The Importance of Gut Health
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In recent years, mounting research shows your gut microbiome has a truly profound influence on your health and well-being. Aside from improving liver function and lowering blood pressure, beneficial bacteria have been shown to:
Modulate your immune system response and boost immune function (70% of our immune system is in the gut)
Aid detoxification of pesticides
Control asthma and reduce risk of allergies
Lower your risk for periodontal disease by more than 50 percent
Influence the activity of hundreds of genes, helping them to express in a positive, disease-fighting manner
Benefit your mood and mental health
Boost weight loss and lower your body risk for obesity
Boost children’s risk of behavioral problems and autism
Lower your risk for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes
Reduce inflammation
Mediate your risk of certain types of cancer, especially colon cancer. Butyrate – short chain fatty acid created when microbes ferment dietary fiber in your gut, has been shown to induce programmed cell death of colon cancer, and cultured milk products may reduce your risk of bladder cancer by 29%
Ward against malnutrition
Boost growth factor hormone production
Reduce the number and length of infections
Prevent and control vaginitis in women
Lower risk of premature labor in pregnant women
Lower the risk of inflammatory bowel disease
Lower the risk for recurrent bladder and ear infections
Improve and prevent chronic diarrhea
Get Into Habit of Eating Fermented Foods Every Day
For all the above reasons and more, I recommend a diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods along with cultured or fermented foods ( I give classes on Fermented foods at home). A high quality probiotic supplement is also helpful to restore healthful balance to your microbiome – especially to restore when taking antibiotics. Keep in mind that there is a great difference between home made traditionally fermented foods and commercially processed and pasteurized foods to which probiotics are simply added. The latter one is not really that effective or beneficial.
Five strategies to improve your Gut Health:
In addition to consuming regularly fermented foods:
Try to eat Only organic foods to avoid genetically engineered foods loaded with glyphosate, which can contribute to leaky gut.
Avoid antibiotics – it’s documented that following the full spectrum antibiotics, it could take weeks, months and sometimes years for your gut bacteria to bounce back.
Avoid antibacterial soaps - they kill good and bad bacteria.
Open the windows.
Eat more plant, because your microbiome – your gut environment thrive on fermentable dietary fiber. Remember your food is the information to your genes – it will either be to build up healthy cells or brake them down.
Get your hands dirty – start gardening, this way your immune system will be exposed to wide variety of micro organisms living in plants and in the soil.
The triple washed produce is wiping you out of reality of our ancestors – life connecting with ecosystems, through gardening or some kind of outdoor activity which will improve your internal ecosystem as well.
It’s known that beneficial gut bacteria, also known as probiotic, benefit your liver function and help lower blood pressure.
According to lead author, doctoral candidate at Emory University “Administration of the probiotic improves the antioxidant response of the liver, protecting it from oxidative damage produced by drugs and toxins.”
Animal studies have also shown that probiotics help protect against alcoholic liver disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the latter of which is primarily driven by diets high in sugar and processed foods.
Probiotics help Normalize Blood Pressure
Numerous studies showed that people wo consume regularly foods like yogurt, kefir of supplement, tended to have lower blood pressure than those who don’t consume probiotics.
Another animal study showed that probiotic lower levels of inflammation in the central nervous system.
It all comes to that – Healthy Gut equals Healthy You!!
