The Gut: Your Body’s Unsung Hero

In the intricate landscape of human health, the gut plays a starring role. It’s not just a processing unit for the food we eat; it’s a bustling ecosystem of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms collectively known as the gut microbiome. This microbiome plays a vital role in various bodily functions, from digestion to immune system regulation and even mental health. When your gut is out of balance, your body often sends signals to let you know. Understanding these signs can empower you to take proactive steps towards gut health. Here are some common signs indicating an unhealthy gut:

Common Signs of an Unhealthy Gut

1. Digestive Issues:

   One of the most apparent signs of an unhealthy gut is digestive distress. This can manifest as constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas, or heartburn. These symptoms may occur regularly after meals, indicating difficulty in digesting certain foods or an imbalance in gut bacteria.

2. Food Intolerances:

   If you notice that certain foods consistently cause discomfort or digestive issues, you may have developed a food intolerance. This occurs when your gut struggles to break down specific components of food, leading to symptoms like bloating, gas, diarrhea, or nausea. Common culprits include gluten, dairy, and certain FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols).

3. Unintentional Weight Changes:

   Significant and unexplained changes in weight, whether gaining or losing, could be a sign of an unhealthy gut. An imbalanced gut microbiome can affect nutrient absorption, metabolism, and fat storage, potentially leading to weight fluctuations.

4. Persistent Fatigue:

   Feeling chronically tired, even after a full night’s sleep, may indicate an unhealthy gut. The gut microbiome influences energy levels by helping to extract nutrients from food and produce essential compounds like vitamins and short-chain fatty acids. Disruptions in this process can lead to fatigue and reduced energy levels.

5. Mood Disturbances:

   The gut and the brain are intimately connected through the gut-brain axis. Changes in gut health can influence mood and mental well-being. Research suggests that imbalances in gut bacteria may contribute to conditions like anxiety, depression, and mood swings.

6. Skin Problems:

   Skin conditions such as acne, eczema, or rosacea can sometimes be linked to gut health issues. Inflammation in the gut can trigger immune responses that manifest as skin irritation or inflammation.

7. Autoimmune Conditions:

   Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s tissues. Emerging evidence suggests that gut health plays a significant role in autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and Crohn’s disease. Imbalances in gut bacteria and increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut) may contribute to autoimmune responses.

8. Sugar Cravings:

   Cravings for sugary foods might indicate an imbalance in gut bacteria. Harmful bacteria thrive on sugar, and an overgrowth of these microbes can influence cravings and eating patterns, perpetuating an unhealthy cycle.

9. Chronic Bad Breath:

   Persistent bad breath, despite proper oral hygiene, could be a sign of an unhealthy gut. Imbalances in gut bacteria can produce foul-smelling gases that are expelled through the breath.

10. Weak Immune System:

    Frequent illnesses, infections, or slow wound healing may suggest a weakened immune system, which can be linked to gut health. The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in immune system function, helping to identify and combat pathogens.

What to Do If You Notice These Signs

It’s essential to remember that experiencing one or more of these symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean you have an unhealthy gut. However, if you consistently notice several of these signs, it may be time to take steps to improve your gut health.

Simple Steps to Support Gut Health

So, what can you do to support a healthy gut? Start by focusing on your diet. Incorporate plenty of fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to nourish beneficial gut bacteria. Fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and kimchi can also introduce probiotics to help maintain a diverse and balanced microbiome.

Reducing stress through relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga, or deep breathing exercises can also benefit gut health. Exercise regularly, stay hydrated, and prioritize getting enough sleep each night.

If you’re concerned about your gut health or experiencing persistent symptoms, consider consulting with a healthcare professional or a registered dietitian. They can provide personalized guidance and support to help you optimize your gut health and overall well-being.

Remember, your body often communicates its needs and imbalances through subtle signs. By tuning in and listening to these signals, you can take proactive steps to support a healthy gut and a happier, healthier you.

Lights on the tree, and Christmas music playing on the radio…Yes, the holidays are in full swing! In the coming weeks you will be faced with multiple social gatherings and parties, all in celebration of this wonderful time of year! So, we thought it would be helpful to send a little holiday party survival guide to help with your waist-line during this festive season.

The reason you are at a party is to celebrate with friends, family and co-workers. Keep that, and these rules in mind to help you better navigate the party platters and open bar at your upcoming holiday gatherings.

Rule 1: Don’t show up to the party hungry! Try to eat a well-balanced meal or snack before heading to a party where there will be food and drinks. Arriving to a party on an empty stomach will most likely lead to reaching for, and gobbling down the first thing you see. Eating too quickly doesn’t allow enough time for your brain to recognize there is food in the stomach and may lead to second and third ( and maybe more) servings, leading to a VERY high caloric intake.

Rule 2: Allow yourself a couple food items. Don’t deprive yourself of yummy holiday treats. Instead, choose one or two food items to enjoy, eat slowly and savor each bite.

Rule 3: Survey the spread before choosing your food. If you don’t love it, don’t eat it. Look for the food items you LOVE and ones that you don’t come across often. Remember, it is not your job to sample all of the food on the buffet :)

Rule 4: Limit calories from beverages. Most alcoholic drinks are loaded with calories and sugar. Try alternating alcohol with non alcoholic drinks to avoid extra calories. Also, if drinking liquor, use water or seltzer water as a mixer rather than fruit juice or soda.

Other strategies to help avoid over eating:

– Pop gum in your mouth if you feel like eating.

– Wear tight fitting clothing. This will make you more aware of your body and less likely to over eat.

– Keep one hand busy. Keep a cup of water in your hand to avoid reaching for more snacks.

You’ve no doubt see some of these “pre-workout” concoctions floating around on supplement store shelves. What’s that about? Do you really need to mix a drink BEFORE your workout too? Well … no. But, you DO want to enter your workout in an optimal state. Now the sports nutrition sellers would have you believe that the optimum state is cracked out on enough caffeine, vein dilators, and blood thinners to bleed to death if you dropped a dumbbell on your toe. That’s not optimal. Rather, a stable flow of glucose through blood to well rested and thoroughly hydrated muscle cells is optimum. Much of that is accomplished the day (and night) before the workout. 

A Smarter Approach to Pre-Workout Fuel

However, to make sure you have enough “attack” energy, try eating a light snack of starch with a touch of protein or 15-20 minutes before hitting your workout. This will ensure your blood sugar is “topped off.” Just avoid too much fiber or fat, as too much of these could make you feel full and sluggish. The timing and amount here are important. Too much food too early (a full meal an hour before the workout, for example) will have the opposite effect, making you want to nap instead of train.

Why Post-Workout Protein Matters

You’ve heard the advice to eat protein immediately following a workout. Ever wonder why? Intense exercise stresses and breaks down muscle protein. Yes, even aerobic exercise does this. In response, the hormones that aid protein synthesis become immediately primed and ready to start the repair and rebuild process. Now think about it this way. If you had a ton of ready, willing, and able workers show up to begin building your dream house … would you want them to be short of materials? What a waste! So get that post-workout protein in – ideally within 30 minutes following your training. Additionally, include a little carbs with that protein to help replenish muscle glycogen and muscle water while stimulating insulin to drive the protein into the cell. So if you didn’t, now you know that you should get protein post-workout.

The Role of Protein Before Sleep

But did you know there is another key time that the body is primed for rebuilding and repair? You can probably guess it – sleep! Growth hormone elevates during deep sleep, and protein synthesis picks up the pace. With the lack of external movement energy needed, the body can focus on internal fixes. Muscle repair becomes a primary project. So be sure to consume pre-bed protein. That may be as simple as a quality dinner that includes some lean meat, if you go to sleep soon afterward. For many people though, a post-dinner snack is in order. The perfect combination is a slower-absorbing protein like casein (milk protein) with a fruit like banana (which can also aid more restful sleep). But if you are staying away from dairy, mixing some whey protein in a little almond milk works as well, since the fat in the nut milk will slow the absorption of the protein, helping to last the night.

Ever see a protein bar or shake with a “Net Carb” count listed on the front? Perhaps you already understand this, but it remains a mystery to many people. I’d like to break down for you to make sure you are never in the dark.

The idea of a separate net carb count vs total carb count stems from the attempt to separate carbohydrates that actually impact your blood sugar levels from those that don’t.

Now you may be thinking – don’t all carbs affect your blood sugar? After all, even complex starches eventually become simple sugars in the blood.

Well, there are a few compounds that fall under the umbrella of carbohydrate, even though they have minimal or no affect on blood sugar.

The first is fiber. It enters and leaves your body in the same form. It never breaks down to sugar. In fact, it attracts water and the viscous solution is forms works much like a sponge, actually slowing the entry of sugar to your bloodstream. The more fiber you consume in a given meal, the lower the glycemic impact of any of the starches and sugars you consume in the same meal. So you could actually say that fiber DOES impact your blood sugar – but it does so in a POSITIVE way!

The second category of compounds with minimal affect on blood sugar is sugar alcohols. Some popular examples include glycerol, sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol. Now it’s a misconception that these never turn to sugar. That conversion can indeed happen, through gluconeogenesis, the same process that makes sugar from protein. But just like sourcing sugar from protein, however, the body doesn’t like to do it. The bigger fear is what too much of these substances can do your stomach and bowels. (not the way you want weight loss) A little bit here and there is non-issue for most people, but try to keep their use to a minimum, especially if you have a sensitive stomach.

So in summary, does the idea of “net carbs” have any value? Yes. When building a healthy meal, or picking a meal replacement bar or shake, it’s always a good idea to balance your carbohydrates with protein. For example, perhaps you find a meal replacement with 25 gram of protein but 37g of carbs. At first glance, you might be inclined to skip this option and look for something a little lower in carbs. But upon further investigation, you find that it has 11g of fiber and 1g of sugar alcohol. So it actually fits your needs, with a net carb count equal to the 25g of protein, while upping your day’s fiber total too!

Maybe you’ll get real lucky and find some “wonder” bread with no starch or sugar at all! (“wonder” how that tastes :)

Interested in learning more strategies? Check out the 4-Step Order of Eating to learn more techniques to help on your weight loss journey.

As a nutrition coach, one of the first questions I’ll ask people is: “what did you eat yesterday?” Eighty percent of folks really struggle to recall everything.

They can sit there and draw nothing but blanks for minutes … until it finally starts to come to them. Can you guess how they eventually remember?

Association. The key to remembering what they ate want to remember:

1) Where they were

2) Who they were with

3) What they were doing

Only after considering one of all of the above do they recall what they consumed.

There is a big lesson here. We remember what we eat by association … because we often simply eat by association.

So we can talk about this food being healthy and that food being unhealthy, and it’s good to know, but often times we know enough to make drastic improvements in our nutrition and hence quality of life, but we just don’t do it. Why?

I believe it’s because we fail to spend enough time becoming very aware of the circumstances, people, events, situations, and many times feelings … that are associated with our dietary choices.

Furthermore, how are we going to deliberately change unhealthy routines if we don’t recognize exactly when the routine is cue’d?

The short answer is – we aren’t. It’s just not going to happen – which is why awareness is SO important to the process of change.

Try this exercise for a few weeks and see what you learn about yourself: Start a new note on your smartphone and call it “Becoming Aware.” Every time you find yourself in an obviously unhealthy nutrition routine, label it as such and write down:

1) where you are

2) who you are with

3) what you are doing

4) how you are feeling

In the same manner, every time you find yourself in an obviously healthy routine, write down the same.

In just a few weeks, you will start to gain much clarity on your associated triggers.

When you figure out the where, who, what, and how … you can quite literally put yourself in the best possible positions to succeed.

But even more importantly, you can begin solve the game-changing question of why, which can eventually help you win wherever you are, whoever you are with, whatever you are doing, and however you may be feeling.