Girl, what is up with your Gut?!??

If you have issues like bloating, gas, inflammation, autoimmune conditions, weight gain or trouble losing weight it’s likely….leaky gut.

I know you are like….leaky - what?!?! Or maybe you have heard the term before but, you aren’t sure what it is and whether it even applies to you. Well….. let me tell you, in this day and age it is not a question of if you have leaky gut, it’s a question of how leaky your gut is.

So first…what the heck is leaky gut?

You see our intestinal lining has several layers but the layer that protects the rest of our body from food particles,?toxins and bacteria in your gut from getting through it, is very thin. It is actually meant to be a little permeable (or open) to let nutrients through but once it’s damaged the areas where it is supposed to be a little open get bigger. Allowing bigger food particles, toxins, waist products waiting to be eliminated and harmful bacteria into our body, bloodstream and into the immune layer of our intestinal lining. That is where 70% of our body’s immune system is. ??

Take a guess at what happens when harmful bacteria or one of those food triggers gets into the immune layer…..

You guessed it, it triggers an immune response in the body, which is a huge part of autoimmune conditions. Immune cells are sent out to attack which sends the body into inflammation.

If this is happening often, it can cause chronic inflammation, weight gain, obesity and insulin resistance. When your body is in a constant state of inflammation the immune cells begin to go into overdrive and start attacking your own cells.

So how the heck do you get leaky gut you ask…

Well, stress…(yep, good ole stress wreaking havoc again) can cause leaky gut as it can shift the microbiome or change the quality of the good bacteria in the gut and affect blood flow to the gut lining and if you’re constantly on antibiotics it is made worse as it kills a huge amount of good bacteria allowing the bad bacteria to over grow. This would explain if you get sick a lot and are on antibiotics often.? When taking an antibiotic you want to take a probiotic with it to restore the good bacteria if the antibiotic is your only option. In some cases you can discuss a more natural approach with your doctor.

Medications can also cause leaky gut. I mentioned antibiotics above but the overuse of ibuprofen and tylenol can disrupt the integrity of your gut lining , inflammatory foods such as diets high in processed sugar, poor? quality fats, unhealthy carbs, & low fiber.?

Food sensitivities and environmental toxins also shift? the microbiome or gut bacteria which as mentioned before can be shifted by stress and the over consumption of sugar. Nutrient deficiencies like vitamins: A, D zinc and iron which protect our gut lining can also be a contributing factor. I bet you’re like, yikes….what doesn’t cause leaky gut? I mean, even I am guilty of some of these.

Now what you can do:

Look out for signs of digestion issues like; gas, bloating diarrhea, constipation or symptoms after eating like nausea, fatigue or mood swings (especially depression), hives and eczema…. These are signs of gut issues.

And start paying attention to your food choices and triggers…..find ways to relieve stress…yoga, meditation or even just having fun. Fun is an amazing stress reliever.

So we are going to stop there so I don’t overwhelm you. But if you identified with any of this and are like Holy smokes batman,?? where do I even start?!?!? My team and I have been putting together a Restore your gut plan….complete with weekly meal plans, grocery lists, delicious recipes, a yes/no food list, a symptom tracker and approved snack list. If you would like this plan simply drop us a line below and we will reach out and get that over to ya.

Next week we discuss the Gut/Hormone connection.

See ya then!

Ciao