How Can You Protect Your Gut?
With an astonishing 70% of Americans suffering from some type of intestinal distress in their lifetime, that leads me to question, how can we protect ourselves from this?
It’s a fact of life that we, as humans, rarely think of any parts of our anatomy unless they are causing problems. For instance; you might not think about your skin until you switch detergents and it starts to itch. If everything is working, or we don’t see a problem, then life is good, right? Well, maybe not. Even though we can’t see the problems it doesn’t mean that they aren’t there.
When it comes to gut health the above course of action seems to be the most popular. If things seem OK, there must not be a problem.
SO MUCH of our overall health is directly related to gut health, so in some cases, you may be treating symptoms without actually addressing the main cause.
For example, out of the blue, you may be experiencing anxiety and/or depression. You go to see your doctor who (God forbid) prescribes an anti-anxiety/anti-depressant to mask your symptoms. But wait! WHY did you start experiencing these symptoms, what is the core reason? You may be surprised to know that anxiety and depressed moods can very likely stem from poor gut health.
So, when considering how important the gut is, what exactly causes so much intestinal trouble?
It all starts with bacteria.
We may shun bacteria in our daily lives but for our gut, bacteria are necessary for proper function. Gut flora like Bifidobacterium Longum and Lactobacillus function to help the intestines break down food, extract nutrients and eliminate waste.
The useful flora also works to keep the harmful bacteria and fungi in check as well. But when there is an increase in harmful bacteria or fungi, balance is lost, and health problems start to stack up.
What causes the loss of balance? While underlying medical conditions can play a role in unbalanced gut health, more times than not, our own actions or inactions are the culprit for lack of intestinal health.
Problems like:
* Consuming sugar or complex carbs
* Not enough fiber-rich foods
* Alcohol consumption
* Lack of food diversity
* Lack of pre and probiotics…
Environmental factors and activities also play a part. Activities like:
* Smoking
* Lack of exercise
* Insufficient sleep
* Too much stress…
These all contribute to a buildup of unhealthy intestinal bacteria.
So, what is the best solution to combat and prevent this bacterial dysbiosis? Probiotics! That’s right, the good bugs you need to balance your bacterial flora.
Without the proper amount of good bacteria in our colon, an overgrowth of fungi and bad bacteria, mainly from the Candida family of fungi, wreaks havoc on your entire body. Symptoms like fatigue, depression, anxiety, itching, toenail fungus, indigestion or GERD as well as the obvious signs of gas, bloating, constipation & diarrhea can be warning signs that the gut is in trouble. If you suspect Candida or yeast overgrowth, be sure to check out my Thrive Advanced Candida Protocol Pack.
Thankfully, diet and lifestyle changes along with proper supplementation of high-quality probiotics, such as Thrive GI Balance Probiotics can not only help to restore but even keep GI distress from occurring in the first place.
Be proactive, eat the rainbow of fruits and veggies, avoid sugar and processed foods, take probiotics daily and manage your lifestyle by avoiding unnecessary stress and get plenty of sleep!
PS. If candida is suspected and you would like to know specifically if it is present, consider the following stool tests. Vibrant Gut Zoomer or GI Map Stool Test
