Gut

Keep Calm & Trust your Gut!

ByBlogs

You often rely on your gut feeling when making important life decisions. Metaphorically yes, people do listen to their gut, but that’s just about it. People generally tend to overlook gut health and tend to ignore the distress signals. These signals manifest themselves in the form of excessive flatulence, heartburn, bloating and constipation. So, let’s delve right into the tell-tale signs of unbalanced gut health:

Trust your Gut Feeling

  • Excessive Exhaustion – Do you feel that you aren’t getting enough sleep? Even if you are sleeping the same. This may indicate the presence of bad bacteria that may be stopping you from getting sufficient sleep. Most of the serotonin, the mood-enhancing chemical that also affects your sleep, is produced by our gut.
  • Skin Irritation – Bad skin may be attributed to an excess of bad bacteria in your gut. A dearth of good bacteria in the gut may lead to frequent inflammations in the gut, which may appear as skin irritations.
  • Mood Changes – Your gut plays a key role in your mood, a lesser-known fact. There is a direct relationship between the number of good bacteria in the gut microbiome and the production of serotonin & dopamine, which are the hormones responsible for bringing about a pleasant mood. An unhealthy balance will most likely cause mood swings.
  • Autoimmune Conditions – Various studies have found a direct relationship between an unhealthy gut and the proclivity to autoimmune conditions, in which the body attacks itself instead of the foreign bodies.
  • Fluctuations in Weight – Unintentional gaining or losing weight is linked to an unhealthy gut. An unbalanced gut has a hard time absorbing nutrients, eventually leading to the storage of fat. A healthy gut helps you sustain a healthy weight.
  • Digestive Irritation – Frequent bouts of flatulence, upset stomach, bloating, diarrhea, constipation or other gastric issues may be due to an unhealthy balance of gut bacteria.

Ways to achieve a healthy Gut! No Ifs, No Buts!

Generally, a diet full of nutrient-rich foods and avoidance of sugary and fatty foods is the way to go. So, let’s see which foods are a big thumbs up:

  • Whole grains – Whole grains are full of fiber, which our bodies can’t digest. As a result, they get fermented by the gut and lead to an increase in the number of good bacteria. A win-win scenario for obese and overweight people to achieve a healthy weight in addition to attaining a healthy gut.
  • Eat Probiotic & Prebiotic – Fermented foods like yogurt, cheese, kimchi and kefir are high in probiotics and these foods contain the good bacteria that you need in your gut. Prebiotic foods, on the other hand, contain fibers that feed the needs of probiotics. These include asparagus, bananas, oats, onions and garlic.
  • Polyphenols – These are found naturally in fruits & veggies, legumes, black & green tea, dark chocolate & coffee. These promote the growth of good bacteria and prevent your cells from damage.
  • Go Green – Leafy greens such as spinach & cabbage are full of nutrients and fiber that are a big boon for the good bacteria in your gut.

Some Pro-Tips for Gut Health!

  • Choose a trusted, third-party certified, probiotic supplement.
  • Regular exercise
  • Quality sleep
  • Stop smoking.
  • Cutting down on stress
  • Treatment of underlying health conditions

Our team at Vitality Medicine of New York or VMNY for short, provides well reputed nutrition-advice & health coaching for you to make sound decisions regarding your gut health. As the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu famously said ‘a journey of a thousand steps begins with a single step’. So, take the first step on a journey of health and well-being. Call us now using our telehealth services or schedule an appointment in one of our three locations interspersed in New York City.