Understanding the Importance of Gut Health:

Diving into the gut-brain connection, how to identify if you have a “leaky gut” and holistic ways to remedy it

“If you can get people to understand their biological framework, they more easily recognize that framework in others, and we can relate to each other on a more real human to human basis, and see less differences between us.” - Dr. Huberman of HubermanLabs

At this point that I am finally writing this article, the terms “gut health” have already made their rounds across almost every wellness article, blog, influencer video, tiktok, magazine spread, interview that you can think of.

And, this is simply amazing because I truly believe it is so important to continue to educate the general population on what is going on within our incredible bodies.

I find it so fascinating whenever I have the chance to describe to clients or random people the chemical processes that occur in our bodies that provide us with the capabilities to just be a human and exist.

We are all far too consumed with our external stimuli that we forget about the world that exists within ourselves. And that world is a carefully crafted and balanced home to trillions of different bacteria, specialized cells that create specialized organs, vitamins, minerals, water, energy, and consciousness; everything that makes you YOU.

The most important part about this home is the balance, homeostasis. The creation of dis-ease is when one of these intricate systems goes out of balance and holistic medicine aims to find the imbalance and restore it back to its original symbiosis.

What is the Gut and Why is it Important?

We have multiple systems within our bodies that all carry out their own specialized functions: respiratory, gastrointestinal, nervous, skeletal, etc.

The gastrointestinal system is in control of digestion and assimilation (dispersion of nutrients) and is connected to the nervous system. Both are linked through cells of the immune system. So, these three systems work very closely with one another.

Digestion occurs first in the mouth, through the esophagus, into the stomach, and then filtered into the intestines.

The term “gut” represents the small and large intestine. Your body’ s greatest exposure to the outside world is through the lining of your intestines, which is extremely thin like tissue paper. The lining of your intestines creates a barrier from the gut to your bloodstream.

Because it is so thin, there is a chance that outside toxins can get through it, which is why the body was intentional with setting up our immune system structure right outside the intestinal barrier. This way, if anything sneaks past, the body reads it as “foreign” and stimulates an immune response that attacks the invader and removes it as waste.

Within the intestines are many types of bacteria, known as enteric microflora (enteric means intestinal and microflora is the term for the collection of all the bacteria that exist there.)

There are three families: symbiotic, commensal, and parasitic. We live in harmony with the first two types, but if they are damaged in any way, the parasitic bacteria take over causing dysbiosis (gut imbalance).

A recent discovery is what has created this interest in the gut and that is the fact that is has its own nervous system, similar to that which exists in our brain and skull. The gut has been labeled “the second brain” and has been found to be in charge of many important processes.

So although people always say to watch what you consume when it comes to media and your brain, also, maybe we need to start paying attention to what we consume that ends up in our second brain.

Our brain and the gut communicate through hormones and neurotransmitters that interact with various parts of our body. One of the most well known one is serotonin (happy or calm hormone), the majority of serotonin is produced in our guts. This is why as we will discuss later, many mental health scientists believe depression and anxiety can be linked to diet.

In other words, there is a reason you feel butterflies in your stomach or need to use the bathroom before a nervous-racking situation. It is the hormonal signals that occur between the gut and our brain.

The gut is the starting point for an awful lot of chronic illnesses that seem to have nothing to do with the stomach, it is essentially the launch pad for numerous symptoms in the body

Gut Imbalances: What is Leaky Gut Syndrome and What Causes it?

There are two things that can occur within our gut that can create imbalance:

1. Our good bacteria are not fed the proper nutrients, starve, and die off, being replaced by an overload of parasitic bacteria

Our good bacteria enjoy certain fiber known as fructans which comes from plant foods. When this is not available to them, the result becomes IBS, esophageal reflux, and chronic constipation.

2. Holes are created through poor diet in our gut barrier lining that stimulates an immune response throughout our bodies.

When things like food allergens, infectious bacteria, viruses or yeast, drugs and alcohol, or other harsh chemicals build up in our digestive system the results are “holes” in our barrier that allow these harmful substances to easily pass through our gut lining. This is referred to as “leaky gut syndrome.”

Our immune system responds to these invaders by increasing the number of alarm cells throughout our bloodstream causing an autoimmune response that will result in: pain, bloating, diarrhea, pain in the joints, headaches, muscle pain, skin problems, or mood swings.

These effects primarily occur after the consumption of foods high in fat and sugar.

Unfortunately, much of the population experiences leaky gut without even knowing it. And the only way to reverse it and change it, is to change your diet and implement gut supporting foods to reverse the damage.

Emotional stress can also affect gut bacteria. Scientists refer to the “gut-brain axis,” a pathway through which signals from the gut can affect neurotransmitters in the brain, and vice versa.

There is also the role of medications including painkillers, drugs for acid reflux, and antibiotics which can all adversely affect the gut microbiome and cause leaky gut syndrome.

What Can Result from a Leaky Gut?

Now that we have an understanding of the gut-brain connection it is important to acknowledge its role in causing a host of mental disorders including depression and anxiety.

Scientists also discovered a link between celiac disease (gluten intolerance) and dementia.

Celiac disease occurs when the gut becomes inflamed from the immune response triggered in the intestines as a response to the attack on our healthy bacteria by gluten, a grain protein found in most grains and pastas. This intestinal immune activation causes brain inflammation. If it goes undiagnosed this could also be a cause of mental disorders.

If you are a frequent sufferer of skin abnormalities, acne, eczema, painful bloating, constipation, acid reflux, joint pain, suffering from chronic inflammation, you very likely have a leaky gut

How to Heal Leaky Gut Syndrome and Keep a Healthy Microbiome:

There are a large number of holistic remedies for leaky gut that will restore your homeostasis:

1. Food: The first step is removing any known or unknown allergen. You can get tested for allergens easily at a naturopath or experiment on yourself by keeping a food diary and slowly removing known allergens one at a time including: gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, or shellfish.

Once you have found you have relief from your symptoms by removal of one of these substances, completely omit it from your diet.

Instead, replace your diet with gut-friendly foods including anything fermented like: sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, tempeh, and yogurt. These contain the bacteria’s that our happy bacteria in our microbiome likes to eat to stay alive.

Of course, flooding your body with whole-plant foods is also the best way to remain in balance. Limiting dairy, red and processed meats, and refined sugars can also improve gut health. So can getting the recommended amount of fiber—20 to 40 g a day, depending on your age and gender.

2. Supplements: ONLY if you have a diagnosed leaky gut or suffer from any of the above symptoms should you require a pre and probiotic.

I know the wellness industry has enjoyed indulging people with false information, but not everyone needs to be on a probiotic, in fact, it can be dangerous.

Firstly, supplement companies are not well regulated so you never really know if what you are getting are real live bacterial cultures that will survive the trip down to your intestines.

Second, a lot of the strains found in probiotic capsules are not naturally occurring in our intestines, so there is no need for them.

If you require a probiotic, I do suggest the company Just Thrive as they have real microbiologists working on creating their products and increasing its survivability.

Really you should just focus on eating a more wholesome diet with a diverse amount of fruit and vegetables.

Other supplements recommended if you suffer from leaky gut include omega 3 fish oil capsules, zinc, vitamin D, and magnesium. I highly suggest ensuring you buy your capsules from reputable supplement providers.

3. Environment: The balance of your external environment matters just as much as the internal. Switching to safe, clean products for you skin and home is important. One of the worst things to come from the pandemic is this obsession with cleanliness.

Of course you need to wash your hands but the lysoling of every surface, cloroxing your clothes and sheets, purelling everything in existence, and spraying harsh, toxic, cleaning sprays in the air is just about the WORST thing you can do for you internal and external environments.

People who tend to be healthier have a more diverse and stronger microbiome because it was exposed to germs and bacteria. It’s okay to clean, but switch to cleaner, plant-based products.

Cleaning Products I love: