10 Warning Signs You Have an Unhealthy Gut and What to do About It
Hey guys! Today we’re going to cover 10 warning signs you have an unhealthy gut and what to do to build a healthy gut again!
10 Warning Signs You Have an Unhealthy Gut
Stress, Anxiety and Depression
The lining of your intestines is filled with nerves that contain similar tissue as the brain. These nerves communicate with the brain.
Your intestines also release the same feel-good neurotransmitters that are responsible for making you feel good. If your gut bacteria is in balance, you’re more likely to feel mentally balanced too.
You Get Sick a Lot
If you find that you catch every sniffle that goes around the office, all the vitamin C in the world may not help. According to the Gut Health Project, more than three-quarters of your immune system is found in your gastrointestinal tract.
A healthy microbiome, the balance of bacteria in your gut, produces healthy mucus that traps unwanted bacteria, viruses and toxins and helps remove them from the body.
Healthy mucus also allows your body to absorb the right vitamins and minerals to help support your immunity.
If your gut is unhealthy, thick, harmful mucus can help the wrong bugs thrive and limit your body’s ability to use vitamins and nutrients properly, leading to what may seem like constant sickness.
Next up on our list of warning signs you have an unhealthy gut is…
Skin Problems
Whether you have persistent acne, rosacea, eczema, dandruff or itchy, flaky skin, even the most intensive skin care routine may not fix the problem. That’s because your skin problems may be coming from your gut.
Skin experts refer to a gut-brain-skin axis that explains how gut health affects inflammation throughout the body, which in turn affects the skin (1).
Acne is something that I have personally struggled with for YEARS! It was never so terrible that I needed to go to a doctor for it, but it was still constant and frustrating.
Only recently at 28 years old did I finally get it under control with a couple of things: Diet and Probiotics!
I learned that while I loved nuts and have no serious adverse reactions to them, they do make me break out. Every time I eat them.
So I cut those out, and then finally kicked the rest of it when I cleaned up the rest of my diet and started taking probiotics again. I had taken them regularly a few years ago, but I stopped for whatever reason at the time (and sorely wish I hadn’t!).
I can safely say that I will NOT stop taking them again anytime soon!
In fact, we have our own brand of Probiotics here at Avocadu called Gut-14. You can read more about it at the end of this article.
Stubborn Weight
If you have trouble losing weight no matter what you do, it may be due to an unhealthy gut.
The bad news is that people who are overweight or obese have a different balance of intestinal bacteria than people who are at a healthy weight. The balance of microbes that you have from birth can set the stage for your weight throughout your life (2).
The good news is that as overweight people lose weight, their gut becomes more balanced. Taking a probiotics supplement has also been shown to help with weight loss.
Autoimmune Disease
Gut health has been linked to autoimmune disease.
Although experts aren’t sure exactly what causes autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and lupus, they do know that they occur when your immune system attacks its own healthy cells.
Acid Reflux
Frequent, unrelenting acid reflux is often caused by an unhealthy gut.
This may explain why nothing seems to help your constant heartburn.
Acid reflux, bloating, and burping are often caused by a buildup of unhealthy bacteria in the GI tract and stomach.
Acid-reducing medications can actually help this bacteria thrive (3). Normally, stomach acid kills the bad bacteria.
If you’re always neutralizing your stomach acid, however, you’re letting that bad bacteria grow.
Yeast Infections
Yeast can grow out of control when your system is imbalanced. The imbalance in the gut can show up as digestive issues, fungal infections of the skin, constant fatigue or even fibromyalgia.
This can also cause a condition known as candida.
See our article here on how to determine if you have candida and how to cure it.
Lack of Energy
If you find it hard to dredge up any energy even when you’ve had enough sleep, you may have an unhealthy gut.
An unhealthy balance of bacteria in the gut can prevent your body from absorbing the nutrients it needs from foods, leaving you tired all the time.
An unhealthy gut can also be permeable, meaning that it lets in toxins through the intestinal walls. These unhealthy chemicals can also affect your energy levels.
High Cholesterol and Triglycerides
LiveScience explains that your gut microbes may influence your heart health. There are 34 microorganisms in the digestive tract that can influence the levels of fat in your blood.
Researchers are also starting to find links between HDL, “good” cholesterol, and a higher biodiversity of gut bacteria.
Asthma
If you have asthma, it might have been caused by the balance of bacteria that you had in your gut around the time of birth, according to this Time article.
10 Warning Signs You Have an Unhealthy Gut
Stress, Anxiety and Depression
The lining of your intestines is filled with nerves that contain similar tissue as the brain. These nerves communicate with the brain.
Your intestines also release the same feel-good neurotransmitters that are responsible for making you feel good. If your gut bacteria is in balance, you’re more likely to feel mentally balanced too.
You Get Sick a Lot
If you find that you catch every sniffle that goes around the office, all the vitamin C in the world may not help. According to the Gut Health Project, more than three-quarters of your immune system is found in your gastrointestinal tract.
A healthy microbiome, the balance of bacteria in your gut, produces healthy mucus that traps unwanted bacteria, viruses and toxins and helps remove them from the body.
Healthy mucus also allows your body to absorb the right vitamins and minerals to help support your immunity.
If your gut is unhealthy, thick, harmful mucus can help the wrong bugs thrive and limit your body’s ability to use vitamins and nutrients properly, leading to what may seem like constant sickness.
Next up on our list of warning signs you have an unhealthy gut is…
Skin Problems
Whether you have persistent acne, rosacea, eczema, dandruff or itchy, flaky skin, even the most intensive skin care routine may not fix the problem. That’s because your skin problems may be coming from your gut.
Skin experts refer to a gut-brain-skin axis that explains how gut health affects inflammation throughout the body, which in turn affects the skin (1).
Acne is something that I have personally struggled with for YEARS! It was never so terrible that I needed to go to a doctor for it, but it was still constant and frustrating.
Only recently at 28 years old did I finally get it under control with a couple of things: Diet and Probiotics!
I learned that while I loved nuts and have no serious adverse reactions to them, they do make me break out. Every time I eat them.
So I cut those out, and then finally kicked the rest of it when I cleaned up the rest of my diet and started taking probiotics again. I had taken them regularly a few years ago, but I stopped for whatever reason at the time (and sorely wish I hadn’t!).
I can safely say that I will NOT stop taking them again anytime soon!
In fact, we have our own brand of Probiotics here at Avocadu called Gut-14. You can read more about it at the end of this article.
Stubborn Weight
If you have trouble losing weight no matter what you do, it may be due to an unhealthy gut.
The bad news is that people who are overweight or obese have a different balance of intestinal bacteria than people who are at a healthy weight. The balance of microbes that you have from birth can set the stage for your weight throughout your life (2).
The good news is that as overweight people lose weight, their gut becomes more balanced. Taking a probiotics supplement has also been shown to help with weight loss.
Autoimmune Disease
Gut health has been linked to autoimmune disease.
Although experts aren’t sure exactly what causes autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and lupus, they do know that they occur when your immune system attacks its own healthy cells.
Acid Reflux
Frequent, unrelenting acid reflux is often caused by an unhealthy gut.
This may explain why nothing seems to help your constant heartburn.
Acid reflux, bloating, and burping are often caused by a buildup of unhealthy bacteria in the GI tract and stomach.
Acid-reducing medications can actually help this bacteria thrive (3). Normally, stomach acid kills the bad bacteria.
If you’re always neutralizing your stomach acid, however, you’re letting that bad bacteria grow.
Yeast Infections
Yeast can grow out of control when your system is imbalanced. The imbalance in the gut can show up as digestive issues, fungal infections of the skin, constant fatigue or even fibromyalgia.
This can also cause a condition known as candida.
See our article here on how to determine if you have candida and how to cure it.
Lack of Energy
If you find it hard to dredge up any energy even when you’ve had enough sleep, you may have an unhealthy gut.
An unhealthy balance of bacteria in the gut can prevent your body from absorbing the nutrients it needs from foods, leaving you tired all the time.
An unhealthy gut can also be permeable, meaning that it lets in toxins through the intestinal walls. These unhealthy chemicals can also affect your energy levels.
High Cholesterol and Triglycerides
LiveScience explains that your gut microbes may influence your heart health. There are 34 microorganisms in the digestive tract that can influence the levels of fat in your blood.
Researchers are also starting to find links between HDL, “good” cholesterol, and a higher biodiversity of gut bacteria.
Asthma
If you have asthma, it might have been caused by the balance of bacteria that you had in your gut around the time of birth, according to this Time article.
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