Things They Didn’t Teach You In School: Gut Health Edition
We did SexEd and learned about the basics of human biology in school, right? But what did we really learn? Not enough, in my opinion. So, I’m here to share some of my favorite tidbits about how our bodies work. In this edition of Things They Didn’t Teach You In School, we’re focusing on the gastrointestinal system or “gut.”
You might be wondering why this warrants a blog post - after all, the gut is just digesting food and “eliminating” it from our bodies, right?
WRONG. It’s so, so much more, and I’m about to nerd out for you, and hope that it blows your mind and shifts the way you think about how your body works.
It’s all interconnected. Your body is a system, a machine, a chain linked together, each link supporting the others. So let’s dive in.
First and foremost:
The Gut <-> Brain Connection
Have you heard that the gut is the second brain? Now people are starting to think that the gut is actually the FIRST brain. Did you know that if you aren’t absorbing proper nutrients during digestion, or that if you’re lacking certain bacteria in your gut, that it can affect how your brain works? Have you heard about the studies and trials they’ve done that have eliminated symptoms of autism by adjusting the person’s gut bacteria? It’s pretty incredible, and such a powerful tool to have in your arsenal for optimizing how your mind and body works.
Here’s an example: Have you ever been depressed or sad and instinctively craved ice cream or sweet treats? There’s a reason for that. Sugar increases dopamine in the body, which makes you feel happier. BUT as soon as the sugar crash happens, you feel even lower than before and chances are your stomach will feel it as well. What you eat affects your body, plain and simple.
Next up we get even more nerdy…
The Vagus Nerve
The Vagus nerve is the longest nerve in your body, that connects the brain directly to the gut, and is responsible for controlling your nervous system. The nervous system controls signals that go between your brain and your other organs. It also controls whether or not you are stressed or relaxed. Remember hearing about the “Fight or Flight” reaction? Well, there’s also a “rest and digest” reaction that is controlled by the nervous system.
Have you ever been so anxious or nervous that you feel like you have to go to the bathroom? The nervous system is responsible for that effect. Have you ever noticed that when you get stressed out you either eat a lot more than normal, or stop eating for a time all together? Stress activates the nervous system and can then shut down digestion!
This is why it’s not great to eat while watching action-packed or scary TV shows! It tricks your mind into turning on Fight or Flight mode and halts digestion.
Let’s segue right into that then…
Digestion
It’s more than just pooping - it’s absorption of nutrients and elimination of toxins. What happens if you’re not breaking down and absorbing nutrients? You can feel tired, weak, stiff/sore, unmotivated, depressed, impatient, etc. You’re not getting the nutrients you need for your organs to function. You might notice you feel the need to nap, or you aren’t sleeping well, your anxiety is increase, or you’re feeling a bit down. That’s your body sending you an alert that something isn’t right.
What happens if you aren’t eliminating toxins? Your organs have to work over time to work optimally, leading to headaches, muscle soreness, nausea, health conditions in specific organs like kidneys, liver, etc.
So how do you know if you’re getting the nutrients you need? You ask your doctor to run a Complete Metabolic Panel blood test. They’ll wonder why you want it, and you can tell them you’d like to be informed about your body and see if there’s a reason for X/Y/Z symptoms you’re having. This is one of my favorite blood tests to nerd out over, because it can explain SO much - everything from leg twitches and bowel irregularities (not going to #2 each day for example) to low energy and hair loss.
Digestion is key to keeping things moving and also a huge factor in the effective function of our next topic…
The Immune System
70% of your immune system resides in your intestinal tract. This means, if you’re eating things that are disrupting digestion (think sugar, coffee, and gluten to name a few of the biggest culprits), you’re feeding the bad bacteria in your gut, which then weakens your immune system.
Alternatively, if you’re eating things like gluten, sugar, and coffee, it wears down the lining of your intestines, making it possible for food, toxins, and gluten to get into your bloodstream. This then creates inflammation in your intestines which activates your auto-immune response. As a result, might start seeing a variety of symptoms come up like constipation, lethargy, bloating and gas, rectal bleeding during a bowel movement, brain fog/memory issues, skin rashes or eczema, acne, and many more.
How do we down regulate (get rid of) inflammation? We start by flushing the body of toxins and making sure the organs have what they need to do their jobs effectively. Which brings me to our next subject:
Water & Organ Support
It does more than quench your thirst. And while, most people know that 60% of your body is water, most people don’t think about how our body doesn’t create its own water… Our digestion shuts down when there isn’t enough water between all of our organs. And because so many other organs rely on water in order to survive, your body prioritizes those.
According to H.H. Mitchell, Journal of Biological Chemistry 158, the brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even the bones are watery: 31%.
So, in order to support the gut, there are studies that say women should be drinking 2 LITERS of water per day, and men should be drinking 3 per day. It seems like a lot, but it’s the number one way to support proper function of your digestive tract as well as your other vital organs... So drink up!
Now I’ve talked a lot about how your body works, but all of this leads to …
How you Feel
You can only feel as good as your body is functioning. You are what you eat never made sense to me. But you FEEL what you eat does. As you’ve read now, what you put into your body affects your brain function, mood, immune system, and so much more, but it also affects immediate feeling.
Imagine the following:
You’re on a road trip, in the middle of seemingly nowhere, you’re hungry and the only thing around is that fast food chain you normally just drive passed, but you’re hungry so you grab some food. Afterwards, you feel unsatisfied, tired, and unfulfilled.
Now imagine this:
You’re invited to a dinner party at a friend’s or family member’s house. There’s homemade food on the table, people chatting, and you notice that there’s a salad, some meat, some veggies, maybe some bread and butter on the table, maybe a bottle or wine to share, and you heard there was dessert for later. Afterwards you feel well-fed, fulfilled, maybe a little tired, but less likely because you’ve scarfed down too many processed foods.
Or imagine this:
You’re at home, standing in front of the refrigerator trying to decide what to eat for dinner. You go with something simple - a meat of your choosing, some frozen veggies and seasoning, maybe a side salad. You sit down to eat and afterwards you feel: ______________? Chances are, you’d feel more fulfilled, full, and a lot less food-tired.
Food has so many functions in life - creating community, entertaining, creativity, nourishment, but it’s also the one thing that controls the functions of our body - so choose wisely! Your gut will thank you!
As you can see now, your gastrointestinal system (your gut) has a direct hold on so many aspects of your body. Now that you know some of the functions the gut directly affects, what will you do differently tomorrow with regards to your diet?
Questions? Leave them below and I’ll reply with additional resources!
Be well,
Mia