[Blogger’s Note: This was shared with a group of us who are taking Plexus (or – in my case – am starting on Plexus next week, and will be blogging about my journey). I was absolutely amazed at how many of these 40 health problems I have, or have had at one time, or how many that someone I am personally connected to, has. Wow! How many of these 40 problems listed below, have you dealt with in your lifetime, or are facing now? It could very easily be related to your gut health!!!]
Your health problems may have a root in your belly bacteria.
From minor to major, a whole host of health issues could have a root in your gut.
Your gut is so much more than your body’s destination for digestion; it’s the motor that keeps your engine running.
Over 70 percent of the human immune system resides in our digestive tract, and while healthy foods can keep your belly bacteria in balance, it doesn’t take much to throw that essential ecosystem out of wack.
One meal that disagrees with you, a round of antibiotics, stress, or lifestyle changes can all impact the healthy bacteria that keep our immune systems healthy and working hard. The result can be more than just a bit of digestive distress — from infections to arterial disease to certain types of cancer, your health woes are more tied to your gut than you might think.
OBESITY
That’s right, the battle of the bulge doesn’t always start on your plate. While many of us assume that our weight issues stem solely from our diet, our belly bacteria may have something to do with our weight, as well. Research conducted at Yale University reveals that acetate produced in the intestinal tract sends a signal to the brain to produce unnecessary insulin, causing fat storage, and, over time, obesity.
ALZHEIMER’S
Your brain and your belly are more interconnected that you might have thought. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered that mice implanted with gut bacteria from other diseased mice had more plaques — one of the most common signs of Alzheimer’s — in their brain than those implanted with healthy gut bacteria.
CELIAC
Your gluten allergy and your gut health are one and the same. Celiac, a chronic autoimmune disease triggered by gluten, is thought to be interrelated to gut health because of the thousands of healthy bacteria that eating gluten wipes out and the unhealthy, potentially harmful bacteria celiac flare-ups can leave behind.
DIARRHEA
It comes as no surprise to most of us that your unhappy intestines are related to your balance of gut bacteria. When you develop inflammation or infection in your digestive tract, it can often trigger diarrhea, which can start a cycle of poor gut health. Fortunately, you can stop this cyclical issue by adding plenty of prebiotic fiber to your diet in the form of fruits and vegetables.
ANEMIA
Stop your anemia in its tracks by healing your gut today. Many individuals’ poor gut health triggers their anemia and they don’t even know it — whether it’s bleeding after a surgery or passing blood over time, the well-being of your digestive tract is essential.
BLOATING
Is your clothing suddenly feeling a size too small? It’s likely an imbalance in your gut bacteria. When you have an overgrowth of unhealthy gut bacteria, the gas they give off can lead to uncomfortable bloating and belly pain. Luckily, once you start loading your diet with healthy, fiber-rich foods and cut out triggers, like dairy and artificial sweeteners, your symptoms are likely to subside.
MALNUTRITION
When you’re not absorbing enough nutrients from your food, malnutrition might not be far behind. For many people, particularly those with leaky gut syndrome, malnutrition can be a fact of life, and one that makes them tired, nauseated, and prone to infection, too. Luckily, adding the right foods to your diet and healing your gut can help you change your nutritional future in no time.
ULCERS
Belly pain and ulcers could be the result of a less-than-healthy gut microbiome. When too much bad bacteria has free rein in your belly, it can cause inflammation, a disruption of your belly’s natural pH balance, and erosion of your stomach lining.
INDIGESTION
Is dinner not sitting right in your stomach? It could be your gut bacteria. When your gut bacteria isn’t doing its job, it can make it more difficult for you to digest your food, causing indigestion and stomach pain.
CONSTIPATION
If your digestive tract has slowed down from a sprint to a crawl, your gut bacteria could be the root of the issue. If your gut bacteria aren’t properly working to digest your food, it may slow down your motility, leaving you constipated and uncomfortable.
EXHAUSTION
Feeling tired? Can’t seem to keep your eyes open at work? It could be an issue with your gut. When you’re not effectively digesting your food, you might be missing out on key nutrients, which can make you feel sleepy and sluggish, even after a full night’s rest.
MALROTATION
You may have figuratively felt your stomach tie itself up in knots, but if you suffer from malrotation, that pain is a whole lot more literal. Malrotation is a condition of the digestive tract in which a twisted intestine can cause pain, vomiting, loss of blood flow, and infection. Fortunately, the condition can be treated through surgery and managed with a low-fiber diet.
DIABETES
Your diabetes diagnosis and your gut bacteria are more related than you might think. Researchers at the Center for Genome Sciences and Washington University School of Medicine have discovered a link between gut bacteria, obesity, metabolism, and diabetes in mice, indicating that the right balance in your belly may help reduce your risk of weight gain that can predispose you to insulin regulation issues.
IBD
Not to be confused with IBS, IBD is a blanket term for inflammatory gut health issues that includes conditions like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. Fortunately for those suffering with symptoms on a regular basis, research published in Nature Reviews Immunology reveals that disturbances in the gut microbiome can be triggers for the condition, suggesting that adding probiotic foods to your diet may be able to help relieve some symptoms.
SMALL INTESTINE BACTERIAL OVERGROWTH
For many people, digestive issues aren’t limited to the occasional bloating or belly pain. For those with imbalances in their gut, bacterial overgrowth can become an issue which often leads to heath problems elsewhere in the body.
GASTROPARESIS
Digestive motility is essential for your overall health, but those suffering from gastroparesis aren’t so lucky. This condition, marked by delayed emptying of the stomach, can develop when your gut bacteria has caused a delay in the digestive process, making it harder for your body to process your food and causing nausea, belly pain, and acid reflux, among other symptoms.
BOWEL OBSTRUCTION
Bowel obstruction is more than just constipation by a fancier name — it’s a serious condition that can prove fatal. When your digestive bacteria aren’t working at full steam, a blockage can occur in your intestines, sometimes resulting in a perforation that can cause digestive secretions to leak out into your abdominal cavity and spark a massive, often life-threatening infection.
PARKINSON’S
A Parkinson’s diagnosis can turn your life on its head, but getting your gut bacteria in order may help reduce your risk. Research published in Movement Disorders reveals that patients studied with Parkinson’s Disease were significantly more likely to have an overgrowth of bacteria in their gut, suggesting that dietary modifications may make a difference among those diagnosed with the disease.
WEIGHT GAIN
Your gut bacteria could be the reason you’re carrying some extra pounds. Research published in PNAS reveals that mice with so-called “normal” gut bacteria had 60 percent more body fat and weighed more, even when fed fewer calories than mice with a germ-free gut, suggesting that getting that gut bacteria in balance could be the slimdown solution you’ve been looking for all along.
LEAKY GUT
While a hotly debated topic in the scientific community, those who study leaky gut syndrome believe it may be responsible for a wide variety of health issues. This condition, in which a permeable gut causes widespread inflammation in the human body, may cause problems from your belly to your brain, but fortunately, it may also have a simple solution: a probiotic-rich diet and plenty of fiber.
ARTHRITIS
All that joint inflammation and pain you’ve been experiencing stem from somewhere. Hint: it’s your gut. When your gut bacteria is imbalanced, it can trigger an inflammatory response throughout your body, including your joints, causing painful arthritis symptoms.
PSORIASIS
Like many other skin conditions, psoriasis may start in your gut. When your gut microbiome is out of balance, it can cause a profound inflammatory effect on your immune system, prompting symptoms of psoriasis to crop up. In fact, the National Psoriasis Foundation suggests probiotic therapy as an alternative to immune-disruption drugs as a possible treatment for the condition.
HIVES
If you’re suffering from hives and can’t figure out their cause, you might want to figure out what’s going on in your gut. Leaky gut syndrome has been linked to hives and other dermatological conditions, so if you’re suffering from itchy and unsightly hives, it’s time to talk to your doctor about dietary changes you can make.
GASTRITIS
Often mistaken for the flu, gastritis is an inflammation of the stomach that can cause nausea, ulcers, and may even increase your risk of certain cancers. If you’re dealing with regular bouts of gastritis, talk to your doctor about making dietary changes, like increasing your intake of fresh fruits and veggies, drinking more water, and incorporating exercise into your daily routine, that may help you reduce your symptoms.
NAUSEA
Feeling nauseated? It could be an issue in your gut. When you have an overgrowth of certain types of gut bacteria, it can trigger an inflammatory response, making you feel a bit queasy or under the weather.
PCOS
It’s estimated that up to 10 percent of women have PCOS, but the answers about treating this painful, often fertility-affecting condition seem to be few and far between. However, there is hope — researchers at Dalian Medical University have discovered that supplementation with beneficial bacteria helped reduce PCOS symptoms in rats.
IBS
As much as 15 percent of adults suffer with IBS, and for many, painful and embarrassing symptoms are an almost daily occurrence. The good news? Research suggests that getting your gut bacteria in balance with a healthy, probiotic and prebiotic-rich diet can help.
IMMUNE HEALTH ISSUES
Seventy percent of your immune system lives in your gut, so it’s no wonder that diets rich in processed foods are wreaking havoc on our overall health. Fortunately, there’s a cure: load up on antioxidant-rich foods, pump your diet with probiotics, and make sure you’re getting plenty of healthy fiber with every meal.
ACID REFLUX
That burning feeling in your stomach started deep down in your belly. When there’s an imbalance of bacteria in your digestive tract, it can affect the pH balance in your stomach, creating an environment where harmful bacteria thrive. This can cause acid reflux symptoms, which, if left untreated, can cause a number of more serious health issues, including cancers of the mouth, esophagus, and stomach.
HEART DISEASE
Get your gut bacteria in balance today and prevent a heart disease diagnosis in the future. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have discovered that an abundance of chemical TMAO, which can be created through the digestion of animal products, in your gut can predispose you to heart disease.
GALLSTONES
Your gallbladder and your digestive tract can be best friends or mortal enemies, depending on the health of your gut bacteria. Research published in BMC Genetics reveals that the presence of certain types of gut bacteria can predispose you to cholesterol gallstones, so if you’re struggling with gallbladder issues, it might be time to reevaluate your diet.
DIVERTICULITIS
Struggling with belly pain, nausea, and fever, but don’t have the flu that usually accompanies them? It could be diverticulitis. This medical condition occurs when the diverticula, tiny pouches inside the intestines, become inflamed or infected, causing pain, nausea, and fevers. Fortunately, improving the health of your gut and loading up on probiotic foods may help reduce your risk.
ECZEMA
Getting your eczema symptoms under control starts with making your gut healthier. Many doctors believe that eczema can be triggered by a leaky gut, which can prevent you body from absorbing adequate nutrients and can trigger an inflammatory response throughout the body.
YEAST INFECTION
If you’ve ever developed a yeast infection after a course of antibiotics, you’re not alone. Unfortunately for some of us, a wipe out of your gut bacteria, whether from illness or antibiotics, can trigger candida overgrowth elsewhere in the body, causing yeast infections and oral thrush.
DEPRESSION
When that sadness you’re feeling is more than the blues, you may have your gut bacteria to blame. Research conducted at McMaster University in Ontario reveals that depression and gut bacteria are inextricably intertwined, thanks to what is know as the gut-brain axis. When gut bacteria is imbalanced, it can trigger feelings of depression, and vice versa. Fortunately, getting your gut in healthy, working order can be as easy as increasing your intake of nutrient- fiber-rich foods that allow your healthy gut bacteria to grow and thrive.
COLON CANCER
Colon cancer is the second deadliest form of cancer out there, and it starts taking root in your gut long before you’re diagnosed. When your gut bacteria is out of whack, it can lead to chronic constipation, which is often a precursor to both benign colon polyps and the development of colon cancer cells.
ATHEROSCLEROSIS
Those hardening arteries probably started lower than you imagined. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College have discovered a strong link between an imbalance of gut bacteria and increased atherosclerosis risk.
ACNE
That slice of pizza or piece of chocolate you ate are unlikely sources of your acne, but that doesn’t mean your gut and your skin are totally unrelated. Unhealthy gut bacteria can trigger inflammation throughout your body, including your skin, leading to acne, redness, and scarring.
HEPATITIS
Hepatitis-related liver trouble can start — and be made worse — by your gut bacteria. Research published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology suggests that unhealthy gut bacteria can make hepatitis and liver scarring worse over time.
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
Your boss isn’t the only thing raising your blood pressure — your gut bacteria may have a hand in the situation, as well. Research from Johns Hopkins suggests that bad gut bacteria can trigger high blood pressure and hypertension, but fortunately, the reverse is true, as well, meaning that getting your gut in shape today can reduce your risk of a cardiovascular event in the future. The prescription? More fiber, more water, and more diligence about what goes in your mouth.
*Article taken from MSN.com.
Simple Home and Hearth 