Gut health

II'm on a wellness journey and I've learned that gut health is so important to overall health. Did you know that your gut controls over 80% of your immune system? An unhealthy gut leads to health issues in your body.

Do you suffer from

You have an upset stomach. ...
You feel tired more often than not. ...
You have trouble sleeping in general. ...
You are intolerant to some foods. ...
You have extreme food cravings, especially sugar. ...
You have unintentional weight gain or loss. ...
You have skin irritations.

Your gut may be telling you something.

Iynna·Sep 25

Always listen to your gut! Ultimately I think a balanced diet and staying away from processed food (though I get that it's very hard since almost everything is processed), can go a long way!Anything helpful for you, @soniakurmey?

soniakurmey·Sep 26

I follow a whole food diet and am a vegetarian. Also avoid all dairy and sugar. A good pre-probiotic is very important too.

MichelleFuentes·Sep 26

how interesting! is that where "gut feeling" or "follow your gut" comes from? 🧐

LauraMphoto·Oct 02

Yes! It's called the 'gut-brain axis', and we have a ton of serotonin receptors in our gut - in fact, I think I read somewhere that we have more in our gut than our brains, but not 100% sure on that.

MichelleFuentes·Oct 10

That's so cool!

soniakurmey·Sep 26

That could be very true. I think our gut tells us things.

Aparnagopal·Sep 26

@soniakurmey, I have been dealing with chronic gastritis and acid reflux after successful treatment of a bacterial infection in the stomach. I follow predominantly a vegetarian diet (exception is egg), no animal based milk. Very rarely eats restaurant food and processed food. Avoids cooked items more than 24 hrs old even if iit is refrigerated. Still not healed. Have been taking natural probiotics (with good bacteria) daily from some months now.

alnayakendrick·Sep 26

Hi! I'm intrigued about why you avoid cooked foods that are more than 24 hrs. Can you explain a bit?

Aparnagopal·Sep 27

Food that is fresh is better for health as far as I know. If it can be consumed within few hours of cooking without any refrigeration, it will be the best.

amandamulder·Oct 04

When i went through my gut health journey I was told i was histamine intolerant. So its not just certain types of foods that release histamine but apparently leftovers builds up histamine levels too.

Aparnagopal·Oct 04

Good info. Thanks for sharing.

soniakurmey·Sep 26

Good for you! I'm vegetarian too (eggs but no dairy). Eating whole foods and as little processed as I can. And yes a good pre and probiotic is very important. I have a very good one.

JordanB·Sep 27

I feel this so much - I'm coming off of 2 years of trying to fix my gut health. Turns out I had a massive bacterial imbalance which is hard to diagnose since gut health is a relatively new field of study. A round of antibiotics set me on the right path but I've also tweaked my diet and lifestyle to support my ongoing gut health: 1. Low Fodmap diet during the course of antibiotics and a few weeks following to help reset my gut. I try to maintain about 50% of my diet ongoing being low fodmap 2. I added a good probiotic, L-glutamine and more fiber into my diet 3. Focus on easily digestable whole foods and well balanced meals 4. Staying active - weight lifting in particular has been great for thisRealizing that there was actually something off in my gut was so freeing because I thought I was crazy at one point - tired all the time, struggling to lift heavier in the gym, difficulty focusing, and the worst bloating I've ever experienced. Now that I know what's going on I can better manage it and feel so much better!

kusumchanrai18·Oct 02

Super helpful! What probiotic did you use?

soniakurmey·Oct 02

Good for you Jordan. So many struggle with these health issues and don't realize the importance of eating healthy and yes high quality supplements. There is a great doctor I follow Dr Will Bulciewicz. He's a Gastroenterologist and all about gut health. I'm with a great health & wellness company that promotes some great products and he's on our advisory board so I know they are the best. And I've healed myself and many others.

ewarren·Sep 27

i have also been on a health journey and was having multiple symptoms that weren't on your list that my primary discarded. eventually i went to a functional medicine practice who thought it was all connected to gut health! since then i've been on a new diet and a variety of supplements to improve gut health. my health has dramatically improved since. still learning more about how it is all interconnected, but i think important to share our journeys for others who are struggling and don't know the cause.

soniakurmey·Oct 02

Yes I've done the same. Diet, very good supplements and exercise are key to living healthy!

Anna10·Sep 29

The gut-brain connection is very nicely outlined in the book, The Prime, by Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary. She's an Integrative Neurologist trained both as an MD and an Ayurvedic doctor. The author used Ayurvedic healing methods to treat her neurological patients - this is incredible! I worked with a different Ayurvedic doctor to follow some of the protocols in the book and it seriously transformed my health. The basis of health in Ayurveda is how strong your digestion/gut health is so for anyone looking for a place to start, highly recommend this book! Even if you don't have gut issues but other health concerns, still recommend this book since our body is all connected!

kusumchanrai18·Oct 02

Thank you!!

soniakurmey·Sep 30

I read Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ by Giulia Enders. I met her years ago and learned so much. I also follow a great Naturopath who has some great webinars too.

Sharon·Oct 02

This is a subject I am quite fascinated with. For a long time I have know that 70% of our immune system is in our gut, and I know that we are all eating way more processed food than we should be which is completely messing up the good microbiomes in our guts. Also I once had a job in a care home and could see that constipated elderly people became quite confused and forgetful but as soon as they were no longer constipated their minds became sharper, non-scientific study of course, but this observation has stuck with me for years. So much so that I have been very excited about the new start-ups that are looking into this - one in particular which I am a member and a fan is Zoe. At the start you do tests to look at glucose and fat responses to food as well as have stool analysis to look at the construction of your gut microbiome - you are then recommended foods on how they score at being good for your glucose, fat and microbiome responses. I also see that some of the traditional medical device companies like Abbott labs are lunching their own wellness program around their glucose monitors.Is anyone in the Elpha community looking at these types of start ups? It's a subject i'd love to chat about and would even be interested in getting involved in such a start-up.

soniakurmey·Oct 02

It is quite an amazing what gut health plays on our overall health. I've seen studies where your gut can control up to 80% of our immune system. I joined a health & wellness company and have learned that diet plays such an important role and there are ways to improve gut health with food but also with high quality supplements. I've had much success and seen amazing results with my clients, from weight loss, skin issues, energy and yes clarity.

amandamulder·Oct 04

Yes to all! And what I've recently learned is that our gut health and micro biome is linked to our nervous system. So stress and how we ‘deal’ with stress has a huge impact on our gut. And vice versa. I saw an interesting interview with the founder of Kultered Wellness who talks about that.Its fascinating the body! I thought I had healed my gut but after pregnancy and the stress of motherhood its all coming back again, but i am able to look at it with a new perspective.

soniakurmey·Oct 04

Congratulations on motherhood! How old is your little one now? Healing your gut is important but it's a continual journey. Do you take regular supplements? A good pre and probiotic is so important as is a healthy diet. I do have products I can recommend if you like.