Gut Health Plays Important Role in Physical, Mental Health

By LaTINA EMERSON, Special to the Weekly

Spring is here, and many people start this season feeling imbalanced. People of all ages can suffer from a variety of health issues, including sneezing, allergies, low energy, poor immune health, headaches, sugar cravings, slow digestion and metabolism, bloating, weight gain, mood swings and more.

Our gut health plays a vital role in our physical and mental health. The gut is filled with trillions of microbes (such as bacteria, fungi, viruses and their genes) that make up our microbiome, the collection of microbes that naturally live on or inside our bodies and help maintain good health. It’s important to take good care of our gut, said Sara Byars, a Coweta County-based health and wellness expert.

“These little friendly bacteria are working overtime each and every day to produce about 50% of the dopamine found in your body and up to 90% of the neurotransmitter serotonin,” Byars said. “These two neurochemicals are responsible for your mood, your happiness levels, pleasure and joy.”

“Research shows that people who take care of their gut and microbiomes have an easier time dealing with mental and emotional health, as people with a rich and diverse microbiome have more good microbes working away to build your serotonin and dopamine levels. If you are feeling too many of that long list of issues above, more than likely you have too much bad bacteria in your gut. It’s your sign you need a gut health check-up and restoration,” Byars added.

In a 30-day study, subjects showed a decrease in anxiety, depression and health issues after consistently eating foods packed full of probiotics. These probiotics were able to help cultivate their microbiomes and produced higher levels of serotonin. The other half of subjects that consumed products with no probiotics saw no change in their health, Byars explained.

She notes that many people might not prefer probiotic rich foods, such kefir, yogurt with no added sugar and sauerkraut, so supplements can be used to help the gut flourish. Taking probiotics daily can effectively remove bad bacteria and grow good bacteria to improve your health and levels of quality vitamins, thus filling the gaps from our lack of a balanced daily diet.

Byars offers some additional tips to improve gut health and feel your best this spring:

• Go to sleep by 11 p.m. and get seven to eight hours of sleep each night.
• Drink half of your ideal body weight in plain water daily.
• Highly reduce the amount of refined sugars and carbs eaten daily.
• Eat whole foods and meats.
• Find a good supplement routine, which includes probiotics.
• Get outdoors for natural sunlight and fresh air daily.
• Complete 20 minutes or more of walking or exercise daily.
• Do something that brings you joy daily like reading, journaling, creating or play with your kids.

The American Medical Association also offers some tips to maintain a healthy gut:

• Look out for symptoms – Bloating, diarrhea and abdominal pain are symptoms that will make doctors consider if something is going on with a patient’s microbiome.
• Get tested if symptoms persist – Unexplained abdominal bloating or gas, diarrhea and abdominal pain can be a red flag to a gastroenterologist.
• Pay attention to bowel pattern change – Normal bowel behavior is having a bowel movement anywhere from once every three days to three times a day. However, this can vary from person to person, so watch out for a change in your bowel pattern.
• Be mindful of taking antibiotics – Antibiotics kill certain bacteria and can cause dysbiosis, a change in the composition or diversity of the microbiome.
• Try probiotics for relief – When a patient comes in with unexplained symptoms of diarrhea, bloating and gas and the doctor knows the patient doesn’t have colon cancer, ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, some doctors will recommend a trial of probiotics to see if it helps.
• Prebiotics are also good – Prebiotics are compounds that induce growth and activity of the good bacteria of the gut. They are found in foods such as whole grains, bananas, greens, onions, garlic, soybeans and artichokes, according to Mayo Clinic.
• Skip gluten if it upsets your stomach – Stay away from anything, such as gluten, that upsets your stomach.
• Eat a well-balanced diet – This should include vitamin and fiber rich foods, fruits and vegetables and limiting a lot of processed foods.
• Add more fiber as needed – A high fiber diet is important for those who have diarrhea and for those who may be constipated.
• Some may need to avoid bananas – Bananas can cause an upset stomach in some individuals, so avoid them, if needed.
• Breastfeed for your baby’s gut health – Breastfeeding is good for the immune system of an infant, which includes the gut.
• Contact doctor if bowel habits change – Reach out to your doctor if you have unexplained abdominal pain, weight loss, blood in your stool or a change in bowel habit.

Sara Byars offers a free Gut Health Assessment to help determine if you need to restore balance to your gut. She can help you to put some simple steps in place to experience physical, mental and emotional changes from the inside out.

For more information, contact Byars at [email protected] or text the words GutHealth to (770) 765-0199.