Gut health, a key to wellness

Melody Fourie educates us on how the right foods can improve gut health which in turn is a key to wellness.

---

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/buddiesforlife

Hippocrates, known as the father of medicine, once said, “All disease begins in the gut”, and thus it would be safe to assume that all wellness begins there too.

There have been remarkable recovery and remission of many chronic disorders when incorporating some of Hippocrates’ principles into the Gut Fix Protocols I guide my clients through. Despite the uniqueness each client presents, time and time again, the initiation of all healing begins with the gut, giving them a key to reaching their full-healing potential.

What is the gut and why is it so important to your heath?

Simply, the gut is the stomach, small intestine, and colon. There is, however, a much more complex entanglement within the human digestive system. The gut is a collection of spaces and organs, including the mouth, pharynx (throat), oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus.

Additional facets within the digestive collective also include the salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.

Finally, there’s a vital component we can’t even see. Your gut houses a colony of microbes that are known as the gut microbiota, a multitude of organisms and bacteria that make up the human gut microbiome.

Unbalance of bacterial diversity

Unfortunately, a lifestyle of convenience, stress, the overuse of antibiotics and pharmaceutical interventions for various treatments has resulted in a significant loss of bacterial diversity. While this doesn’t sound serious, research has shown how specific species that reside within the body communicate with the human cells regulating many of the bodily functions, from controlling the immune system to brain function, with the ability to shift hormones, mood, and so much more. These bugs are the natural forces within us that are the true healers of disease.

The power that lies within the gut

Seventy percent of your immune system cells reside in your gut making the gut a fundamental barrier to the outside world as it’s in direct contact with the food you eat and the bacteria that you are exposed to daily. How amazing? Your gut not only keeps you nourished but it also keeps you healthy and free of infections.

Your gut has its own nervous system and can function entirely on its own. It’s known as the second brain because it contains almost 200 million neurons. The gut-brain axis is well-documented and is the bidirectional communication between the gut and brain. This means the gut talks to the brain and the brain talks to the gut. Therefore, your gut health can be contributing to brain-based issues like anxiety or depression.

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food

When you eat healthy food, you are not only eating medicine, but you’re also feeding your beneficial bacteria. Despite a multitude of nutritional philosophies there is one thing that many experts agree on: eat plenty of colourful fruits and vegetables. There are 1000s of phytochemicals in the plant kingdom identified to date, and they’ve only recently been deemed critical for health.

Prebiotics are vital in creating a healthy gut. These are the things your beneficial bacteria love to eat. You’ll find soluble fibre in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and most whole grains. Incorporating clean high-quality protein sources that suit your morals, along with plenty of healthy fats like avocados, walnuts, olives oil, and coconut offers your bacteria the diversity they seek. The bacteria in your gut metabolise these foods, producing beneficial compounds such as short-chain fatty acids, which have been shown to help prevent cancer.

Can it be that some of the simplest answers we seek were founded almost 2400 years ago? That healing your gut, nurturing your gut bugs and a few simple dietary tweaks can invoke a divine cascade of health benefits.

Header image by Freepik