Is your digestion affecting your health?
HAPPY GUT, HAPPY MIND, HAPPY HEALTH, HAPPY YOU
Hippocrates believed all disease begins in the gut.
So how is your digestion? Do you open your bowels every day? Twice a day? More than that?Too often? Not enough? Is there pain or discomfort? Is there urgency? Ok, ok, ok. I know people get squeamish when talking about poo. As a Naturopath, I have got so used to talking about poo because it is an essential part of my consultation, whatever your symptoms are. It tells me so much about your health, how well you are digesting your food and whether you are metabolising the nutrients well enough and also how well you are efficiently eliminating toxicity.
Two in 5 people in the UK have IBS and get episodes six times a year or more. IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome is such a broad term that covers many digestive imbalances. It affects people of all ages, even children but does affect more women than men. It’s a complex health issue to resolve and often is something people put up with for many years before seeking help. So do not ignore or put up with digestive health symptoms, it is essential to your health.
So why is having a good bowel function important to our health:
All The Good Stuff from our food is absorbed into the small intestine including proteins, carbohydrates, fats and water as well as vitamins and minerals.
All The Bad Stuff from our food should be eliminated efficiently through our bowels or they can be reabsorbed into the blood stream.
Water is absorbed into the large intestine which keeps us hydrated.
70% of our immune cells are found in the lining of the gut wall.
The neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine are made in the gut - these are our happy hormones.
All those nutrients are needed to fuel us through the day.
Those nutrients are also used for every cellular function in the body. They help our organs to work efficiently. They help us to make hormones, regulate our body clock, help us to heal etc.
It is not just about what passes through our gut, it’s essentially about what nutrients are absorbed and metabolised from that food that actually keeps our body functioning optimally.
You may well be eating a healthy diet but are you absorbing and metabolising those nutrients?
Do you have a digestive imbalance?
Are you constipated? Ideally you want to be opening your bowels x1 - x3 times a day.
Are you opening you bowels more than x3 times a day?
You they very loose, liquidey, or slimey?
Are your stools pale in colour or even with a tone of green?
Do you suffer with constipation?
Do you suffer with diarrhoea?
Or do you sometimes alternate between constipation and diarrhoea?
Do you suffer with bloating?
Do you get acid reflux?
Do you have excess flatulence, especially if it is very smelly?
Do you get trapped wind, colic pain, tummy aches or cramps?
Do you have an urgent need to go to the toilet when you do need to go?
Do you lack energy?
Do you suffer with nausea?
Getting to the root cause is essential in treating IBS and I believe it’s a many faceted approach that works best. Seeking out any underlying issues and adding in things that improve and regulate the function of the gut can make all the difference. Everyone is different and symptoms can not only vary, but can fluctuate with some days worse than others.
If we don’t provide our body with the right fuel, or our body can’t absorb what it needs from the food we eat then we will get ill. Simple as that.
Poor digestive health can lead to:
Inflammation
Fatigue
Poor immunity
Nutritional deficiencies
Autoimmune conditions
Poor mental wellbeing; depression, anxiety, stress etc
Hair loss
Skin issues
Hormone imbalance
Poor sleep
Slow healing
What's causing the problem?
A physical issue can take some detective work but things to think about are:
Are you hydrated?
Is your diet lacking fibre?
Are you eating something that is irritating the gut?
Is there enough good bacteria in the digestive tract?
Is there too much bad bacteria, yeast overgrowth or possible parasite?
Have you recently had a sickness or diarrhoea bug in the last 6 months?
Have you taken antibiotics in the last year?
Are there a lack of digestive enzymes?
Is there low stomach acid?
Any issues with the liver or gall bladder?
Are you exercising a lot?
Any nutrient deficiencies?
Malabsorption issues?
Is there inflammation in the gut?
Could there be issues with a leaky gut where the intestinal wall is impaired and toxins are reabsorbed into the bloodstream?
As Hippocrates stated, all disease begins in the gut. It is much easier to treat a digestive imbalance than it is to treat a disease.
If you think you need some help to improve your digestive health then consider booking a consultation and find out how Naturopathy can resolve your health issues naturally. To find out more how my consultations work click here