Do you wish to fine-tune your health and happiness? If yes, it is essential to learn about your gut health and how you can nourish it. Our gut is the epicenter of our body. It takes part in many critical body functions; hence it is imperative to keep it balanced.
The digestive system controls almost everything from the immune system to brain health, body weight, and whatnot. Facts state that 90 percent of the happy hormones, serotonin, are produced in the gut. So if you have a bad mood, you can easily direct it to gut imbalance.
We all believe the digestive system’s role is to break food into tiny particles, absorb the essential components, and shuttle the waste out of your body. However, recent studies have proven that it is beyond that, and it performs a more complex job.
Our digestive system is linked with other parts of the body, directly or indirectly. A healthy gut means your physical, as well as mental health, is up to the mark. So this article serves as a guide why it is essential to have a healthy digestive system:
- Improved absorption of nutrients:
Feeling bloated after having your meal or running to the bathroom feels terrible because you can’t digest. The life of such an individual revolves around buying antacids to relieve the condition—several antacids like omeprazole over the counter are available. But reducing the symptoms is not the only way out.
They are an indication of an unhealthy digestive system. When your gut is healthy, whatever you consume is adequately digested. The beneficial nutrients immerse in the bloodstream and reach the target organ.
In addition to that, when your gut lining is healthy, the intestine gets more surface area to absorb the nutrients.
- Heightened mental clarity:
You more likely get to know what life is when you are sleep-deprived. You get cranky, increase in food cravings, and you end up relying on caffeine. You might not know, but your gut has a significant impact on your sleeping pattern.
It is just like a vicious cycle. When your sleep is disturbed, it affects your stomach, and when the gut is not healthy, it affects your sleep. It continues until you fix one or the other end. Research has proven that the beneficial bacteria in our digestive system produce neuropeptides that regulate the brain’s functions.
- Improved defense system of the body:
Our immune system and digestive system work in collaboration to keep the body in tip-top shape. Both the systems regulate and support each other. It is a fact that the digestive system produces the majority of immune cells.
So when dysbiosis, which is an imbalanced gut, occurs, it puts the person at risk of developing infections, chronic diseases, even cancers. So the best way to fend off sickness is to maintain a healthy digestive system.
- Enhanced elimination of toxins:
The digestive system does an excellent job of eliminating the toxins and the waste we build up. There are different portals for the release of toxins. Every time we urinate, blow our nose, cry, sweat, or defecate, we release tons of toxins that can be harmful to our bodies.
Removing the toxins also improves the health of the skin. A healthy digestive system reduces acne, improves eczemas, and nearly disappears rosacea.
- Relief from mood disorders:
Did you know our gastrointestinal system is known as the second brain of the human body? Our daily diet is mainly responsible for our mood. It entirely depends on what we eat. We can uplift our spirit with the diet; we can also depress it.
The connection is so strong that there is an entire branch of psychology known as nutritional psychology. The theory behind diet affecting the mood is that the food we eat feeds the bacteria in our gut, releasing happy hormones. Hence, it impacts our mood.
- Healthy gut leads to a healthy heart:
There is a complex interplay between our heart and the digestive system. Microbes have a significant impact on the cardiovascular system. Different researches have proved that lack of gut diversity which means not having enough healthy bacteria, leads to high blood pressure.
There are more chances of developing atherosclerosis due to plaque accumulation in the arteries.
- Increased energy and stamina:
When you clean out the junk from your gut, your body has to spend less energy to digest your food. So this energy is now saved to live your life to the max. A healthy digestive system improves your stamina.
You feel less sluggish after a hectic day. Because the gut utilizes the food best, each organ gets the optimum nutrients to function efficiently.
- Regular and consistent bowel movements:
Maintaining good colon health is very easy yet highly important. A healthy digestive system means bowel movements one to three times per day that is not too soft or too hard. It helps in preventing colon diseases.
It also helps in well being of the heart, kidneys, brain, skin, and overall wellbeing. Hence maintaining a healthy colon is highly recommended, even for those who find it awkward to talk about it.
- Healthy weight loss:
Digestion starts in our mouth with the assistance of saliva when we are enjoying our favorite nutritious food. Upon swallowing, it reaches the esophagus and then the intestine, where final digestion takes place.
The most obvious reason a healthy digestive system aids in weight loss is that digestion utilizes calories. It means that the whole process of absorbing and excreting takes energy. Hence, digestion burns calories, and there is less chance of fat deposition.
Takeaway message:
Our gut puts our body into working order. It may not have a literal voice, but it communicates its message in the form of codes. From complete silence to hunger grumbles and bathroom habits, it clearly shows what is going on inside.
So if you haven’t heard from your gut for a while, you are defecating regularly, and there is no bloating or abdominal pain, you are doing just fine. If your stomach could talk, it would probably thank you for keeping it healthy, fully nourished, and in a stress-free environment. So be kind to your gut and be kind to yourself.
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