What is Your Gut Microbiome & How can You Protect & Heal It To Digest Food and Emotions Better

Our gut microbiome is a world of bacteria that communicate to help with many processes in the human body and brain. From digestion to immunity, emotional regulation, and much more. Your gut is the home of trillions of bacterial cells that protect you, and when we stress, eat inflammatory foods, and struggle with mental health, it can potentially destroy our gut bacteria, making It harder for our body to create the Bactria necessary for you to function correctly. In this article, I am going to dive deep into the Microbiome and tell you all about it and how you can heal and enhance the function of your gut microbiome.

What is Our Microbiome?

Our Microbiome consists of over 100 trillion bacteria strains that comprise our digestion, metabolism, immune system, and much more. Our Microbiome is made up of cells that help protect us from chronic diseases, bacterial infections, and chronic illness, and they are connected to our emotional stability.

The Microbiome is the operation center for the entire body. These cells are a part of our innate immune system, and our adaptive immune system are the two most essential systems in protecting us from illness and disease.

The Microbiome is considered another way for our body to connect to our mind to let us know what we need to eliminate or what we need to implement. It is when we can't listen or don't listen to our body that begins to destroy it.

What destroys our Microbiome?

Our Microbiome is used for all sorts of different functions in the body. For example, our Microbiome doesn't just control how we digest food. It also is responsible for how our body recovers during sleep. So if you struggle to get enough sleep, your gut bacteria take a beating. The less sleep we get, the more bacteria gets used for energy to help us survive instead of thrive, and over time, this can cause consistent sickness, constipation, high blood pressure, raised blood sugar, and more.

Not getting enough exercise in your life can also destroy your gut health. Working out and moving our body is crucial for eliminating toxins, rebuilding new blood cells, and even regenerating good sources of bacteria.

Stress is one of the worst things for your gut health. Our emotions significantly contribute to how our body digests food and stress. If you are feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and just negative pressure, it can destroy gut bacteria and shut down your digestive system. When this occurs, you can experience bloating, brain fog, constipation, or diarrhea; over time, this leads to a leaky gut. In this metabolic dysfunction, toxins leak into your bloodstream, causing illnesses such as arthritis, chronic inflammation, joint pain, psoriasis, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar.

*Disclaimer this is not medical advice. This is just holistic information; do not change your medications before speaking to your doctor first.

The use of antibiotics destroys our gut bacteria. Even though antibiotics are essential for helping the body recover from significant infections and sicknesses, even though they are used for good, they destroy our gut bacteria, leading to less good bacteria after stopping antibiotics. One study found that just one round of antibiotics killed the good bacteria and increased the resistant strains or the harmful bacteria in the gut flora.

Processed foods, fast food, and emotional eating are all three massive contributors to the destruction of our gut microbiome. Eating foods full of harmful ingredients, vast amounts of sugar and sodium, and eating while stressed significantly strains our bacteria. Our Microbiome needs to be relaxed, and when it is trying to survive worry from our lives and the food we eat, it is responsible for obesity, diabetes, hormone imbalances, and much more. The food and thoughts we eat all make a difference In how our body recovers and functions.

How does Our Gut Process Emotions?

We have seen in recent years how the gut and brain are connected. It's true from the Vegas nerve that runs from the brain to the small intestine; our brain and gut are connected. They call that your intuition or when you get the "Gut Feeling" about something. Our gut and brain contain close the same amount of cellular activity. The brain has trillions of neurons, and the gut contains trillions of strains of bacteria; through this connection, they connect by sending certain messages throughout the body for our body to function efficiently. Through this process, our body processes emotions before our brain does. Our gut communicates with our brain to let it know something is wrong.

Depending on the emotion depends on the reaction. For example, if our gut is stressed, it will begin to shut down and not function as it should. This can cause our bacteria to die off and create health issues such as constipation, bloating, inflammation, leaky gut, etc. On top of the stress, we catch ourselves emotionally eating inflammatory or unhealthy foods. This adds to the problem making it even harder on your body. Our emotional state is essential for our digestive tract and gut bacteria's ecosystem.

What are the risks of an unhealthy microbiome?

The importance of having a healthy microbiome can go on forever. The real question is, how do you know if you have an unhealthy microbiome? If you struggle with any of the following symptoms, it could be linked to an unhealthy microbiome;

Constant discomfort- If you feel persistent pain, bloating, gas, and tightness can be signs that your gut bacteria cannot do its job or your body is intolerant to a particular food.

Fatigue- If you are tired more than you have energy, that could be a sign that your gut has to compensate more to help your body break down food and provide your mind and body with energy. It has been linked that people with fatigue also have gut health issues.

Can't sleep- Your gut is your second brain, and 95% of your serotonin, your happiness, and relaxation hormone is created. If your gut bacteria is not healthy, you will not produce enough serotonin for your body to recover and relax properly, leading to restlessness.

Food allergies- If we don't have enough enzymes to help break down the specific nutrients in food, it can lead to food intolerances such as gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance, soy, sugar, and much more. Over time this can lead to an autoimmune condition if not treated properly.

Food cravings- Eating a high-sugar or highly processed diet causes gut inflammation, which creates too much harmful bacteria. Foods that contain ingredients like high fructose syrup generate a lot of inflammation leading to other diseases if not avoided.

Weight gain or loss- When our gut cannot absorb nutrients, it puts you at risk for weight gain or loss, depending on how it affects your appetite hormones.

Skin conditions- eczema, acne, and psoriasis are all related to gut issues due to leaky gut.

Headaches, migraines, or brain fog- Our gut and brain are interconnected through the vagus nerve, and when our gut can't properly break down food or doesn't have enough good bacteria, it leads to migraines, brain fog, and headaches. Mineral deficiencies can also cause this.

Autoimmune conditions- lousy gut bacteria can lead to thyroid issues, RA rheumatoid arthritis, MS, and type 1/2 diabetes.

Anxiety and depression- Gut inflammation can cause damage to your nervous system leading to anxiety and depression. Think of it this way if your body is stressed, it will make you feel stressed.

How can you heal and protect my Microbiome?

Identify & Eliminate- To protect our gut health, we first must become aware of what could be damaging it. One of the best things to do is identify foods you could be the most sensitive to, such as gluten, dairy, soy, processed food ingredients, fast food, certain oils, or sugar. The best way to start this process is to have a health coach help you develop a plan. This way, you can have someone to hold you accountable and give you insight into what is working and what is not. Some of the things to notice are how certain foods make you feel. Does gluten make you feel tired, bloated, constipated, or have brain fog? If so, eliminate it for a few weeks and then slowly begin to reintroduce it.

Nutrient Density- Our body is only designed to recognize nutrients; if we do not get enough nutrients in our diet, our gut will suffer. Adding foods rich in polyphenols (Dark rich fruits and vegetables) like berries, papaya, kale, Swiss chard, Broccoli, asparagus, sweet potatoes, and much more all have antioxidants and enzymes that help to build a robust microbiome—adding fermented foods and root vegetables, such as cabbage, celery, cucumbers, sauerkraut, kefir, pickled onions, and pickles. These foods contain strains of prebiotics and probiotics to help build up your gut bacteria. It is recommended to have 2-3 servings of these types of foods a day, depending on your dietary needs.

Digest Enzymes- This is one of the most underrated things to add to your diet. Digest enzymes help increase the body's ability to absorb nutrients and break down toxins to help get rid of them. Each digest enzyme (Lipase, Amylase, Protease, Lactase, Maltase, Sucrase, Bromelain), and there are more, but these are the main ones that help to break down the majority of foods in your gut, from protein, carbs, and fats. Supplementing these foods can increase your nutrient absorption, metabolic rate, and serotonin levels.

Manage Stress- As I stated above, stress can instantly kill our gut microbiome. The more we stress, the more our gut has to digest food and emotions. We can work on our self-awareness, meditate, journal, and build our internal happiness. The less work our gut has to do, the better it can do its job at protecting, digesting, and giving us energy so we can live a fulfilling and productive life. If you are struggling with someone, please do not hesitate to ask for help. It is essential to talk to someone who can help you process your emotions and give you exercises to help you manage your stress.

Take Away

The overall message here is to bring awareness to your gut health. It is the centerpiece of our health and protects us from diseases such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and much more. By eliminating toxins and implementing the right foods, you can be on your way to better digestion and more energy.