“All disease begins in the gut.” You’ve heard us scream this more than Chicken Little yelled, “The sky is falling!” As microbiome studies continue to gain more funding, we are learning just how much levity “All disease begins in the gut” really holds. In fact, here are 10 common conditions tied to gut health.
Anxiety
Riding with the all the gut health cliches today, the gut is known as the second brain. That’s because there are many nerve fibers at the end of the brain stem that dips into the gut. These fibers act as messengers to the mind. When your gut health is out of control, your microbiome will send stress signals to the brain.
When we are under stress, our adrenal glands secrete a hormone known as cortisol. The more stress we feel, the more cortisol our body creates. Therefore, if poor stomach health becomes chronic, cortisol will take over the system, causing chronic stress.
Naturally, this stress will manifest as anxiety. A way for your body to stop anxious thoughts and behaviors is with the neurotransmitter, serotonin. However, studies find that up to 90% of the serotonin in our system comes from our gut. So, if the microbiome is too unhealthy for good bacteria to flourish, you can believe it’s not producing serotonin either.
Insomnia
Another pivotal hormone we need is melatonin. Melatonin keeps our sleep cycle on track. This hormone is the reason why our eyes get heavy watching TV on the couch an hour before bed. Our pineal gland secretes this hormone like clockwork everyday.
However, there’s no room for melatonin in the system when cortisol has run amok. Excess cortisol can keep you up at night. This lack of sleep will cause you to feel stressed during the day. The result is yet another sleepless night. Get the picture?
Eventually, bedtime itself will breed more anxiety. You will become frustrated with the sleep struggle and grow to dread the night. Insomnia and anxiety wash each others’ hands and they all may stem from poor gut health.
Infertility
Cortisol’s role in ruining your life isn’t over. If poor gut health remains untreated, one of the lasting effects is infertility. That’s because excess cortisol doesn’t leave much room for any other hormones. This includes estrogen and testosterone.
Men are more sensitive to infertility when it comes to gut health related issues because excess cortisol transforms into adipose fat. Excess fat eventually gets converted into estrogen. Obviously, if a man has too much estrogen, it’s lowering all the qualities that makes them a man such as potent sperm.
Not to mention, when your gut health is comprised, all of your foods aren’t being broken down properly. Therefore, they tend to build up and pool around your gut. This creates a blockage that doesn’t allow oxygenated red blood cells to reach the nether regions. In turn, this may have a negative impact on sexual arousal, potency of sperm, and erectile dysfunction.
Obesity
Thought cortisol was done? Think again! Remember how we said excess cortisol turns to fat which converts into estrogen? Yeah, back to that “excess fat.” Combining the excess fat to the fact that food is starting to become backlogged due to an unhealthy gut all leads to obesity.
While poor gut health opens the floodgates for these conditions, obesity opens the floodgates for even more. That’s because obesity is tied to so many debilitating conditions such as:
• Infertility
• Depression
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Colon Cancer
Obesity doesn’t happen overnight. If you notice fat gathering around your midsection, please take a gut health test and get on a personalized probiotic supplement to address the underlying issues.
Acid Reflux
With your gut sealed off by undigested fibers, it turns your microbiome into a bubbly witch’s cauldron. When your gut health is comprised, the environment becomes too acidic.
As the acid levels continue to rise, it begins to percolate, causing acid reflux.
Not only will you feel stomach pain, but you may also experience:
• A Burning Itch in the Throat
• Gassy Burps
• Hiccups
• Heartburn
• Indigestion
Acid reflux is your body’s response to poor gut health and may cause a lot of discomfort. The best thing to do is to try to balance the foods in your diet to create a healthier microbiome.
Leaky Gut Syndrome
With all these toxins stewing about in your system, it can prove to hazardous for your gut to handle. Therefore, it may cause a break in the lining. In turn, the toxins that are waiting to led out of your system can enter your bloodstream. This is Leaky Gut Syndrome.
Undigested proteins can interact with your healthy oxygenated cells and corrupt them. This may cause a myriad of side effects that may impact everything from mental health to skin health to stomach discomfort.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Studies have found the law-grade inflammations located throughout the colon and small intestines are the culprits behind Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
IBS rears its ugly head in three forms:
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Pain
These happen because poor gut health alters the gut motility. Whenever we have to use the restroom, our muscles in the sphincter contract so we can push out toxins. Depending on the bacteria in your gut, these contractions may happen too often or too slow, causing cases of IBS.
Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids are swollen veins. While you can’t see nor generally feel internal hemorrhoids (although blood in your stool is an indication they may be there), external hemorrhoids can be quite painful.
