Seventy percent of Americans have issues with their gut health and GI tract. Your gut performs many functions, such as digestion, absorption, elimination, and detoxification. The microbiome affects almost everything in your body, including almost every organ system. For this reason, taking a good look at someone’s microbiome is important.
Including viruses, there are ten to a hundred times more genetic material in a gut microbiome than in the rest of the body. Therefore, gut health greatly impacts health and wellness. The microbiome changes depending on foods consumed or places traveled. When a gut is inflamed or leaky, there is a disruption of the microbiome. This can lead to nutrients not being absorbed properly. For mental health, the gut may be more important than the brain. This is because more serotonin is produced in the gut than in the brain.
If something becomes dysregulated in the gut, whether it is an overgrowth of bad bacteria, not enough good bacteria, or too much yeast, then an impairment may occur in digestion and absorption, elimination, gut barrier, and detoxification. If the body cannot detoxify, then there may be a buildup of toxins that impair the gut. If a permeable intestine or leaky gut is developed, the immune system becomes hyper-regulated and food allergies and sensitivities may occur.
Autoimmune diseases are also on the rise. We know that three things must be present for an autoimmunity to develop: genetic predisposition, some sort of trigger (environmental lifestyle modifiers, hormone changes, toxins, infections, etc.), and leaky gut and infections. Because a patient cannot modify their genes, environmental triggers must be adjusted. If an unhealed gut and autoimmune disorder already exist, a patient is at risk for a second, third or even fourth autoimmune disorder.
We recommend following the adage of “if you’re in doubt, just start with a gut.” If symptoms are present, go to the gut. If you are struggling with an autoimmune disease or simply want more information about improving your gut health, schedule a consultation with Ageless Wellness Center today!