Listen to Your Gut

‘The road to health is paved with good intestines’. The day your stomach is upset is the day you find it difficult to address any other work.  The relation between good gut and healthy brain functioning has been a topic of study for several years. The gut-brain axis is the physical and chemical connection between your gut and brain. Millions of nerves and neurons run between your gut and brain. Neurotransmitters and other chemicals released by your gut affect your brain.

An unhealthy gut may not be taken seriously until and unless it severely starts interfering with daily routine and tasks. The term ‘gut microbiome’ or 300 to 500 different species of bacteria present in a normal digestive tract also play an important role in maintaining digestion. Some microorganisms are harmful to your health while the other microorganisms are incredibly healthy for your digestive tract. A disturbance in gut microbiome may also be responsible for derangement in gut health.

Look out for the following signs which may warn you of an unhealthy gut:

• Has your stomach been upset for a while now?
  Disturbances of the stomach like gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhoea and heartburn can be signs of an unhealthy gut. When gut is in a healthy condition, it will have less difficulty in processing food and eliminating waste.
   
• Didn’t expect changes in weight!
  If you haven’t made any efforts for losing or gaining weight and you did not want it to happen too, this may be a sign of unhealthy gut. Without a change in your diet and exercise, an unhealthy gut can impair your body’s ability to absorb nutrients, regulate blood sugar, and store fat. Change in small intestinal bacterial overgrowth can cause weight loss.  Weight gain can be caused by insulin resistance or the urge to overeat due to decrease in nutrient absorption.
   
• Feeling tired for long!
  When your gut is unhealthy and nutrients are not absorbed in a proper way, you may not have the required energy to carry out the day’s tasks. When this continues for many weeks, it leads to development of chronic fatigue.
   
• Unable to get a refreshing sleep!
  Unhealthy gut contributes to disturbances in sleep such as inability to achieve or maintain good and refreshing sleep.  Gut produces majority of serotonin, which is a hormone that affects the mood and sleep. Therefore, damage to gut can impair your body’s ability to sleep. Sometimes, sleep disturbances may be associated with fibromyalgia which is characterized by musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, issues in mood.
   
• Irritation to skin!
  Conditions of skin like eczema may be aggravated due to a damaged gut. A poor diet or food allergies can cause symptoms related to skin as well.  Indigestion affects the way your body can retain the nutrients in your diet, leading to poor absorption of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants needed for a healthy looking skin. Lack of nutrients is also responsible for worsening existing skin conditions.
   
• Worsening of auto-immune conditions!
  Gut affects the immune system. Protein produced by common gut bacteria may trigger the onset of autoimmune disease such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. Unhealthy gut can increase synthetic inflammation and alter the proper functioning of the immune system due to which the body attacks itself rather than the harmful invaders.
   
• Gut can’t tolerate some foods!
  Food intolerance is also a sign of unhealthy gut. The difficulty in digesting certain foods causes food intolerance which is different from food allergies.  Food allergies are caused by an immune system reaction to certain foods while food intolerances may be a result of poor quality of bacteria in gut or lack of secretion of certain enzymes. E.g. lack of production of lactase results in lactose intolerance experienced on consuming dairy products such as milk.
   

An unhealthy gut may remain constipated or one may suffer from diarrhoea. Diarrhoea and constipation may alternate with each other as in some cases of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Gas, bloating and acidity and heartburn are some of the other problems that one experiences. Ayurveda can help in decreasing the intensity and frequency of these symptoms by addressing the cause and the factors that worsen your existing diseases.

Curcumin, a natural extract from the root of turmeric, is a wonderful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. It minimizes constipation, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, gas, bloating, and acidity.  Due to these healing effects of curcumin, it is used to manage digestive problems like IBS, malabsorption and forms the base ingredients of Preserva Wellness’s Celiacgold Juice, Diagemax Juice and Daily Diagemax Tea.

With an amalgam of herbs like fennel, cumin combining with curcumin in Daily Diagemax Tea; it effectively manages constipation and diarrhoea and improves absorption of nutrients. Celiacgold Juice gives the benefits of intermingled wheatgrass, aloe vera and curcumin helping one to fight with celiac disease and other symptoms like constipation and heartburn.

Diagemax Juice combines guava, gooseberry, aloe vera with curcumin and helps in fighting gas, bloating, acidity, constipation and acts against intestinal worms. By aiding in digestion, it minimizes skin problems like acne and eczema.

When your gut shouts, listen to it and help it work better with curcumin-based Ayurvedic products. Don’t regret what you ate, eat healthy food and herbs and feel great!