Happy Gut, Happy Life: Fun Facts and Simple Tips for Gut Health

Gut health. It's everywhere these days. From kombucha commercials to celebrity endorsements of probiotic supplements, keeping your gut happy seems to be the new health craze. But beyond the buzzwords and trendy diets, what exactly is going on down there? And more importantly, does it truly matter?

Most importantly, optimizing our gut health is critical to preventing disease.  It houses most of our immune system … so maintaining the integrity of our gut, and our gut lining, is essential to staying healthy.

We know there’s a lot of press out there regarding our gut and microbiome …  prebiotics and probiotics … what to eat and what not to eat. 

We know when we’ve eaten something that doesn’t quite agree with us, because our gut lets us know, signaling through bloating, gas, burping, cramping, diarrhea or constipation.  Even brain fog and achy joints.

But unless you have an acute problem indicating digestive issues or disease, your gut health is typically not something that you’ll ever talk to your doctor about.

Yet, like everything in minding our health, it’s important to be aware and mindful of ways to improve “the garden” that exists within us. And given the predominant types of foods that we're all exposed to constantly - more processed, fast, and easy to buy and consume, a majority of us probably have a bit of an unbalanced gut - even if we're not aware of it. 

So what does that mean?  It means that we just need to pay attention … and think about the ways we can own and protect our health.  

Because every time we make a beneficial decision to eat predominantly real whole foods, we're supporting our gut microbiome.

Everyone of course thinks of the gut as a digestive organ, but it is also a defensive organ, protecting us from viruses and pathogens that we are exposed to.  

When we open up our mouth and put in a forkful of food, that food starts a journey through our body - the gut’s super highway.  The gut starts at our mouth … and ends at our anus.  It’s essentially a hollow tube that runs through our body.

Here’s a few interesting facts about our gut:

Our gut is also discerning, and when working optimally, decides what can be absorbed into the body, and what should be disposed of.  The perceived “garbage” just continues to move through this protective tunnel, and is eventually eliminated from our bodies. 

Our gut lining is very thin - only one cell thick - but it is a warrior at keeping the bad stuff out of our blood stream. This can include viruses, pollen, bacteria, toxins and pesticides and poorly digested food particles.  

Dr. Robynne Chutkan, a noted gastroenterologist, compares the gut to a bouncer at a bar.  Dr. Elroy Vajdani, a neurologist, also picks up on that same line of thinking, when talking about zonulin, a protein that modulates the permeability of tight junctions between cells of the wall of the digestive tract:

“If tight junctions are the bouncers of the gut, zonulin is the doorman who can be bribed into allowing unwanted elements into the premises. Bacterial or chemical toxins can cause zonulin to malfunction, opening the paracellular spaces wide to allow pathogens and oversized protein molecules to enter."

And when that happens, the bad stuff that enters into our system from the top of the gut isn’t eliminated.  Small holes pierce the gut lining, and some bad stuff can start working it's way though the damaged gut lining into our bloodstream.  

Ever heard of leaky gut?  Well, there you have it.  Because what typically leaks through is not expected or recognized, our bodies produce an inflammatory response.  Our body expects nutrients, not chemicals, for example.

And when this continues on an ongoing basis, it can lead to a long list of illnesses including auto-immune disorders like diabetes and arthritis, allergies, asthma, acne, fibromyalgia, and a multitude of digestion disorders like intestinal bowel syndrome. 

So the key question becomes, what do we do, or eat, that potentially damages this gut lining? 

Like most everything, so much starts with the food we eat - what we choose to put at the end of our fork. 

Unfortunately gluten is a big one.  While it's not something we want to hear, since most of us love crusty baked breads and pasta, it's a fact that we need to be aware of.

Gluten is in so much of the food available to us - including cereals, barley, bulgur, baked goods, crackers, couscous, farro, some oats, rye, spelt and wheat.  It also show up in many other types of food - like BBQ Sauce, ketchup, chewing gum, lunch meats, soy sauce, to just get started.

How do we recognize gluten on labels?  If a product is not labeled gluten-free, but contains one of these ingredients, gluten is present:  starch, modified food starch, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, hydrolyzed plant protein, textured vegetable protein, dextrin, maltodextrin, glucose syrup, caramel, malt flavoring, malt extract, malt vinegar.

Another thing to recognize about gluten, and especially since so much of it stems from our wheat crops, is that all gluten containing foods, unless labeled organic, will also come along with chemicals/pesticides like glyphosate (commercial name: Round-Up).

Certain people absolutely have a gluten intolerance (celiac disease sufferers for example), but gluten is a problem for all of us, especially since it is a protein that can not be completely digested.  And unfortunately it is a protein that raises our levels of zonulin, which then loosens the tightness of our gut wall. 
 
Alcohol can also damage the gut lining, as well as artificial sweeteners, refined sugar, ultra processed foods, emulsifiers, chemicals and pesticides.

Antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (like aspirin, Advil, Motrin) also mess with our guts.  So many of us want to get an antibiotic prescription the minute we feel something coming on.  

But take a step back, and discuss this with your doctor.  Do you really need it? What is the risk of NOT taking the antibiotic?  If there is no risk, other than dealing with feeling lousy for an extra couple of days, consider taking that route.  

Antibiotics are extremely disruptive to our gut bacteria.  If you do end up taking one, also ask your doctor about a probiotic to complement the course so there is less of a gut impact. 

Bottomline, as much as possible, try to minimize the following:

And what to prioritize.  Just real whole food.  Lots of fiber (all vegetables and fruit), nuts, seeds, and legumes, wild fatty fish, clean sources of animal protein, extra virgin olive oil.  Again, just real whole food.  Not from a box.  Best cooked at home.  Because that's the only way to really know everything you're eating.  You're in control. 

Our gut also loves fermented food:

So think through ways you can optimize your gut health. Like everything related to our health, it’s a process, and a process that we need to pay attention to.

If you feel like you're experiencing digestive stress, or struggling with eating optimally, feel free to reach out.  I can help.  And would love to.