“All disease begins in the gut” Hippocrates

Did you know that healing the health of your gastrointestinal system can have major positive effects on your entire body, from mood, to memory and more.

Healing your gut allows your body to build a stronger immune system and produce the right kind of bacteria that tells your brain that it’s ok to feel good again.

Digestion, mood, health and even the way people think is being linked to their “second brain” , ie. your gut, more and more every day.

The Enteric Nervous System or ENS is what scientists are calling the 100 million or so nerve cells that line the gastrointestinal tract. The main role of the ENT is to control digestion, but in doing so it also communicates back and forth with the brain as to the overall health of the body’s gut and in turn its immune system.

Some of the symptoms of disturbed gut health are;

Abdominal pain
Bloating after meals
Reflux
Flatulence
Headaches
Fatigue
Joint pain
Immune system weakness
Weight gain / loss

Dysbiosis is the result of too many bad “bugs” including bacteria, yeast and sometimes parasites and not enough of the good ones. This imbalance causes damage to the mucosal layer of your GI tract – normally smooth but the layer then becomes permeable, allowing food proteins to enter into the blood stream. This activates your immune system causing inflammation, food sensitivities and many other symptoms both in the GI system and throughout the whole body.

For mental health, serotonin is well know as a brain neurotransmitter and approximately 90% of the body’s serotonin is made in the digestive tract, a lack of this serotonin which is cultivated by certain bacteria in the gut and affects mental health has links also with diseases like irritable bowel syndrome, leaky gut, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.

So what can you do about improving your Gut?

Firstly, by determining the underlying issues, we can make a then make a plan for yourself to get your body back to optimal gut health.

Come and meet with me to start a nutrition plan that matches your lifestyle.

The old adage “ You are what you eat” becomes more accurate every day.