Health goes beyond numbers on a scale or how much weight you can lift at the gym. It's really about taking care of your gut first and foremost. Your gut can also dramatically impact your success, productivity, and focus. Here's how it works.
Reduces Bloating
Our gut can get unhealthy when overwhelmed by stress, poor diet, and even antibiotics and medicines. Bloating is uncomfortable and a signal that our bacteria is out of balance and needs to be restored. Doing nothing could lead to the overpopulation of harmful bacteria and a dying off of good bacteria that keep us healthy.
Bloating can make us seem even more significant than we are and can hold onto stubborn weight. It's also difficult to focus on the task at hand when your belly is uncomfortable with bloat. Work on balancing your gut with more probiotics like yogurt to ease the discomfort.
Combats Fatigue
Candida is common bacteria found in our body, but too much can cause severe fatigue and a feeling of fogginess. Candida is a notorious sugar eater, and feeding them processed foods will only aggravate the issue.
When you're too tired, you can't reach your fitness goals or even push off sugar cravings. The vicious cycle of an issue like candida is feeling crashy, fueling your body with more sugar to wake up, and then being even more tired than before.
Calms Your Skin
There are all kinds of reasons skin break-outs, gets irritated and develops rashes. While some people focus exclusively on their skincare routine, few look at their gut. Too much inflammation in our gut can leak out proteins that eventually irritate our skin. More scientists are researching how our gut health can lead to issues like eczema or chronic acne.
Soothes Irritable Bowels
People who suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, often face an uphill battle of aligning their gut health, digestion, and lifestyle. However, you don't need IBS to have irritated bowels. Regardless of what's bothering your tummy, improving your gut health can help fight off pain and discomfort. You end up happier, healthier, and more focused to greet the day.
Balances Hormones
Some people call the microbiome the forgotten organ. Your gut can impact everything from neurocognition to hormone levels and our attitude. Women are especially prone to hormone balances during peri-menopause, cycles, and after having children. The right mix of gut bacteria and balance can help you feel more regulated as your hormones calm.
Promotes Weight Loss
If you've been struggling to lose weight despite your best efforts with diet and exercise, it could be your gut bacteria. Although your gat won't directly cause you to lose weight, improving its health could. A healthy gut can absorb more nutrients, feel nourished easier, and get full faster. Eating a diverse range of healthy food, cutting out sweeteners, and eating a plant-based diet and whole grains are a few places to start.
Restores Sleep
Your gut health can significantly impact your sleep patterns and even create chemical messengers, like serotonin. When your gut health is compromised, your brain may be switching more frequently between sleep and awake states. Scientists believe this may be related to low serotonin levels, but more research is being done.
You already know a lack of sleep can lead to a loss of focus and productivity that contributes to your success. But poor sleep also impacts weight loss. Researchers found that when dieters cut back on sleep for over two weeks, the amount of weight they lost from fat dropped by 55%. This proved true even though their calories stayed equal.
Helps Autoimmune Issues
An increasing amount of research links autoimmune issues to your gut biome. Did you know 80 percent of your immune system is within the gut lining? Any imbalances you may experience could contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases. Some conditions include GI tract issues, celiacs disease, allergies, encephalomyelitis, early arthritis, and more.
Autoimmune conditions can range from mild symptoms to severe. Fatigue, joint pain, skin problems, abdominal pain, and allergies are just a few issues you could encounter.
Addresses Food Tolerances
Your gut microbiota directly impacts food sensitivity and how you break it down. The right bacteria can help break down gluten protein and decrease its toxicity. This action is of particular importance to celiac sufferers who cannot break down gluten without damaging their intestines.
Final Thoughts
A healthy diet, exercise, and accountability can all help reach your goals for fitness success. You can also try a probiotic supplement to help get your digestion and gut health back on track. Whatever you try, take action and empower yourself to make changes in your life to feel as good as you deserve.