contributing to poor gut health and digestive issues are more obvious, while others are not.
Here are 4 main causes of an unhealthy gutā some of these may surprise you!
This one is more obvious. The Standard American Dietā also known as SADā is very sad indeed. Thatās because itās packed with processed food, excess fat, too much sugar, and inflammatory foods. It also lacks diversity.
Without a variety of many different whole plants, you lack the nutrients and fiber you need to nourish your body and feed your beneficial gut bacteria.
As the old adage goes, āyou are what you eat.ā There is some truth to that, but itās not the whole story, Beauty. I think itās more accurate to say āyou are what you digest.ā
Rememberā digestion isnāt just your body breaking down foods and eliminating waste. You also absorb your foodās nutrients while you digest it. Eating nutrient-rich foods that nourish your body helps your gut health. But itās also important to eat a diverse range of healthy foods to make sure you get everything your body and gut need to keep themselves vibrant and strong.
So when you eat foods that are processed and unhealthy, youāre depriving yourself of so many vital nutrients that your body needs to function. Because of this, your digestion and your gut health will start to suffer as well.
There are some foods that are best avoided if you want to keep a healthy microbiome. These include:
Certain medications can wreak havoc on your gut microbiome. A commonly prescribed medication is antibiotics. Antibiotics are prescribed to kill unfriendly or pathogenic bacteria in your body so that you can recover from illness. But rememberā antibiotics donāt only kill the pathogenic or ābadā bacteria, they kill the good bacteria too!
Thatās why probiotics are recommended after taking a round of antibiotics.
Itās also important to point out that antibiotics are in many animal products too. Theyāre added to animal feed and given to animals to prevent infection, so if you eat any animal products youāre inadvertently introducing them to your own microbiome and affecting your gut health.
Other medications that can throw your gut out of balance include:
One thing thatās important to know about your gut microbiome is that it always contains both beneficial bacteria and harmful bacteria. Maintaining that balance is what keeps your gut healthy. However, it is possible to imbalance the bacteria in your digestive tract and have the bad bacteria outnumber the good.
Your lifestyle may be accidentally sabotaging your gut health and creating an imbalance in your gut. Factors that contribute to bad bacteria in the gut include:
Food sensitivity is a common problem nowadays, even if you eat way better than the Standard American Diet. Sometimes there are just foods that donāt agree with you, whether itās because of food allergies or a condition that makes it so you canāt digest certain nutrients. These may include:
Over the years Iāve shared a lot of my thoughts about dairy consumption. Dairy is something we can all eliminate from our diets, and hereās why.
By the time you are 3-4 years old, youāve stopped producing enzymes called lactase and rennin. These are the enzymes used to specifically break down lactose in milk. This is why dairy canāt be fully or comfortably digested by most, especially into adulthood.
Dairy sold commercially is also pasteurized, which means it is heated to extremely high temperatures. These high temperatures make the dairy even harder to digest, and very acidic in the body.
With so many kinds of plant-based milk and dairy alternatives, this is one sensitivity thatās easy to relieve!
Other digestive disorders can make you more sensitive to some foods too.
People with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have food intolerancesā this isnāt the same as a food allergy though. While food allergies produce an allergic reaction, food intolerance means that your gut is unusually sensitive to certain foods, and reacts strongly and negatively when you eat those foods.
Food sensitivity is also the main symptom of leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut syndrome occurs when there is damage to your gut lining. When you have this disorder, your gut permeability is way above where it should beā which means that itās more likely to absorb substances that it should not be absorbing. This can cause a lot of pain, discomfort and other unpleasant health effects. <3>
As you really do heal your gut, I believe a healthy body should be able to handle healthy, natural food. Over time, Iāve experienced sensitivities, and theyāve actually gone away as my gut has healed.
Many people take specific food sensitivity tests to determine any and all foods that they may be sensitive to. And after that, they stop eating those foods because thatās what the tests say. But what if you still feel okay after eating those foods?
Your gut is like a muscleā you can make it stronger by building up the beneficial enzymes in these foods little by little. So if youāre sensitive to some foods, it may just be because your gut is unhealthy and unable to digest them properly.
Related: Restoring Your Gut Health with Dr. Will Bulsiewicz
Weāve all had nights where we didnāt get enough sleep, and we felt tired and crabby the next morning. All the mamas out there probably know this feeling well! Getting enough sleep, and a good nightās sleep, is so important to your overall health, Beauty. Itās also really important for your gut health too.
Hereās how your gut suffers when you get poor sleep:
When you donāt get enough sleep it can increase your stress levels. Increased stress can cause gut permeability issues like leaky gut syndrome. And when youāre stressed out, youāre more likely to eat unhealthy comfort foods that create inflammation and make leaky gut worse.
This is a big problem especially if you regularly stay up too late.
If you eat too close to bedtime, your body dedicates its valuable energy to digesting your food when it should be trying to sleep!
Poor sleep can increase the amount of cortisolā the stress hormoneā and harm your bodyās natural melatonin production. Melatoninā better known as the sleep hormoneā also helps regulate your gastrointestinal motility. This means that it helps your food move properly through your digestive system. If this is thrown off, you may be more likely to experience acid reflux or heartburn while youāre trying to sleep.
An unhealthy gut can make you feel bad both inside and out. You shouldnāt have to live with that, Beauty. You deserve to live your best and brightest life, always. :)
Thankfully, itās easy to heal your digestive health if you follow the right steps. The right diet and a healthy lifestyle go a long way in promoting better overall health and helping you be more in tune with your beautiful body.
To learn more about how to heal your gut the Beauty Detox way, check out my article on the topic!
