There can be many reasons for symptoms of IBS and weight gain, but more often than not the causes stem from poor diet and an imbalance in our gut microbiome. Your gut flora plays a crucial role in maintaining your overall health including your immune system, your efficiency in digesting food, assimilating nutrients, detoxifying and preventing the growth of harmful bacteria, yeast and parasites.
Many of you may not know that I grew up on a farm by the river Nile. The abundance of microbes from an early age, coupled with a diet rich in homegrown and home cooked foods meant that I’ve been lucky to have what I would call ‘a strong gut’.
But life has occasionally impacted this over the years. I find that if we’re away on holiday, or we’re eating out a lot I may get heartburn. Or if I become unwell, it can often occur because my gut health isn’t optimal. Did you know that 70% of our immune system lives in our gut!? And so, it is more important now than ever to look after the environment within our gut.
5 Reasons You Might be Experiencing Gut Problems.
1 – Consuming too many processed foods, additives, preservatives and toxins from convenience foods and treats.
Remove and reduce these where possible. Know your triggers and if you suspect certain foods really don’t agree with you, remove them and see how you feel!
2 – Not getting enough nutrients, enzymes or bitter foods to stimulate and nourish your gut.
Include fresh pineapple, citrus and apple cider vinegar to stimulate digestive secretions. Kimchi, sauerkraut and pickles will also help, as will bitter foods such as rocket, watercress and spinach.
3 – Neglecting your beneficial bacteria and letting the bad guys take over!
Probiotics are live bacteria that may improve digestive symptoms. They can help with the digestion of food, absorption of nutrients, reducing insulin resistance, obesity, immune health and even brain function.
4 – Not taking care of your gut lining.
The lining of our gut is only one cell thick and has the ability to repair itself every 3 days from the onslaught of dietary and environmental factors that we throw at it.
Protein that includes good amounts of collagen and glucosamine helps to restore the gut. Consider bone broth soups as well as healing nutrients such as zinc from seafood and pumpkin seeds.
5 – Keep your mind and body in balance
Stress may be affecting your gut health, which sends signals up your vagus nerve to your brain. These signals from the gut could then make you feel even more stressed.
Practise mindfulness, especially when eating. Make mealtimes a place of joy and relaxation and try to savour every mouthful. Aim to eat your evening meal by 7pm and give your digestion a break until the next day.
If you are struggling with any of these things then you can book a free discovery call with me here, where I will happily guide you through some of the solutions that I can offer in my 1-2-1 sessions.
To learn more about enhancing your overall health and well-being after reading this article, get in touch with our specialists right away. We’re always happy to speak with prospective clients about health enhancements and other comparable well-being solutions as the best nutritionists Poole has to offer. Download our eBook to find out more about ways to improve your health and well-being. We’ll respond as soon as we can to any inquiries you submit through our online contact form.