Why are Naturopaths obsessed with 'Gut Health'
If you have even seen a naturopath or other holistic practitioner like a clinical nutritionist you might have noticed that we talk about 'The Gut' A LOT, and ask so so many questions about digestion and what happens at the other end.
Perhaps you have heard that 'Gut Health' is really important and that probiotics are 'good for you' but perhaps you are left wondering how the hell it has anything to do with e.g. skin health, your immune system, moods, autoimmune conditions, your low iron, hormone imbalances and so on?
Well the overly simplified answer is - EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED!
To start to understand how the health of the gut can influence sooo many things its important to wind it back a bit to talk about the base functions of the gut.
Breakdown food - the role of the stomach is to take when we consume and effectively turn it into a soup like consistency - think of that steak you start with and how much work is required to do that (with the help of stomach acids)
Facilitate absorption of nutrients - from the broken down food
Eliminate waste products - both from the food we consumes but also one of the major ways we remove hormones and toxins from the body
Keep a barrier between our food and the internals of our body - eg our blood and organs
Did you know that the gastrointestinal tract 'the gut' is considered to be outside our body!!!
If ANY of these are compromised - it can lead to boarder reaching impacts such as:
Nutrient insufficiencies/ deficiencies
Symptoms of food sensitives or histamine reactions
Intestinal hyperpermeability, inflammation, skin conditions
This is not an exhaustive list but just a few ways it may present.
As you can start to see is that if there is an imbalance anywhere along this chain then it can start to upset the balance as a whole.
The other BIG piece of the gut puzzle has to do with the microbiome - which refers to the microbes (bacteria, fungi, virus') that we house in our digestive track, we evolved with them and there are many that we require for good heath... There are also some that do no harm if kept in check! If they are not - ensue negative health impacts!
So the question may be, how to we keep the good guys happy?
Fibre!
They feed on what we consume - if we eats lots of whole foods, lots of veggies and lots of fibre rich foods e.g. lentils, legumes, whole grain etc - this feeds our good guys!
The flip side:
If we eat highly processed, high sugar, nutrient devoid food - think commercial breads, cakes, pastries food quality fats like vegetable oils - and the ultimate combo - fast food... This feeds those not so good guys, their populations increase and may not be kept in check anymore --> perhaps more inflammation, perhaps altered motility (aka changes to bowel motions) and so on.
The reach of the gut, its health and its changes can be through of like a web - vast and interconnected!
This is just a snippet of how the gut works and what it influences, but gives a snapshot as to why 'The Gut' is worthy of our attention.
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