Why is your digestive system important?

Did you know that about 60% of your immune system is located in your gut?

A standard American diet (one low in fiber and nutrients, high in sugar, simple carbs, and chemical additives) changes the ecosystem of our guts and promotes an unhealthy gut. An unhealthy gut means it's going to be reeeeeallly hard to lose weight.

How your digestive system works

First, the bugs in your gut function like a rainforest — a diverse and interdependent ecosystem. The 3 pounds of bacteria there include some 500 different species that act as a chemical factory — helping you digest your food, produce vitamins, regulate hormones, excrete toxins and produce healing compounds that keep your gut healthy.

But for you to be healthy, these bacteria must be in balance. Too many of the wrong bugs, like parasites, yeasts and bad bacteria — or not enough of the good bugs, like lactobacillus or bifidobacteria — can seriously damage your health.

This means chronic inflammation (which can manifest itself from anything from fibromyalgia to  headaches to eczema), a jacked up metabolism (you're dieting and exercising but not losing anything), improper nutrient absorption (your body isn't absorbing vitamins from food).

Second, the gut is delicate. Your entire immune system and the rest of your body are protected from the toxic environment in the gut by only a one-cell-thick layer — the epithelium — that covers a surface area the size of a tennis court! If that barrier is damaged, you will get sick and your immune system will become overactive, producing inflammation throughout the body.

And then there’s your second brain. That’s right, your second brain. Your gut literally contains its own nervous system. In fact, the ”brain” in your gut contains more neurotransmitters than the brain in your head.

The intestinal nervous system is wired back to your brain, and messages travel between the two. When those messages are altered for any reason in any direction — from the brain to the gut or the gut to the brain — your health will suffer.

But wait, there’s more: Your gut also has to dispose of all the toxins created as a byproduct of your metabolism. If things get backed up, your entire body can become overrun with toxins.

Get it? Weight loss = impossible.

Finally, in the midst of all of this, your gut must break down all the food you eat, separate all the vitamins and minerals, and shuttle everything across the epithelium into your bloodstream for you to stay healthy.

-experiencelife.com 

So how do you know if yours is healthy or not?

First, take a look at your diet. Are you eating lean proteins, complex carbs, and healthy fats? Or are you eating fast food, processed garbage, and too much/not enough calories?

Second, do you frequently have any of the following?

• Gas
• Bloating
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Bad breath

Before you can lose weight, your digestive ecosystem has to be in check. A book called The Schwarzbein Principle explains, in full detail, why the health of your digestive system determines whether or not you will be able to lose weight.

So what do I do?

Doctors tend to overlook digestive health because it's not exactly life threatening. It will, however,  make you and keep you fat, it'll drain your energy levels and wreck your immune system. How do you fix your digestive system? Simple. Eat clean.

- Eat whole, unprocessed fiber-filled foods like whole grains, beans, vegetables, nuts, seeds.

- Take digestive enzymes**

- Add a probiotic supplement into your diet (and eat more greek yogurt!)

- Take Omega 3 supplements, which help with inflammation in the gut

- Glutamine and Zinc can also be gut-healing supplements **

**Always discuss with your doctor before taking any supplement.

Did we even need another reason to eat healthy? Next time you reach for that sugary latte or piece of pizza, think beyond just the calories. A healthy gut means a healthy, fit body.