The Gut: The Starting Point to Health

In the western world we are taught that the body is broken up into a series of segments; an arm, a leg, a stomach, a brain, and so forth. However, our body is really a system functioning as a whole. How our gut is functioning can affect our brain, and how our brain is functioning can affect our hormones.

I have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel syndrome, and it has taken me over 5+ years of research to learn how to be healthy.

I believe the gut is the most important determinant of our overall health. You can not find one area of your body that isn't enormously affected by your gut health.

Without a healthy gut your brain isn’t receiving enough nourishment to function properly, leading to poor judgement and an inability to further help yourself. Inflammatory hormones can also travel from the gut to the brain causing anxiety and depression. All of this results in an overall feeling of confusion and hopelessness.

Furthermore, a stressed brain sends out stress signals to the rest of your body resulting in your organs being unable to rest and function properly. A stressed brain also results in a down-regulated gut, furthering problems.

It's not until you start to heal your gut that you begin to see how connected every part of your body is. You can not simply take an anti-inflammatory or an antidepressant and expect your symptoms to go away. You need to work with your body slowly to get the cogs to begin turning again and your organs to start functioning.

In order for me to glow from within I look at the beginning of digestion, the stomach. In order for stomach acid to break down my food I need to be relaxed when I eat, eat slowly, and if I need some extra help take a HCL (hydrochloric acid i.e. stomach acid) supplement (my favourite brand linked here). It is also important not to drink too much fluid while eating as this further dilutes stomach acid.

Without adequate stomach acid an overgrowth in candida (a fungal infection) can result, which down-regulates stomach acid further in order to aid its own survival. This can result in a vicious cycle. Taking a HCL supplement or some oregano oil (enteric coated oregano oil capsules only, as these capsules do not break down in the stomach causing indigestion- my go to brand linked here) are two ways to kill off candida overgrowth.

Next are the intestines, which is where the nutrients from your food are absorbed. This can be hindered by two things- inflammation causing damage to the lining where absorption usually takes place, and an overgrowth of candida or bacteria, who eat all your food and cause bloating from the gases they release. To kill off the candida and bacteria, again oregano oil is the most potent and effective treatment I've found. For the inflammation I like to take turmeric or drink licorice tea (my favourite brand linked here).

Candida also borrows into the lining of your intestines, so to heal up its hiding place I drink some bone broth full of collagen and minerals, rebuilding my gut lining and removing anywhere for it to live (For my favourite brand click here).

It is also important to discover any food intolerances that may be causing inflammatory reactions in your gut. This can be a painstakingly slow process, and you can have a food intolerance to almost anything. Keep trying to uncover these however, as it can be key to putting a stop to chronic inflammation.

This article only focuses on a small subsection of the organs of the body, the gut and brain, although in my opinion they are by far the most important.

Everyone’s body is different, with different amounts of stomach acid, different bacterial and fungal species living inside us, different food intolerances, different brains, and different anatomical structures of our organs. You need to do your own research and find whatever routine works best for you that you can perform everyday, or only when necessary to make yourself glow from within.

Since I began my gut health journey I have gone from an underweight 45kg to a healthy plump 62kg, I have muscle mass, I can finally eat foods without feeling constantly ill, and I have energy and positivity to greet every day.