Go With Your Gut | Three Reasons to Act on Your Gut Health
Gut health has recently become a buzzword, particularly within the social media sphere. However, supporting the gastrointestinal system goes beyond probiotics and finding ways to debloat. The now highly regarded gut has proven to support a number of systems within the body, making its popularity in the wellness space nothing less than necessary.
Here are three good, or shall we say gut reasons to act on your gut health:
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It is linked to your mental health | The Gut Brain Axis
Looking after our gut when looking after our mental health is important. Stress activates our sympathetic nervous system causing the release of cortisol. When we are in an extended state of fight or flight mode, it diverts our blood flow from our digestive system to help us face a perceived stress. This is why we want to often be in rest and digest mode.
Rest and digest mode enables the body to produce stomach acid that supports digestion, and it allows us to absorb all of our nutrients. It is apparent that when we have been in a state of chronic stress for a prolonged period of time, this might affect the way food is digested which poses long term impacts on your health.
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It is linked to your skin health | The Gut Skin Axis
The relationship between the gut and the rest of the body is mediated by the gut microbiome (consisting of bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa that live in the gut). Some of the important functions of the gut microbiome are related to immunity. With specific reference to skin, the gut microbiome has been demonstrated in a number of important processes; this includes homeostasis (maintaining the normal functions of the skin), allostasis (restoring function after an insult) and dysbiosis (impaired skin function due to microbial imbalance). The relationship may also be multi-directional; when stress negatively impacts gut function, it can result in the malabsorption of nutrients and up-regulation of inflammatory pathways implicated in skin disease.
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It supports your digestion | The Digestive System
There are trillions of gut microbes which inhabit the gut. Gut health concerns the balance of the more beneficial and harmful types of bacteria – evidence now shows that the make-up of microbes within the mouth and skin can also influence the variety of bacteria in the gut. This is why ‘gut health’ is a wide-ranging and fascinating area.
Our gut microflora can be nurtured through an increase in our fibre intake, as well as variety in the foods that we eat. Dietary fibre encompasses many different components that offer a plethora of benefits. Some dietary fibre components have been shown to be metabolised (or used up) by the bacteria in the large intestine to produce a small amount of energy and the short-chain fatty acids which are protective of our health. This is why dietary fibre helps to protect gut health that helps our digestion and prevents constipation. It is also associated with a lowered risk for certain illnesses including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer.
Overall…
As proven by the array of information provided above, supporting the functioning of your gut is unquestionable. The growing research around the gut only continues to strengthen the evidence behind its importance within the body, therefore it is important to proactively nurture this system as soon as you can.
At Kurami, we curate nutritious meal paths with a unique focus on the gut. On average, we include more than 30 varieties of fruit, vegetables and herbs in just one-week of our meal paths, therefore providing you with an abundance of fibre-rich, gut-supporting foods in our flavour-filled and chef-crafted meals.
Allow us to pamper you, and bring balance to your very doorstep. Order your meal path today, and discover beauty from within.
