Most people do not think about their gut health unless they feel sick, but your gut health significantly impacts your overall health.
The connection between your gut and your immune system cannot be overstated; 70% of your immune system resides in the gut. Gut health is also directly related to your skin, brain, and hormones.
Dr. Mark Hyman explains, “The health of the 100 trillion bugs in your gut is one of the biggest things that impacts your health.” When the healthy gut bacteria is out of balance with the bad gut bacteria, we are set up for trouble.
Hyman says that obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, autoimmune disease, asthma, eczema, and even depression are affected by the health of your gut flora. So, taking care of your gut is imperative.
Let's look at how to support healthy gut flora by weeding, seeding, and feeding.
What Happens to the Gut
When your gut lining breaks down you develop a ‘leaky gut.' This can be caused by using antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, or excessive alcohol use. It can also be affected by stress, a diet of processed foods, or food sensitivities (foods generally considered "healthy," but aren't working for your body).
Once you develop a leaky gut, your immune system must deal with the food particles, bacteria, and microbes that leak into the body through the compromised gut barrier that would normally keep them from gaining access.
This creates havoc in your system and triggers an immune response. This can lead to autoimmune issues where your immune system attacks your body. (Hashimoto's thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, chron's disease, ulcerative colitis, etc.)
Ways to Support Gut Health
We need the proper balance of bacteria to establish a healthy gut.
- “Weeding” - reduce bad bacteria by reducing sugar, alcohol, and processed foods. In some cases, it may be important to reduce the amount of bad bacteria through herbs or prescription medicine.
- “Seeding” - increase the good bacteria through probiotics. Eat fermented foods like kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, and yogurt to increase the good bacteria in your gut. Most people would also benefit from a quality probiotic supplement.
- “Feeding” - provide prebiotics (food for the good bacteria in your gut). Eat a variety of onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, asparagus, leeks, carrots, bananas, apples, and almonds to feed the variety of "good" bacteria.
What to Look for in a Probiotic
In his book Healthy Gut, Healthy You, Dr. Michael Ruscio explains the 3 main categories of Probiotics.
- Lactobacillus & Bifidobacterium blends
- Saccharomyces boulardii
- Soil-based probiotics using various Bacillus species.
I recommend choosing one probiotic from each category to take simultaneously for at least 3-4 weeks. Check out this probiotic starter guide by Dr. Michael Ruscio to understand why this is a great way to get the probiotics you need.
What Brand to Use
Quality matters for probiotics. In addition to not containing what they claim, some probiotics have been found to contain unacceptable microorganisms. I recommend brands that go through external audits. This ensures the product contains what is on the label and does not contain unacceptable organisms or common allergens (gluten, dairy, and soy).
There is no "perfect" brand; the most expensive one is not necessarily the best. However, if a probiotic is much cheaper than others on the market it may not have good quality control practices and likely isn’t independently tested.
Supplements can be damaged by prolonged storage or exposure to heat. So please do not buy them on Amazon. The company admits that they can't guarantee that what is advertised is what you will receive. This means you could be paying for a product you don't get.
As always, I'm available to discuss your gut health or your use of probiotics. Just give me a call, and we'll set up an appointment so we can discuss it!
Dr. Jamie
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