Have you got the stomach for it?
Did you realise that you have more bacteria in your gut than cells in your body! 100 trillion microorganisms… 10 times more bacteria than the combined number of cells in the human body. In this knowledge you could really say that we are more bacteria than human.
Hippocrates said “all disease begins in the gut” and it’s taken us 2000 years to start to figure out that he was correct. Optimal gut flora and digestive function is crucial for your health and fat loss. Amongst other things, healthy gut flora promotes proper gastrointestinal function, regulates your metabolism and makes up more than 75% of your immune system.
Keep Mamma Happy
A lot of people go through their days, weeks, months, years and entire life with joint pain, sleep disturbances, arthritis, fever, skin irritations, fatigue, night sweets, headaches, depression, an so on. A lot of the time I find people accept the fact that they feel ‘crappy’ and believe “such is life”. But this is not the case… All these symptoms or feelings are, for the most part, a result of poor diet and lifestyle. Ryan Andrews of Precision Nutrition puts it like this “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. Substitute “gut” for “mama” and you pretty much get the picture”. Poor gut health is a big problem in modern day society yet one of the easiest to counteract.
Have you got the stomach to achieve optimal health and wellbeing?
The majority of modern day food products were unknown to our systems just 100 years ago. If you think 100 years is a long time, when we are talking about the evolution or the development of humans it’s actually like a blink of an eye.
Our guts simply can’t handle these new foods (this is not to say that some time in the future we can’t adapt to them just that in the present time our bodies are not coping) and experts reason that the introduction of these new or modified foodstuffs explains the increase in allergies and food intolerances now common place and increasing in society.
Leaky Gut Syndrome
There is now a condition called Leaky Gut Syndrome (LGS). Cases of this syndrome are increasing but the scary thing is that a lot of people have this issue and don’t even know it. LGS is caused when there is irritation or inflammation of the gut wall, where the tight junctions between the stomachs cells loosen up and allow compounds to pass through when it shouldn’t. Hence, the gut is leaking compounds into our system/body.
Food additives, such as MSG which is in wide spread use here in Vietnam, can influence the junctions of the gut and weaken their bonds exposing you to all types of nasty pathogens. Stress is another major player in the cause of leaky gut syndrome along with antibiotics (and other pharmaceuticals, as they upset the balance of good bacteria), malnutrition (not obtaining the nutrients to build a strong gut lining) and foodstuffs like gluten, casein, lectins, fructose, which can cause inflammation within the gut.
Experts agree that a healthy gut barrier depends on good levels of intestinal bacteria, intact mucosa and a healthy immune system. All of which are influenced through your diet and lifestyle choices.
Tips To Improve Gut Health
Here are 3 quick tips for improving your gut health and keeping “Mama” happy:
- Promote good bacteria levels by eating fermented foods that will support good gut flora or take a high-quality, multi-species probiotic
- Manage your stress levels: so if you are mental or physically stressed so will your gut be. Take time to de-stress and relax regularly
- Remove all toxins or food intolerances from your diet: toxins put your body under a lot of stress and food intolerances cause your system to be inflamed. By eliminating these from your diet your body can operate in a true state of homeostasis
- Complete a prolonged fast every now and then to allow your gut mucosal lining to heal
The bottom line is that something as simple as taking care of your gut health could improve your health, feeling of wellbeing and appearance. Have you been nice to your gut lately?
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