Good Gut, Good Life – Your Gut’s role in your overall health.

Do you find yourself extremely gassy or bloated often? Especially after meals? Perhaps you struggle to maintain a healthy and consistent sleep pattern? Or maybe you’re just hella cranky. Well, it could all be because your gut sucks! That’s right, your gut isn’t functioning properly, so it’s making things “uncomfortable”.

Gut health is a big topic lately, so let me make things a little easier. Your gut is your Gastro-intestinal tract, basically the part of your body responsible for food digestion and nutrient absorption. Your gut comprises of the large intestine and the small intestine. Here’s the interesting thing about your gut though, a whole universe of organisms, well micro-organisms, exists in your gut. Good bacteria and bad bacteria. This is your Gut Microbiome. 300-500 different species of bacteria have their home in your intestines, and it’s up to you to make sure you have more good bacteria than bad living on the inside of you.

Stomach problems like gas, bloating, constipation, as well as diarrhoea are some signs of an unhealthy gut. Most people have probably gotten used to just always feeling uncomfortable. Our body tells us it’s not happy and does its best to let us know there’s an issue, but usually it goes unheard and ignored. Basically our gut is responsible for putting our body in a proper working condition. Your gut absorbs nutrients that support the body’s functions, from hormone balance, skin regeneration and health, energy, toxin elimination and even mental health. In essence, the better balance that you have in your gut, the better your overall health. Having more good bacteria (probiotics) in your gut can enhance immune system function, combat obesity and deal with some of the symptoms of depression. Did I mention that it helps keep your skin looking AMAZING?!

Alcohol consumption, high-sugar and high-fat foods as well as Anti-biotics kill the good bacteria in your gut. I’m going to say it. It’s a lot to do with your lifestyle choices; How you eat, what you eat and how well you sleep. Its’s really not so complicated. Perhaps let me give some top tips to help you maintain a most healthy gut.

• Drink that Water! We hear this every day from almost everywhere. Staying hydrated does a lot for our bodies, in this case, keeping things tight in your gut.
• Sleep Honey! 7-8 hours should be a bare minimum. You have to allow your body to rest well, so your body can properly digest all that food you’ve been eating. And stop with the eating late at night. Just stop!
• Take a probiotic. This is just a fancy word for good bacteria. There’s food that has probiotic naturally, like yoghurt. Yes! Plain Yoghurt is a great source of probiotics. Or just go to your nearest pharmacy and get a good probiotic supplement.
• Change your diet. Too much sugar and too much fat is doing you more harm than good. Get into healthier eating habits. Eat more fibre. Fibre is great for your gut. Eat your fruits and vegetables. Make conscious health decisions and your body will start to feel lighter and more manageable.

So I’m pretty sure I’ve covered the gist of it. Your gut is such an important part of your health. If you didn’t know, now you do. Here’s to eating, sleeping and being gut healthy.