While most might think that eating right and exercising are the most important aspects of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, the condition of your health depends on the condition of your gut. Not only does it absorb necessary nutrients from food, it is the hub of your immune system. Every single cell depends on nutrients for energy, life, and reproduction. Unhealthy cells equal an unhealthy you. Your food is where these nutrients should be coming from. 

Have you:

Taken antibiotics or other medications? Antibiotics might kill the bacteria that is making you sick, but it will kill the good bacteria as well. Good bacteria helps your body combat the bad bacteria which is an important part of your immune system. Always make sure you research the medication subscribed to you, and that it will actually be a benefit to your health. Many doctors admit that antibiotics are over prescribed, so be sure that you really need them.

Eaten processed foods? Eating these foods will compromise your immune system and harm your gut. What is processed foods? Food and non-food items that are chemically changed, striped of nutrients and fiber, and have been added to. Processed foods not only starve us on life needed nutrients, they also add to the destruction of your gut.

Had high stress levels? Stress puts your body in the fight or flight mode, which will contribute to many health concerns including your gut health. Taking steps to reduce stress levels will not only improve your life but also the health of your gut. A healthy gut produces many chemicals that impact your emotional well-being both physically and emotionally. Your gut produces the majority of the feel-good chemicals that your body naturally makes. Making changes to your lifestyle to eliminate stress will prove to dramatically impact your gut health and will help you work toward healthier gut direction.  

Eaten a low-fiber diet? I like to think of fiber as a broom. Fiber has so many benefits and one of them is that it helps to sweep your digestive system. It also binds with toxins and sugars and helps to eliminate them or slow down them down so they have less impact on your system. I personally work towards consuming at least 30, if not more, grams of fiber a day.  However, work towards adding fiber into your diet and then adjust to your needs – the most important thing is that you are consuming more.

Do you have:

Acid reflux, indigestion, poor digestion, stomach aches, bloating, heart burn, indigestion, undigested food, fatigue, or Gerd? This might be a sign that what you are putting into your mouth is holding back your gut’s ability to work properly. Medications, and the ideas mentioned above, impact the production of acid in your stomach. Most think that acid is the bad gut, but it is vital to the proper workings of your stomach. Most of the time when acid reflux is present, there is a lack of acid and not an overabundance. Take note of your reaction to certain foods and remove them from your diet if they cause you distress.

Stomach pain, the feeling of fullness or gas?
These can also stem from an acid issue but commonly start in the intestines. When your food is not properly digested, starting in the stomach, your intestines have a hard time doing their job. Therefore, they are working hard to overcompensate in the process of digestion that didn’t previously happen. This causes digestion to happen in the wrong place at the wrong time.

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, your digestive health is compromised. 

In order to get your gut back in shape, you will have to make some changes. The first and most important change to make is creating a plan. Think about your routine. What parts of that routine are helping you and which are not? Make a list of the things that you want to change. Visit that list several times a day at first to remind yourself of your goal. Then start by replacing processed foods with high-nutrient, high-fiber foods. Become aware of the triggers that cause stress in your life. Plan ahead on how to handle them when they come along. Be sure that the medications that you are on are truly necessary. Add probiotics to your daily routine to give your gut flora a boost.

The quality of your health is worth it. The quality of your life is worth it.

Is your food feeding your gut and cells with nutrients? If not, do you have the guts to do something about it?