What Is Good Gut Health?
Recently gut health has become a hot topic where many people are realizing their digestive patterns are not normal and usually highly uncomfortable. After going so long with regularly painful stomach issues, constipation, nausea etc, it is important to dig deeper and figure out what is the root cause. The gut generally refers to the entire gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, but specifically, here the gut will refer to the intestines. The gut is a lot more important than most would expect. The gut relates to digestion, but also hormone balance, immunity, and mental health. Poor gut health can really shock the system because it is so connected with many other mechanisms in the body. Here we will discuss what to look for when asking what is good gut health?
Here are 5 things to look for when asking what is good gut health:
1. Regular bowel movements
Regular bowel movements are one of the easiest things to look for when asking what is good gut health. While everyone can have vastly different bowel movement frequencies, it is generally expected that constipation is not normal or healthy. Constipation is when you have fewer than 3 bowel movements per week, difficult stool to pass, dry and hard stool, or feeling that not enough stool came out after a movement. With optimal gut health and hormone balance, people should have 1-3 bowel movements daily. Constipation is uncomfortable and not desired. Complications of constipation include hemorrhoid, anal fissure, or rectal prolapse. Healthy bowel movements indicate that you are hydrated and eating enough fiber, and both of these indications have multitudes of other benefits.
Source: 1624166, NIH, 28778332
2. Low amounts of bloating
Low amounts of bloating is another way to confirm what is good gut health. Again, everyone is different when it comes to bloating. Especially for women, it is super common to have bloating around their period. Outside of the time of the month, bloating can occur due to excessive water retention, food intolerance, or poor digestion in general. The bacteria in our gut eat parts of the food we eat and most of the time it occurs with no issues. However, if you do not have the right kind of bacteria in your gut or if you eat something you are intolerant to, the bacteria will excrete CO2 as gas after consuming some of the digested food. This gas production can build up in the gut and cause a distended stomach look, and many times it can be painful as well. Therefore, bloating is a sign that you need to improve your gut microbiome either in the diversity or amount.
Source: 30026921
3. Microbiome diversity and amount
Microbiome diversity and amount are both ways to confirm what is good gut health. In our intestines, we house loads of different kinds of good bacteria that aid in nutrient absorption, mental health, fermentation, and immunity. It is important to have not too much and not too little of this bacteria even though it is good, and it is important to have a broad diversity of types of bacteria. Each definitive type has its own purpose and every kind of bacteria survives off of different food. If you do not have a broad diversity of bacteria this can indicate that you have a routine diet with not enough variety to keep some of the good bacteria alive in your gut. Furthermore, if you do not have enough gut bacteria in general in your gut, then you may have a harder time defending off pathogens or toxins that enter your system.
Source: 22356853, NIH, 27110483, 30634578
4. Balanced hormones
Balanced hormones are another way to confirm what is good gut health. As mentioned, our gut and hormones are very tightly connected, specifically with estrogen. Though estrogen is one of our major female reproductive hormones, it needs to be cycled through the body so new estrogen can be circulated. Estrogen needs to be excreted by the body through the stool. This happens by first getting detoxified in the liver, and then it’ll move through the digestive tract where it is excreted through the bowels. If constipation occurs, this process is slowed, and estrogen can continue to build up and recirculate in the body. When estrogen recirculates, it increases baseline levels and can lead to estrogen dominance, where estrogen levels are much higher in ratio to the progesterone levels. When one hormone is imbalanced, this usually causes somewhat of a domino effect, and other hormones will overcompensate and become imbalanced too.
Source: 24227943
5. Fiber content
Another confirming factor for what is good gut health is fiber content. Men require about 35 grams per day of fiber and women require about 25 grams per day. Fiber is an indigestible form of carbohydrate that aids in fecal bulk. It is gut healthy but also heart-healthy too. Though fiber is beneficial for gut health, it is important not to eat too much. This is comparable to cars on a highway. On a nonbusy day, cars free flow down the highway with no issues or need to slow down, but during rush hour there are too many cars going the same way at once and traffic is slowed down. In this analogy, the cars are the fiber and the highway is our gut.
Source: 31126110
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Here are some supplements to help figure out what is good gut health.
1. L-GLUTAMINE
L-glutamine is a conditionally essential amino acid. This means that the body can produce enough of it on its own, but in times of stress or some other dysfunctional state, it needs to be consumed through food. Lots of data support that L-glutamine can protect the gut against atrophy and injury induced by external stress, especially in athletes. The amino acid was found to increase the lifespan of enterocytes which are the cells that line the inner wall of the small intestine. Increasing the lifespan and health of these cells is important for protecting against intestinal permeability, which is when toxins are able to ‘slide’ through the intestinal wall and cause damage to the rest of the body. This is why L-glutamine is one of the supplements that can confirm what is good gut health.
Source: 24965526, 9834329, 2354410
2. ZINC CARNOSINE
Zinc Carnosine (ZnC) is a health product that is an artificially produced substance of 1:1 ratio of zinc to carnosine. Zinc is an essential mineral that aids in many of our necessary chemical reactions in the body, and carnosine is a dipeptide molecule composed of beta-alanine and histidine both are amino acids. Carnosine is highly concentrated in the brain and muscle tissues. Research has found that ZnC improves gut integrity and permeability by stimulating cell proliferation in the small intestine. This reduces gastric and small intestinal injury by preventing toxins and pathogens from passing through the intestinal wall. This is why ZnC is another one of the supplements that can confirm what is good gut health.
Source: 16777920
3. DEGLYCYRRHIZINATED LICORICE
Licorice root is a very beneficial tea because it contains over 75 bioactive compounds, but it also contains a compound called glycyrrhizin. This compound has been found to cause adverse effects in humans, so one of the supplements that can confirm what is good gut health is deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL). Studies done on patients with functional dyspepsia, a gastrointestinal disorder that causes a great deal of discomfort, have found that DGL is beneficial in reducing discomfort. It can also reduce mucosal damage found in a rat study by increasing mucous production and reducing inflammation.
Source: 30460076
4. Marshmallow Root
Marshmallow root is another one of the supplements that can confirm what is good gut health. It contains a high mucilage content which helps build up the mucous content in the intestines. Increasing the mucous helps ease inflammation, prevent constipation, and promote the integrity of tight junctions. It also has antioxidant benefits because it can release oxygen radicals in the white blood cells, and it improves histamine activity, another nitrogen compound that fights inflammation.
Source: 26283843
5. Berberine
Berberine is a naturally occurring organic compound that is found in many plant species, and it has been notable for its natural medicine use in china due to its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. It is one of the supplements that can confirm what is good gut health because it has been used in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. Additionally, in a different study, it was shown to aid in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by increasing intestinal mucous. Occludin is a vital protein to build the structure for the tight junctions in the intestines. They suggested that intestinal barrier dysfunction exists in those with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with intestinal permeability. In these subjects, there is a decreased level of occludin, which can be rehabilitated with berberine treatment.
6. Slippery Elm
Slippery elm is a supplement made from the powder of the bark from the slippery elm tree. Evidence shows that slippery elm is one of the supplements that can confirm what is good gut health because it has benefitted patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. It is a soothing supplement to ease constipation and bloating through building up intestinal mucous and it decreases inflammation.
7. Curcurmin
Curcumin is the bioactive part of turmeric and a supplement that can confirm what is good gut health. Curcumin has anti-inflammatory properties that aid in intestinal health and tight junctions. It also regulates gut bacteria creating the right balance to optimize absorption. Though the herb can be low bioavailable in the body when it is absorbed it centers in the gut. Combining turmeric with black pepper or looking for curcumin supplement formation with black pepper or piperine can enhance the absorption of curcumin. Piperine is the bioactive compound found in black pepper that has been shown to increase the absorption of curcumin
