Gut Health – Why You Need It

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of a healthy gut! It truly has such a big impact on our overall health. If you suffer from low energy, food cravings, skin problems, hormonal imbalance, digestive discomfort, I highly recommend you consider the health of your gut! 

Why are we suffering from an unhealthy gut flora?

Good health starts with a healthy gut. Over 70% of our immune system is in our gut. More than likely our digestive system gets compromised by many factors such as poor dietary choices, chemicals, additives, artificial sweeteners, antibiotics, stress, allergies, pesticides, to name a few. All these factors destroy the good bacteria we need in our intestinal tract. Many of us have taken antibiotics once or twice, or even numerous times in our lifetime. Antibiotics not only destroy the good bacteria, but they also destroy the good bacteria. We need good bacteria in our digestive system to protect us from illness and chronic disease. Having a healthy gut is also key to proper digestion, absorption of essential nutrients, and becoming a fat burning machine.

How does this affect us?

Poor dietary choices, stress, antibiotics strip the good bacteria from our intestines, this gives the bad bacteria an opportunity to thrive. These unwanted bad bacteria can lead to all sorts of health issues and cause inflammation in the digestive tract, leading to a weakened immune system, food allergies, leaky gut, sluggish digestion, poor nutrient absorption, depression, and chronic disease.

Symptoms commonly related to an unhealthy gut:

• Bloating
• Constipation, diarrhoea
• Fatigue
• Food Intolerances
• Acne
• Allergies
• Sugar cravings
• Trouble losing weight
• Autoimmune disease
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Blood sugar dysregulation
• Malabsorption
• Anxiety
• Depression

If you have been experiencing a few of these symptoms for a while, you may want to seek some support for addressing and restoring your gut health. When healing the gut most people find their symptoms disappear, such as cravings are gone (especially for sugar), energy is increased, sleep improves. Other benefits include improved digestion, a stronger immune system, weight loss, hormonal balance, and clearer skin.

Start the healing process.

I recommend seeking help from a holistic nutritionist or naturopath who will be able to assess your current diet and lifestyle. We (certified holistic practitioners) are able to see where you need to make changes or modifications in order to improve your gut flora. The transition to healing your gut will take motivation and dedication, but the payoff could be life changing!

Here are a few tips you can take today to improve your gut flora:

• Eliminate all sugars from your diet.
• Repopulate your gut with fermented foods which will help to put in the good bacteria and boost your immunity. Good sources include sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, miso, tempeh, kombucha.
• Reduce stress in your life.
• Focus on eating real natural whole foods (lots of vegetables, small amounts of fruit, good quality protein, healthy fats, and whole grains).
• Reduce possible offenders – any foods you may be reacting to, dairy, gluten, wheat.

 If you would like to learn more about alternative healing methods that can help you, book a FREE 30 minute consultation in with me today.

For more advice on digestive health check out

• Digestive Health
• Kick Start Your Stomach Acid
• How to Beat The Bloat