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Importance of Good Gut Health

Over the years it has been really apparent that paying attention to the Importance of Good Gut Health pays dividends.
Even though really important, this topic is often overlooked.

Now, you may be asking yourself: “Why should I care about my gut?”
Well, in this post, we’ll be explaining why tending to your gut is more important than you might think.

The Role of the Gut is Mainly Digestion:

However, besides its role in digestion, your gut is home to trillions of microorganisms, collectively known as the microbiota. These tiny inhabitants play an important role in maintaining your overall well-being.

The Gut-Brain Connection:

Your gut and brain are in constant communication, forming what is known known as the gut-brain axis.
We often refer to a “gut feeling” or butterflies in our stomach? That’s an example of the Gut-Brain Connection we can relate to.
A happy gut often leads to a happier mind. This can affect your mood, stress levels, and even cognitive function.

Immune System Support:

Your gut has a role in protecting your immune system.
You see, a healthy gut microbiota protects you against potential risks to your health and maintains your resilience against illnesses.
Taking care of your gut is like giving your immune system the support it needs.

The Gut-Weight Connection:

As unexpected as it sounds, the gut does play a role in weight management.
Your gut health can impact your metabolism and how your body stores fat.
A balanced gut microbiota plays a part in maintaining a healthy weight.

Now that we have touched on the Importance of Gut Health, let’s see
What Improves Gut Health

You see, it’s not about drastic changes; it’s about introducing and maintaining good habits. Here are some tips:

  • Add Foods Good for Gut Health: The gut thrives on variety.
    As an example,
    Add a colourful range of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins to nourish your gut microbiota.
  • Probiotics: Introduce friendly bacteria to your gut through probiotic-rich foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, or kimchi. These help support the microbial balance.
  • Fibre-Rich Foods: Fibre is the much ignored contributor to gut health.
    Whole grains, legumes, and fibrous vegetables will help keep your gut healthy.
  • Hydration: Your gut needs proper hydration. Water helps flush out toxins and supports the smooth functioning of your digestive system.
  • Stress Management: Chronic stress can throw your gut ecosystem out of balance. Add stress-reducing activities like yoga, meditation, or even a daily walk. We have nutrients that can help you through stress too.

Conclusion:

So from this, you can see just why it is a good idea to add some of these strategies to your daily routine.
You will be rewarded with improved digestion, enhanced mood, and overall well-being.

You will be able to enjoy a healthy life – all because you’ve worked at giving yourself Good Gut Health and you can now see how Your Gut Health Improves Well Being!

You can read more about the Ultimate Benefits of Good Gut Health here

 

P.S.  If you have gut Issues which are really severe, or

If this article prompts you to visit us, then simply give us a
call on 03 9879 9596,
      contact us.
or Book on Line

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Why The Digestive System is Important

The Digestive is important because it is the Centre of  Our Health!
Human digestive system red colored - Your Wellness Centre

Many of us only pay attention to the digestive system when it gives us problems.
Maybe after we have eaten a large meal and feel bloated?

Or perhaps we pay attention to our digestive system only when we have had changes in bowel movements, like diarrhoea or constipation?

If this is the case, some digestive support in the form of a probiotic could be useful!

Probiotics are “good bacteria” that help keep your digestive system in good condition.

Digestive problems are often a sign that the bacteria in your digestive system are out of balance, and since your digestive system is the centre of health, it is extremely important that you keep it healthy!

Did you Know?

Did you know that you have over 400 species of good bacteria inside your digestive system and they weigh up to 3kg?

In fact, you have more bacteria living inside you than you have cells in your entire body! There are approximately 100 trillion bacteria in your digestive system, the vast majority of which live in your bowel.

The balance of all these bacteria is essential for your health and well-being.

Good Bacteria can Protect you!

Your digestive system is in constant contact with the outside environment through the food that you eat. In your lifetime, you will eat approximately 22 tons of food.

This food and the fluids you consume could be carrying potentially bad bacteria that could make you sick.
Good bacteria can protect you from getting sick from these potential pathogens.

Balance is Essential for Health…

It is essential for health and well-being that the bacteria, or flora, in your digestive system is kept in a healthy balance. An imbalance of flora within the digestive system can lead to many common symptoms including:

     • Poor digestive function
     • Diarrhoea
     • Constipation
     • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
     • Bloating
     • An increase in Allergies and eczema
     • Chronic disease

How do Good Bacteria Keep you Healthy?

Good bacteria aid in:

     • Breaking down food and producing nutrients.
     • Absorption of nutrients.
     • Maintaining the motility of the digestive tract, ensuring good bowel motions.
     • Inhibiting the growth of bad bacteria.
     • Maintaining a healthy immune system.

LGG: One of the Good guys!

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG®) is a well-researched, clinically proven probiotic. It is one of the most beneficial strains of bacteria available. It has been shown to have many beneficial effects on health and is safe to use in people of all ages.

LGG® is able to prevent and repair damage to the wall of the digestive system that could be due to pathogens in food, bad bacteria and some medicines. It increases the density of the protective mucus in the digestive system and protects the digestive system from bacterial damage, particularly from E.coli bacteria.

Unlike some bacteria, LGG® can survive the acidic conditions of the digestive system and is able to adhere to the intestinal wall, ensuring its effectiveness. LGG® also boosts the natural defence mechanisms of the body by promoting good health within the digestive system, encouraging the growth of beneficial bacteria and inhibiting the growth of bad bacteria.

LGG®: Keeping you Healthy!

When taken regularly, LGG® can help keep you healthy. It has been shown that when given to children it can help decrease illness, particularly respiratory tract infections. LGG® has also been shown to decrease the risk of stomach upset, including diarrhoea, in both adults and children and can also shorten the duration of diarrhoea if you do get sick.

Is your Baby at Risk of Developing Eczema?

If you are pregnant and you, your partner or someone in your immediate family has eczema or allergies, then your baby may also be at risk of developing eczema. Fortunately, there is something you can do to reduce this risk.

Research has shown that taking LGG® during pregnancy and breastfeeding decreases the risk of your baby developing eczema! If your child already has eczema or allergies, giving them LGG® may alleviate their allergic symptoms.

Not all Probiotics are Created Equal…

As you can see, maintaining good bowel flora is an important key to maintaining health and well-being. Good bowel flora can be achieved by taking probiotics. However, not all probiotics are the same and it is important to use the right probiotic for you.

Our trained staff will be able to prescribe the right probiotic for your health needs.

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Beating Bali Belly: How to Get Your Gut Back on Track After Getting Sick on Holiday

 

How to Get Your Gut Back on Track After Getting Sick on Holiday

 Coming back from a holiday with a sore gut as your souvenir is never fun.

Infections that cause traveller’s diarrhoea can lead to chronic digestive issues if you don’t repair the damage done.

Let me explain.

Traveller’s diarrhoea is simply a form of gastroenteritis (un-affectionately known as ‘gastro’), an intestinal infection that triggers inflammation and injury in your gut.

Like other forms of gastro, it causes symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhoea, fatigue and fever, which typically pass with the infection.

However, even in the weeks following the infection, the damage to your intestinal lining can interfere with your gut’s ability to create digestive juices (required to digest your food properly) and house healthy gut bacteria, which make up your gut microbiome (the beneficial bacteria that play an important role in gut health (discussed further here).

Together, the loss of these bugs and the injury to your gut may cause ongoing digestive discomfort, such as chronic bloating or changes to bowel habits.

If left untreated, in some people it may progress to chronic digestive disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) (discussed further here)..

‘Traveller’s diarrhoea is simply a form of gastroenteritis (un-affectionately known as ‘gastro’), an intestinal infection that triggers inflammation and injury in your gut.’

If this sounds like you, or someone you know, it might be time to discover the three most important strategies that can help you get your gut back on track with the help of a natural healthcare Practitioner at Your Wellness Centre, outlined below.

Step 1: Start with a Snapshot

Whether you develop chronic gut symptoms after Bali belly depends on a couple of factors.

One is how healthy your gut was, to begin with: if you started off with a lower number of beneficial bacteria, due to factors such as a low-fibre diet or frequent antibiotic use which can disturb your gut bacteria, you may be more likely to develop chronic gut issues following Bali belly.

The second is the type of bug: a super destructive bug can decimate even the healthiest microbiome to the point where knock-on issues start to arise (such as chronic bloating).

Regardless of the situation, if you’ve experienced Bali belly and don’t feel like your gut is back to normal yet, get a snapshot of your gut bacteria through microbiome testing (discussed further here).

This test allows you to assess the damage by revealing every single type of bacteria in your gut (beneficial vs less beneficial) and how they may be impacting your gut health.

his information, you and your naturopath can create a plan together to bring your gut microbiome back into balance.

Step 2: Repair and Regenerate your Gut

After surveying the state of your gut microbiome, it’s time to start repairing your gut using a combination of probiotics, nutrients and herbal extracts.

Probiotic strains including Saccharomyces cerevisiae (boulardii) (SB), Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG®) and Bifidobacterium animalis ssp lactis (BB-12®) have been shown to assist with the consequences of traveller’s diarrhoea by:

  • Preventing infections from escalating (blocking infectious bugs from being able to ‘stick’ to your gut lining and causing havoc);
  • Protecting your gut from tissue injury caused by gastro;
  • Restoring a good balance of beneficial gut bacteria lost to infection or treatment with antibiotics.

It’s important to note that these benefits are unique to the above types of probiotic strains; you can’t take just any old probiotic and get the same results.

As such, it’s always worth selecting probiotic strains that are supported by scientific evidence, especially when it might mean the difference between symptom recovery or relapse (discussed further here about why choosing a specific strain matters).

Similarly, nutrients, such as glutamine and zinc, in addition to herbal extracts, such as aloe vera and boswellia, can also repair the damage to your gut lining, by reducing inflammation and providing the nutritional building blocks your gut needs to heal. As such, by combining the power of probiotics, herbs and nutrients, you can help your gut return to its former glory.

‘It’s important to note that these benefits are unique to the above types of probiotic strains; you can’t take just any old probiotic and get the same results. As such, it’s always worth selecting probiotic strains that are supported by scientific evidence, especially it when it might mean the difference between symptom recovery or relapse.’

Step 3: Eat your Way to Gut Health

Eating to maintain your gut health is fundamental to your recovery process, as this helps to restore your beneficial bacteria and can promote gut healing. Start with following these simple tips:

  • Minimise your intake of inflammatory foods (e.g. alcohol or foods high in sugar), as these can make it difficult for your gut to heal;
  • Aim to eat an abundance of plants, particularly a variety of colourful vegetables, as these contain prebiotics known as polyphenols, which help feed and rebuild your good gut bacteria;
  • Limit foods that cause you bloating or discomfort, such as dairy or wheat, just for a few weeks, whilst the gut rebuilds and regains its ability to digest these foods properly.

These are just a few small ways to better your diet and get back on track after Bali’s belly, but for specific dietary advice to suit your unique needs, speak to our qualified and experienced naturopath at Your Wellness Centre.

Destination: Gut Regeneration!

Nothing can make you appreciate the value of good gut health like a bout of gastro! And with the help of a naturopath, you can score a one-way ticket back to living your life without the lingering effects of traveller’s diarrhoea.

Start by being proactive, getting a snapshot of your gut followed by taking steps to heal the gut in conjunction with a healthy diet, so you can get back to your wanderlusting adventures over at your next expedition!

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Ultimate Benefits of Good Gut Health

The Ultimate Benefits of Good Gut Health includes a Healthy Mood, Reduced Inflammation, and a Strong Immune System.

Having a cold, feeling depressed, or having joint pains are all inflammatory conditions that are also influenced by your gut microbiome.

These tiny gut inhabitants influence seemingly unrelated areas such as your throat, joints, or your brain.

Your Gut Health and Immune System Work Hand-in-Hand

Your immune system’s main job is to protect you from disease-causing microorganisms.

Since these are mainly inhaled or swallowed, the immune system needs to be most active in your respiratory and digestive tracts.

Some bacteria have a positive influence on your immune system

On the other hand, some bacteria have a positive influence on your immune system.

Fortunately, certain strains of probiotic bacteria improve the bacterial balance in your gut, with beneficial flow-on effects for your immune system.

And so have been shown to reduce the severity and duration of common cold symptoms.

If you struggle with frequent colds and flu, working with a natural healthcare practitioner to strengthen your gut microbiome can help.

A healthy gut microbiome interacts with the intestinal immune system in ways that increase your body’s immune defenses.

However, a microbiome out of balance, which does not contain high levels of beneficial bacteria, is less likely to help you resist infection, including colds and flu (click here to read more about what might upset your gut microbiome).’

How Gut Bacteria Causes Inflammation

Another possible consequence of poor gut bacterial balance is inflammation.

This is a key feature in autoimmune and allergic conditions.

In these conditions, the immune system sees harmless substances as threats and stimulates an immune response against them.

Allergy Autoimmunity - Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy

Fortunately, certain probiotic strains, namely LGG® and Lactobacillus paracasei (LP-33®), can stimulate your immune system to produce anti-inflammatory compounds, reducing inflammation and symptoms.

For example, research in hundreds of people has shown that LP-33® significantly improves hayfever symptoms.

Interestingly, LGG®, when taken during pregnancy and breastfeeding, can reduce the incidence of eczema (an inflammatory skin disease) in children, by supporting the healthy development of the gut microbiome and the immune system.

If your immune system is in overdrive, make an appointment with a natural healthcare practitioner at Your Wellness Centre to help bring it back into line.

How Gut Bacteria Affects Your Mood

More and more research is finding that inflammation is an unexpected cause of depression.

Inflammation throughout the body, and even inflammation of the brain, may contribute to depression.

If gut inflammation can influence mood, you may be wondering if specific probiotics can improve mood or reduce the symptoms of depression.

While this is a hot topic in scientific research, we do not currently know which specific probiotic strains can influence mood.

For example, maximizing your gut health by eating plenty of fiber-rich wholes (your gut bacteria’s preferred food), can increase the number of good bacteria.

This is the best way to influence your mood via your gut.

If your bacterial balance has become disrupted due to a stomach bug, antibiotics, or other causes, then strains that support beneficial bacteria, may help improve the composition of your gut microbiome.

Great Health Starts in the Gut

By interacting with your immune system, your gut bacteria influence your ability to resist infection, reduce inflammation, and maintain a healthy mood.

If you are wondering whether your gut may be making you sick, sad, or inflamed, make an appointment with a natural healthcare practitioner at Your Wellness Centre today.

Together, you can assess your bacterial balance, and make a plan to improve your specific symptoms.

 

You Can Read more about Microbiome Testing here:

Introducing the Metabiome™ Test

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy Melbourne

 

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Bloating, Flatulence, Constipation, and Diarrhoea

Bloating, Flatulence, Constipation, and Diarrhoea? Need Help?

Your stomach is one of the hardest working systems in your body.

Meal after meal, it hustles to digest your food and extract the nutrients required to sustain you.

Despite its solid work ethic, your belly can experience occasional performance hiccups, leading to digestive symptoms.

While many of these are normal, others may indicate something more serious.

Read on to discover what your symptoms say about your stomach function and ways to improve them.

Bloating Flatulence Constipation Diarrhoea - Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy

Normal, Everyday Symptoms: Transient Belly Bloating

What is it?
Short-lived abdominal swelling due to trapped gas.

What causes it?
During and after meals, your gut produces enzymes and acids that break down food, creating gas during this process.

While bloating isn’t considered normal, it commonly occurs if you deviate from your standard diets, such as eating larger portions, high-fat meals or foods that are more difficult to break down, including excess carbohydrates and fibre.

These place more burden on your digestive processes, subsequently increasing gas production and bloating.

How do you improve it?
While mild bloating generally passes with time, chewing your food thoroughly, consuming smaller meals and spacing out your carbohydrate and fibre intake can help.

Flatulence

What is it?
Farting.

What causes it?
Gas is produced by normal digestive processes, and ‘passed’ at regular intervals.

Additionally, increased fibre, fat or sugar intake can create gas. Your microbiome (gut bacteria) also influences the amount of gas produced as they ferment food to help with your digestion.

How do you improve it?
It is normal to pass wind around 15 times per day. Additionally, the odd smelly fart is no big deal, particularly if caused by an increase in refined, processed foods (who can say no to the occasional slice of pizza?).

However, if you would like to reduce flatulence, moderate your intake of these foods.

Health Caution - Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy

Symptoms That Require Attention: Chronic Constipation

What is it?
The infrequent passage of hard poop (less than once daily), is often accompanied by straining, a sense of incompletely emptying the bowel and discomfort.

What causes it?
Insufficient fibre or reduced fluid intake can slow your transit time (the time it takes for your food to travel from your mouth through to the other end), making you less ‘regular’.

Dysbiosis (an imbalance in the types and levels of gut bacteria) can also influence digestive processes and reduce your transit time.

Additionally, chronic constipation is associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a condition that affects the function of the bowel.

How do you improve it?
Consume more fibre-rich foods, including fruit and vegetables, and drink enough water.

Prebiotic and probiotic supplements, such as the Metagenics Ultra Flora GI Regulate, may also support bowel regularity and provide relief for symptoms of medically diagnosed IBS.

Diarrhoea

What is it?
Soft, loose or watery stool that occurs more than three times daily.

What causes it?
Diarrhoea may be a symptom of a bacterial or viral infection, such as gastroenteritis, or be related to certain medications, particularly antibiotics.

Additionally, IBS and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a condition involving inflammation of the digestive tract, may cause diarrhoea.

How do you improve it?
IBS and IBD are serious conditions that require a professional diagnosis and care from a Health Practitioner.

However, if your symptoms are associated with antibiotic use, Metagenics Ultra Flora Intensive Care may help to restore healthy intestinal bacteria and relieve diarrhoea.

Malodorous Gas

What is it?
Farts that clear a room.

What causes it?
Your microbiome consists of a range of bacteria (38 trillion microbes!) that help digestion by fermenting your food, particularly fibre.

Imbalances in the levels of different bacterial species can lead to increased gas production with a pungent odour.

How do you improve it?
Metagenics Ultra Flora Intensive Care provides three specific probiotic strains (types of bacteria), Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG®), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (boulardii) and Bifidobacterium animalis ssp lactis (BB-12®), which have been shown to help restore a healthy balance of bacteria within your microbiome.

Gut Pain - Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy

Abdominal Pain

What is it?
Sharp, dull, stabbing, cramp-like, or twisting pain in your abdomen. Most people experience occasional gut discomfort, however severe gut pain that is episodic, regular or continuous requires assessment, particularly if accompanied by other symptoms such as fever, changes to your poop, nausea and/or vomiting.

What causes it?
Abdominal pain has many potential causes, the most common being gas pain, food intolerances or allergies, or indigestion. However, abdominal pain can also be a sign of something more serious, including appendicitis, gallstones, ulcers, infections, kidney stones, and many other conditions.

How do you improve it?
If gut pain has become a pattern rather than a one-off incident, seek guidance from a healthcare professional.

Ditch the Gut Glitches

Don’t let your gut feelings bum you out! Instead, switch up your diet and lifestyle habits and rid yourself of symptoms such as bloating, gurgles and gas.

If you regularly experience one or more problematic symptoms, particularly if they’re new or getting worse, consult with a Natural Health Practitioner at Your Wellness Centre for further investigation to devise an individualized comprehensive plan of attack that is suitable for you.

Our healthcare practitioners have a suite of testing available to investigate the driver behind your symptoms.

A stool analysis test enables us to identify all of the bacteria and other microorganisms that inhabit your gut and how they contribute to your gut function and digestive symptoms.

You can read more about MetaBiome™ testing here.

 

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy Melbourne

 

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Leaky Gut and Gut Health

Since gut pain, bloating, gastric discomfort and other digestive problems may also have underlying leaky gut problems, I thought you might like to have a read of this information on Leaky Gut.

Leaky Gut

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy - Leaky GutPut simply, Leaky Gut syndrome happens when large spaces (or holes) develop in the gut wall.

This allows bacteria, toxins, and food particles to leak into the bloodstream from the gut… hence its name “Leaky Gut”.

The definition of Leaky Gut Syndrome is an “increase in permeability of the intestinal mucosa to bigger molecules, antigens, and toxins associated with inflammatory degenerative and or atrophic mucosa or lining.”

Let’s look at the Digestive Tract

The digestive tract is an elaborate system that involves organs from the mouth to the colon.

The small intestine performs an essential barrier function in keeping the body free from allergies.

The intestine’s membrane acts as a wall separating undigested food and the bloodstream.

When intact and healthy, the digestive tract organs break down food into smaller, usable molecules, which then are sent through the bloodstream to nourish the body’s tissues.

Some amount of wall permeability is common.

In people with a normal, intact gut, up to 20 percent of undigested protein can pass through the mucous membranes.

Excessively permeability causes problems

But when there is inflammation in the gastrointestinal mucosa, the intestinal wall becomes excessively permeable (lots of little gaps or holes form)– a condition called ‘leaky gut syndrome.

If bits of food has not been properly broken down due to imbalances in the digestive tract, food molecules, which are usually too large to pass through the intestinal barrier, slip through the gaps in the gut wall and enter the bloodstream.

When this happens, the immune system treats these foreign substances as antigens (antigens can cause food intolerance and/or allergies).

This sets off an allergic response in which antibodies are secreted in the bloodstream to bind with these foreign substances.

Leaky Gut Syndrome may cause the intestinal lining to become inflamed and the microvilli become damaged or altered.

The damaged microvilli cannot then produce the enzymes and secretions that are essential for healthy digestion and the absorption of nutrients.

Leaky Gut Syndrome is a very common problem in modern society.

Common causes of both Leaky Gut

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy - Gut Benefits of Probiotics

Common causes of both leaky gut and digestive dysfunction are antibiotics, certain drugs, enzyme deficiencies, parasites, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, viruses, toxins, mercury, alcohol, stress, and certain food intolerances.

And of course, we all at some time or other have been prescribed necessary antibiotics or even non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

They both damage the natural balance of good microbiota that the bowel requires to operate at its best.

And over time we may start getting the overt symptoms of Leaky Gut.

Of course, there are natural ways to effectively treat this.

If you would like more information, simply let us know by contacting us here. 

 

Take the step toward a healthier you!
Call 9879 9596 and book an appointment today!

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy Melbourne

 

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Gut Health Quiz

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Polyphenols and Gut Health

One of the lesser-known benefits of consuming a diet high in polyphenols is its beneficial impact on your gut bacteria.

Polyphenols help the Gut

They selectively encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria.

They are naturally occurring chemical compounds found in many of your favourite foods like blueberries and chocolate and they act like good food for your microbiome.

It contributes to good intestinal health by supporting the gut microbial balance by encouraging the production of beneficial bacteria and discouraging the growth of bad bacteria.

Benefits of Polyphenols

The portion of these foods that are beneficial to your inner health is the part that your body does not digest at all.

You see, once consumed, only about 5-10% of polyphenols are directly absorbed in the small intestine, while the rest make their way to the colon. 

The undigested part of the polyphenol-rich foods that make it to the colon increases the good guys and decreases the bad guys helping create a healthy microbiome.

And with a healthy microbiome comes more energy better moods better sleep less pain happier belly and more balanced immunity. 

Good health starts with the gut, so eat lots of polyphenol-rich food to keep your bugs happy and so to keep you healthy.

Foods that contain Polyphenol

wine, dark chocolate, berries, avocado, greens, fish, nutsThey are found in foods such as tea, wine, chocolates, fruits, vegetables, and extra virgin olive oil, just to name a few.

You can benefit by specifically including apples, blueberries, plums, strawberries, cherries, raspberry, pomegranate, broccoli, spinach, rosemary, thyme, basil, curcumin, and other spices; dark chocolate, flaxseed meal,  red wine,  resveratrol containing foods,  weak black tea, peppermint tea, green tea.

So worth looking into including more of these to support a healthier gut.

 

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy Melbourne

 

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Processing Digestion

Digestion for most of us is not even thought about when we eat.

It is only when we start having digestive issues that we think about this topic at all.

Digestion is the breakdown of large insoluble food molecules into small water-soluble food molecules so that they can be absorbed through the small intestine into the bloodstream.

When thinking of digestion, most of us simply forget that it starts in the mouth. So very important to really chew your food well and allow it to mix with the enzymes in our saliva.

Simply put digestion is both a mechanical and chemical process.

Process of Digestion

Firstly, there is the breakdown of food, into macronutrients, such as protein, carbohydrates, and fats, and micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. 

Then the process is continued with the release of hydrochloric acid in the stomach and a variety of enzymes throughout the digestive tract. 

If this process is efficient then the majority of vitamin and mineral absorption will occur in the small bile from the gallbladder, and pancreatic enzymes from the pancreas further assist with digestion. 

Once absorption has taken place, there are still some fibrous and fluid-based contents that pass into the large intestines where further water absorption occurs. What is left is discarded by excretion via the rectum and anus.

For many, this process does not occur as efficiently as described. And many may experience discomfort after eating either a portion of food that does not agree with them or simply when they overeat.

Symptoms could range from reflux and heartburn to abdominal pain, bloating, or cramping.

In the case of reflux and heartburn, it is common to reach for the pharmaceutical antacids such as Mylanta and Gaviscon for quick relief.

Of course, we will suggest natural remedies to help the problem.

Natural Remedies to Help Digestion

1. Apple cider vinegar may help to support digestion.

2. Digestive enzymes or supplements containing hydrochloric acid help to assist digestion too. 

3. Certain herbs such as gentian, fennel, coriander, cumin, cardamom, and ginger can be helpful if we have overeaten or have sluggish digestion.

4. Bitter foods are particularly good to stimulate digestion, try including rocket, endive, chicory, or cabbage. Lemon, garlic, ginger, and apple cider vinegar, are great additions to salad dressings and stir-fries to help digestion.

As you can see digestive support is as close as your kitchen pantry!

Common Causes of Digestive Discomfort

This can occur due to overeating, eating too fast, poor diet, eating foods to which we have an intolerance or sensitivity, a lack of hydrochloric acid or enzyme production, or lack of bile production. 

Mostly it is because of poor diet, or food sensitivities. 

Certain foods are more likely to cause problems after eating them.  These are generally processed foods, wheat, dairy, sugar, and fried foods.  Coffee and alcohol are common culprits too. 

How can we Avoid Digestive Issues?

Limiting foods that are known to cause problems in the digestive tract, such as wheat, dairy, caffeine, refined sugar, processed food, and alcohol, is recommended. 

Instead choose a whole-food diet of foods that are as close to nature as possible – vegetables, fruit, lean grass-fed/organic beef, free-range chicken, wild-caught fish, legumes, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats.

Keeping a food and related symptom diary or even trying an elimination diet may be helpful to identify which foods may be aggravating your digestion.

As suggested above, chew thoroughly and eat slowly – if you don’t break down your food properly in the mouth, it gives the rest of the digestive tract more work.

 

Of course, give us a call on 9879 9596 or contact us to help you with any other digestive problems you may have.

 

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy Melbourne

 

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