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What is the Importance of Gut Health and How Do I Improve It?

When looking after our body and trying to improve our overall health, one factor keep in mind is our gut. We need to understand the importance of gut health and how it affects both our physical and mental health as this is the foundation of our overall health.

The gut includes the stomach, intestines and colon and all together, this is known as your gastrointestinal system. It digests the food we eat, absorbs any nutrients and then excretes the waste. For us to have a healthy gut, essentially, we should have a healthy gut microbiome and limited digestive issues. While the majority of what affects gut health comes from the foods we eat, individuals can use supplements to help in their journey of maintaining a healthy guy.

If you’re experiences digestive systems like gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhoea and heartburn, sleep disturbance or fatigue, fluctuating moods or emotions like stress, low mood or anxiety or keep catching infectious illnesses like the common cold, these are signs of an unhealthy gut.

The Gut-Health Connection

The bacteria and other micro-organisms in our gut — there are 200 and 1,000 different species of bacteria, viruses and fungi in here — are known our gut microbiome. Some of these bacteria may actually contribute to some diseases, while some microorganisms are harmful to our health. The majority, however, are beneficial and necessary for our overall body health. So, what is gut health? Good gut health is having a balance between this good and bad gut bacteria.

What does the bacteria in our gut do? They help break down food and turn it into nutrients that our body can use to sustain itself.

Digestive health

An unhealthy gut can contribute to conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It can also cause gut dysbiosis, where there is an imbalance of microbes, can cause symptoms like bloating, cramps and abdominal pain. Thankfully, certain beneficial bacteria in probiotics and yogurt can improve gut health by sealing gaps between intestinal cells and preventing disease-causing bacteria from attaching to the intestinal wall.

The gut also removes waste and toxins from the body. When we have an unhealthy gut, this process is hampered, leading to problems like fatigue, chronic illnesses and body-wide inflammation. Symptoms like brain fog, diarrhoea, constipation, gas and joint pain are also common.

Immune system function

80 percent of our imune system is in the gut, which means that if our gut isn’t healthy, then our immune system and hormones won’t function properly, and we will get sick. This is how autoimmune diseases, like Hashimoto’s Disease and Type 2 Diabetes often begin. The gut may also help control blood sugar, which could affect developing type 1 diabetes as children.

Mental health and cognitive function

Surprisingly, the brain is referred to as the ‘second gut,’ so if your gut is unhealthy, your brain also suffers. The gut microbiome can benefit our brain’s health by producing chemicals (neurotransmitters), as well as by helping control the messages sent to our brain through the millions of nerves connecting the brain and the gut. Serotonin is an antidepressant neurotransmitter that’s mostly made in our gut, which means a healthy gut helps with a healthy mind.

Skin health

Our gut microbiome plays an important role in the type of skin disorders we can develop. As the microbiome regulates our immune system, any imbalance in the skin or the gut can alter our immune response, allowing skin diseases like atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, acne vulgaris, dandruff and even skin cancer to develop.

Weight management

Studies on twins revealed that differences in microbiomes were not genetic, and when the microbiome of an obese twin was transferred to mice, they gained more weight than those with the microbiome of a non-obese twin. The study shows that microbiome dysbiosis may contribute to weight gain. An unhealthy gut microbiome can also interfere with the signals sent to your brain about feeling hungry or full. These microorganisms inside our gut can affect the digestion, absorption and metabolism of food.

Factors Affecting Gut Health

Diet and nutrition

The foods we eat can impact the type and balance of bacteria found in our gut. Eating too many ultra-processed foods can harm the beneficial bacteria in the gut and contribute to or cause inflammation in the body. So, to have a healthy gut, we need to eat nutritious foods to combat the bad bacteria in the gut. These include fibre rich foods like whole grains and vegetables, as they help regulate the bacteria in the gut and enable digestion.

By having a balanced and diverse diet, you should be able to maintain optimal gut health. Limit ultra-processed foods like deli meats, sweet desserts and packaged snacks, and aim to eat at least 30 different types of plant-based foods a week.

There are a range of gut health foods that can help improve your overall gut health if you’re noticing symptoms, like eating foods high in fibre, probiotics and prebiotics. Some other changes to make are to drink plenty of water as it assists with the breakdown of food, eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly, and eat fermented foods like yoghurt, kimchi and kombucha as these contain healthy gut bacteria (mainly Lactobacilli).

Stress

Stress can increase intestinal permeability (leaky gut), tipping the scales toward an imbalance of more bad bacteria than good in the gut. A study found that couples in troubled marriages had a greater gut permeability due to the stress involved than those who were not having marriage problems. Try to manage your stress by exercising regularly, getting adequate sleep, socialising, using relaxation techniques like meditation and eating well, as this will benefit your overall health.

Smoking and drinking alcohol

Alcohol and smoking have been found to contribute to changes in the stomach, as well as affect the risk H pylori-related disorders such as gastric cancer. Due to the body trying to remove the toxins from the alcohol, this depletes the anti-inflammatory bacteria from the body, eventually resulting in intestinal damage.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics kill the bad bacteria making us sick, but they also kill some of the good bacteria living in our gut. This is also one of the reasons taking antibiotics can sometimes lead to weight gain. They also decrease vitamin B12 in the gut, which is needed for cell production, brain function and energy. Make sure to talk with your doctor if you think you need antibiotics, as there’s still a time and place for them.

Sleep

Sleep is a key factor affecting gut health. Sleep can affect how well an individual’s digestive system functions, which, in turn, can play a role in how they sleep. Everything is interconnected. A lack of sleep can also increase stress due to our hormones becoming unbalanced, which can lead to gut issues such as bloating, inflammation, stomach pains, food insensitivities and overall changes to the gut microbiome.

Regular Physical Activity

Regular cardiovascular exercise like walking and riding a bike can stimulate the muscles of our gut to move contents through the body. When we exercise, more oxygen reaches the brain and our bloodstream, and our core body temperature rises. This blood flow is thought to offer great conditions for our good gut bacteria to flourish. There is also research underway to suggest that a healthy gut can even improve physical performance.

Types of Gut Health Supplements

While it’s best to improve your gut health through food and other lifestyle factors, each of our situations are different. You might experience a period of being time poor, you might start to have negative reactions to certain foods, or you might be on a diet that limits your ability to eat certain foods. If this is you, you might want to look into supplements for gut health.

Probiotics

Probiotics are live bacteria that are good for our digestive system. They help our gastrointestinal tract break down fibre, which helps with nutrient absorption and produces beneficial short-chain fatty acids and vitamins. If you’re feeling at your peak and at good health, it’s often not necessary to take probiotics for your gut health. Just like medications, you need to take a specific probiotic for the health condition you’re trying to manage. Probiotics containing Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli have been shown to reduce IBS symptoms. Look for high-quality probiotics that contain multiple strains for bacteria, as different strains have different benefits.

Prebiotics

Prebiotics are plant fibres that help the healthy bacteria in your gut grow. These are found in many fruits, vegetables and whole grains like apples, bananas, oats and soybeans. Prebiotics can also help your body absorb calcium, help the food ferment faster, keep your gut lining healthy and change the rate at which foods cause our blood sugar to spike.

Digestive enzymes

These are proteins that our body makes to break down our food and help with digestion. Some people don’t have enough of these enzymes so their bodies can’t break down certain foods and absorb nutrients, as is the case with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency and lactose intolerance. There are plenty of over-the-counter digestive enzyme supplements for gut health problems like acid reflux, gas, bloating and diarrhoea. These contain enzymes like amylase, lipase, protease, lactase and alpha-galactosidase.

Fibre supplements

Fibre helps with our bowel movements and prevents constipation, and it can also help lower cholesterol and help you feel full. When the gut breaks down fibre, it also creates other products which can help prevent gastrointestinal conditions like bowel cancer.

Popular fibre supplements included inulin, psyllium and methylcellulose. Start with small amounts of fibre supplements to prevent you from getting too gassy.

Omega-3 fatty acids

These are a type of polyunsaturated fat with anti-inflammatory benefits. Our bodies can’t make omega 3s on their own, so we need to ingest them through our food or supplements. Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce bad (LDL) cholesterol and blood pressure, have anti-inflammatory properties that support a healthy immune system, can help with digestion and autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s disease. They also help in the creation of short-chain fatty acids, which work to decrease inflammation and help the immune system function. There are three main kinds, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Before choosing gut health supplements, research reputable brands, check for third-party certifications, like GMP, and speak with your healthcare professional for their personalised recommendation for you.

There’s no miracle cure for your gut heath. You can’t just try one solution and assume it will fix all your issues. If you want to know how to improve gut health naturally, you can start by maintaining your overall health and wellbeing, though food, sleep and exercise. If you know you have a select issue that’s affecting your gut health, taking gut supplements can be a great way to support a healthy gut. Talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian so that you’re making informed decisions about your health so that you can enjoy life. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?