Listen To Your Gut!
(and what yours is trying to tell you).
In pursuit of keeping up the healthy resolutions, Dwell has been getting the lowdown on good gut health from brilliant local specialist Nikki Harris.
The chances are that, over time, we’ve all fallen victim to some troubling symptoms relating to our gut. Bloating, diarrhoea, flatulence, constipation, cramping? It’s the grim bingo card that nobody wants to be able to call ‘house’ on!
But, joking aside, when we’re suffering and we invariably reach for the meds in search of instant relief, what we don’t tend to realise is that our gut is actually trying to communicate with us and that we’d do well to listen to it.
According to gut health specialist Nikki Harris, very often it’s the case that the gut is imbalanced. And very often, the remedy can come from what we feed it.
Nikki typically sees clients coming to her seeking relief from their symptoms and, she says, that relief comes from getting to the root cause. It can be current diet, past history, lifestyle, or a mix of all three, but Nikki starts with food first, with supplements and gut testing possible options further along. Her clients are then given a personalised plan, with the end goal of being free of their symptoms and free of taking endless over-the-counter meds. The happy by-product is often a feeling of more confidence and an improvement in how you look and feel on a daily basis, as wellness kicks in.
So why is listening to our gut so important?
Here’s the science (always wanted to say that!). Nikki believes that optimal gut health is important for reasons many of us may not be aware of:
It plays a crucial part in our immunity, since around 70-80% of our immunity comes from the gut;
It affects our mood and sleep – incredibly, around 90% of the neurotransmitter serotonin, (AKA our happy hormone), is synthesised from our gut. Who knew?!
In addition, our gut and brain axis is intrinsically linked, via our vagus nerve (the part of our parasympathetic nervous system that controls our digestion, heart rate, mood, and immune system);
Our gut microbiome is a community of micro-organisms (such as fungi, bacteria, and viruses) that influences the development of chronic diseases, from diabetes, to high cholesterol, to gastrointestinal diseases, like Crohn’s, diverticulitis and ulcerative colitis, even colorectal cancer;
But the gut microbiome also synthesises important vitamins such as B and K, as well as hormones.
It’s clearly important to our overall health, then. But how can the gut microbiome get out of balance in the first place?
Nikki feels that the typical Western diet has a lot to answer for, with too much sugar (including certain sweeteners) and alcohol, for starters, having a negative influence on our gut bacteria. Gluten can also be especially problematic for some, along with dairy.
But, interestingly, there are lots of other factors at play, such as our genetics, how we were born and delivered at birth, if we were breastfed or bottle fed. Medications, especially antibiotics also play a part.
So, what can we eat to support our gut health?
We’ve called out all the culprits, but the good news is there is plenty we can feed ourselves to bring the gut back into balance. Broadly speaking, Nikki believes it’s important to try and eat a diet rich in a diverse range of colourful fruits and veg, fibre and polyphenols (planted bioactive compounds found in apples, broad beans, onions, berries, citrus fruit, plums, broccoli, tea, coffee and cocoa).
Supporting that, non-digestible fibre helps to produce what’s known as short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), which have an anti-inflammatory effect on the gut lining. And beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium help to produce our calming neurotransmitter GABA.
Unsurprisingly, our gut health is as individual as we are and so there is no “one size fits all” approach. But if any of this is striking a chord with you, then it might be your sign to get in touch with Nikki and start the conversation around what your gut may be telling you.
