The gut has a direct influence on all aspects of your body, be it digestion, mental or immune function. Hence, a healthy gut is crucial for your body’s optimal function. And an unhealthy gut can have severe consequences on your body and cause numerous harmful digestive symptoms.
Below are some signs of the unhealthy gut to look out for, their causes, and some ways to help you alleviate those symptoms.
What Does A Healthy Gut Look Like?
Before discovering the signs of an unhealthy gut, it is crucial to know what makes up a healthy gut:
The gut function includes taking in food, digesting it, absorbing nutrients, and excreting the waste. But how do you know if it is working optimally? A key sign of your gut health is your stool. If you have one to two bowel movements daily, and the stools are easy to pass, consider your gut being healthy.
Note that there should be no symptoms like constipation, diarrhea, or loose stools. Besides that, you know your gut is healthy if your stomach remains free of symptoms such as abdominal pain, gas, bloating, etc. Hence, your chances of getting digestive disorders, autoimmune diseases, and other related health conditions are very low.
Signs Your Gut Health Is Compromised
An unhealthy gut will exhibit various symptoms in your body. Some of them include:
- Stomach Discomfort
Imbalance in the gut bacteria can lead to conditions like gas, bloating, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, bowel irregularity, etc., which are signs of an upset stomach. And these can also be symptoms of digestive disorders like IBS. Hence, you should never ignore such signs and get the best medical consultation to get them treated.
- Fatigue
Study says that chronic fatigue can cause imbalances in the microorganisms of the digestive tract, including healthy bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Chronic fatigue can also cause gut inflammation and lead to IBS and other intestinal problems.
- Allergies
An unhealthy gut and an imbalanced gut flora can cause inflammatory skin issues like psoriasis, acne, and other forms of skin irritations and allergies. This is because the gut and the brain are directly connected. Furthermore, it can also cause food and respiratory allergies by impacting nutrition and even respiration.
- Sugar Cravings
Different gut microorganisms thrive on different foods. For instance, some good bacteria (gut probiotics) need dietary fiber, and gut yeast needs sugar. If you have been craving too much sugar recently, you might have excess yeast in the gut. This can lead to unhealthy gut habits and increase the concentration of harmful gut bacteria.
- Effects Of Gut-Brain Connection
The gut and the brain are closely linked and directly influence each other. Hence disturbances and inflammation in the gut can be potential causes of conditions like anxiety, depression, mood issues, and even migraines. If you face these symptoms, get the best medical consultation as soon as possible and get them checked.
- Other Signs
There are some other issues that an unhealthy gut can cause, such as autoimmune conditions (ulcers, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.), unintentional weight changes, sleep disturbances, difficulty in concentrating and learning, immune imbalance, bad breath, etc.
Common Causes of Gut Imbalance
Now that you know the signs of an unhealthy gut, what exactly causes them? Improper dietary habits are the major cause of imbalances in the gut. Consuming excess oily/greasy, spicy, and salty foods decreases digestion, promotes harmful intestinal bacteria, and causes obesity.
This process gets further impacted by the consumption of processed foods and artificial sugar. Besides improper food, other factors behind an unhealthy gut include stress, lack of sleep, alcohol consumption, food intolerances, and medication side effects.
How To Improve Gut Health Naturally?
The first and foremost strategy for achieving a healthy gut is to eliminate the foods that you cannot tolerate, cause a reaction in your system, and/or trigger your symptoms and adopt healthy dietary habits.
Ayurveda doctors and healthcare experts recommend following an Ayurvedic diet, which includes eating fresh fruits and vegetables and getting all the necessary nutrients for the body, such as dietary fiber, pro, and prebiotics, digestive enzymes, etc.
It is best to replace processed foods and sugar with complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, lean proteins, and high fiber vegetables to encourage good bacteria growth and avoid gut imbalance.
Moreover, you must know that the gut houses good bacteria called probiotics, which are crucial for good digestion. And certain foods have specialized fibers called prebiotics that help the probiotics grow, multiply, and thrive. Hence, Ayurvedic doctors prescribe consuming prebiotic-rich foods, such as flaxseeds, asparagus, green bananas, chicory roots, etc.
On the other hand, probiotic-rich foods balance the gut microorganisms, alleviate gastrointestinal symptoms like gas and bloating, and provide nutritional support for digestive health. Some probiotic-rich sources include fermented foods, apple cider vinegar, tempeh, kimchi, etc.
In addition to that, to help you manage digestive disorders and their symptoms, medical experts recommend bilwadi churna, a potent Ayurvedic medicine effective in alleviating conditions like IBS, diarrhea, ulcerative colitis, dysentery, etc.
It is a combination of potent herbs that not only alleviates gastrointestinal health conditions but also gives your gut health a significant boost. Some benefits of bilwadi churna include:
- Elimination of harmful microorganisms from the digestive tract
- Stimulation of digestive enzymes
- Maintenance of acid-base balance for better digestion
- Enhancement in nutrient absorption by the intestines
the invaluable herb Vijaya, which exhibits robust anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. Helps in providing significant relief from abdominal pain and inflammation in the gut by binding with and activating the cannabinoid receptors in the gut.
Besides that, it is very important to drink sufficient water, exercise regularly, get enough sleep, and include stress-relieving activities in your daily schedule such as meditation and yoga. Such practices go a long way in supporting your gut health and improving your overall quality of life.
To know more about the right strategies you should adopt to improve your gut health and get personalized dietary and lifestyle consultation from Ayurveda experts, contact Hempstreet Medicare!
References
https://www.everydayhealth.com/digestive-health/signs-of-unhealthy-gut-and-how-to-fix-it/
