Disclosure: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links, meaning that I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please refer to my Privacy Policy for more information.
What will you get from this blogpost:
- Understand the basic function of the gut and its main task in your body.
- Discover how your gut is speaking to you all the time and why it is so essential for your health to listen.
- Boost your gut health with 8 easy to follow steps.
The Gut is speaking to you
The gut is a complex but very important organ. It has an area of approximately 30-40 square meters and is 20 times larger than the main surface of our external body. Researchers such as Dr. Emeran Mayer (The Mind-Gut Connection) say that the gut is your second brain and can live a life separate from your actual brain. Meaning, that the gut can make decisions on its own, without actually consulting your brain or receiving direct orders from it. So, similarly to your brain, your gut is constantly speaking to you.
80% of your health is in the gut
The main task of the gut is to provide the whole organism with nutrients, minerals, and vital substances and to remove harmful toxins and waste from the body.
It is important for you to know that the condition of the gut reflects the way you live your life and the meaning you give to your life. Indeed, it is said that the gut is 80% of your immune system – in other words, your gut is 80% responsible for how healthy you are as a whole.
The condition of the gut reflects the way you live your life, as well as the meaning you give to your life.
As if that were not enough responsibility for your gut, it also processes all the impressions, experiences, and ideas you have ever come into contact with. A good lifestyle, meaning lots of positive and loving experiences in your life, will leave your body in harmony. A bad lifestyle, on the other hand, with a lot of stress, trauma of any kind, or other negativity, can lead to blockages, which in turn can cause health problems, such as:
- Bloating
- Ulcerative Colitis
- Constipation
- Crohn’s disease
- Depression
- Dysbiosis
- Hemorrhoids
- Helicobacter pylori and stomach pain
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Leaky gut syndrome
- and many more
Understanding Your Gut Function
Before we dive deeper into how the gut affects your overall health and well-being, it’s important to understand the basic functions of the gut.
The Beginning
The mouth is the first part of the gut (gastrointestinal tract). As soon as you eat something, this food enters the stomach through the esophagus. From there, the food, which has already been broken down into tiny pieces, continues into the small intestine.
Where Most of it Happens
The small intestine measures about 4-5 meters and has a diameter of 2.5-4 cm, only half as thick as the large intestine. However, the small intestine is the most important section of the digestive tract. Here, the food is broken down into its smallest building blocks (simple sugars, amino acids, and fatty acids) with the help of digestive enzymes and absorbed through the mucosa of the small intestine into the bloodstream or lymph.
The Finish-Line
The large intestine (also called the colon) is the next station of the now very nutrient-poor food pulp. The colon is about 2 meters long and has a diameter of about 6-8 cm. In the large intestine, the water and electrolytes (dissolved minerals) contained in the nutrient-poor food pulp are removed.
This happens because:
- Stool formation takes place here.
- Valuable minerals are reabsorbed into the bloodstream.
Why should you pay attention when your gut is speaking to you?
As you learned, all the food you eat is broken down into a simple form in the gut that can enter the bloodstream and be distributed as nutrients throughout the body.
However, this is only possible with a healthy digestive system. Hence, to detect possible diseases or defects, you must pay attention to when your gut is showing symptoms – or well, is speaking to you.
What if the gut is not speaking to you?
There’s a simple answer to that.
If your gut isn’t speaking to you, it usually means it’s satisfied and in its best condition – you’ve got a healthy and vibrant gut!
A healthy gut usually functions properly when you ideally have a bowel movement two to three times a day, each time after a meal, in a well-formed consistency that allows you to empty your stool without much straining. In other words, this daily bowel movement should be free of symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation, and/or loose stools.
In addition, there should be no other symptoms such as:
- abdominal pain,
- autoimmune diseases,
- bloating,
- constipation,
- hemorrhoids,
- inflammatory reactions,
- skin disorders,
- and other health problems, including those mentioned at the very beginning of this blog post.
How is your gut speaking to you?
While a healthy gut is somewhat quiet, an unhealthy gut speaks to you in a variety of ways, presenting illnesses and symptoms throughout the body, including:
Functional Gut Diseases
Functional gut diseases are digestive disorders that cannot be diagnosed with an organic cause in conventional medicine. Those affected are usually told that it is a purely psychosomatic disorder and that nothing can be done except take medication. They may experience symptoms such as bloating, diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal pain. In many cases, these complaints are caused by leaky gut syndrome and dysbiosis.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
IBS is one of the functional gut disorders. Oddly enough, most people do not have IBS when they are diagnosed, but rather have another condition, such as food intolerance, which can manifest itself as “fake” IBS and is treatable. The symptoms that arise include common digestive complaints (diarrhea, constipation, etc.) that all occur at once.
The cause of “real” IBS is usually antibiotic therapy or serious trauma such as childhood abuse that has led to emotional conflict and stress.
Allergies and Autoimmune Diseases
If one already suffers from leaky gut syndrome, undigested particles (especially protein particles) or other allergens can enter the bloodstream. The body reacts to this. However, since it is unaware of these particles, it classifies them as intruders and forms antibodies against them.
This is how autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, and multiple sclerosis develop, as well as a variety of allergies ranging from food allergies to allergies to food additives, but also pollen, animal hair particles, and skin problems of all kinds.
Hemorrhoids
Every person has hemorrhoids. They are erectile tissues that are supplied with blood by veins and arteries and are found in the area of the lower rectum. The function of hemorrhoids is to seal the gut so that gases and intestinal contents cannot escape unintentionally.
When blood accumulates and cannot drain, knot-like bulges form in the mucosa with the consequences of pain, itching, bleeding, frequent bowel movements, anal enzymes, cracks in the anus, or weeping. That is the sick hemorrhoids.
Emotional and mental illnesses
Your second brain is in constant contact with the emotional center in the brain and transmits to it all the information about the situation in the digestive system. Everything that ends up in the gut affects your emotional state. For example, people who frequently eat synthetic foods often suffer from aggression, lack of concentration, and bad mood. Depression or autism often have a significant connection with gut health.
8 ways to boost your gut health
The health of your gut is an enormously important part of your overall health. If you take care of it, you will have nothing but benefits. Not just for your gut, but for every aspect of your life.
The following 8 tips I’ve compiled for you will help you feel healthier overall and are very easy to implement into your life. But that’s only true if you’re actually willing to take action.
1. A healthy, alkaline-rich diet
Eat enough green and colored vegetables, fresh fruits of all kinds, herbs, nuts, and omega-3 fatty acids such as chia seeds, hemp oil, or flax oil every day.
2. Drink water
Drink at least 2.5 liters of still water each day.
3. Avoid fatty convenience foods
Ready-made products are full of unhealthy fats and unnatural sugars and additives. Ideally, you should remove these from your diet completely.
4. Superfoods
Eat or drink superfoods daily. This could be green smoothies, grass juices like wheatgrass, or almond milk.
5. Eliminate alcohol, nicotine and caffeine
Eliminate alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine as often as you can. Ideally, quit them altogether.
6. Gut cleanse and gut rebuild
If you are not familiar with these, I recommend doing them only with a therapist. Even if you are healthy, it is recommended to do a gut cleanse and gut rebuild at least once a year.
7. Stress management
Learn new relaxation techniques that will help you regulate your stress. This can be anything from meditation to yoga or taking a walk in nature.
8. Daily exercise
Exercise is essential to your health and well-being. Move at least 30 minutes a day.
If you start taking care of your gut, it will help you live the healthy life you dream of. Why else would your gut be 80% responsible for how you feel every day of your life?
0 Comments