If you’ve ever experienced stress from a stomach ache or the other way around, you know your gut and mind communicate. When your gut is unbalanced it can impact everything from your immune system to your mood. To start mentally and physically feeling better, learn how to identify when something is off and how to get your digestive tract back on track.
These are some of the most common signs of an unbalanced digestive system with ways to restore the balance:
The effects of gut health on your body
One of the most obvious symptoms of an unbalanced gut is getting signals directly from your gut. This includes stomach upset such as diarrhea, constipation, pain, bloating, or heartburn. If this lasts more than just a day or two, it could be a sign of an unbalanced digestive system.
What to do:
Different symptoms signal different issues. Many times these are linked to poor diet, lack of healthy gut microbiome, bacteria, food illness, food allergies, or stress.
Stomach discomfort can also be caused by a condition called irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) which involves a group of symptoms that cause changes in the bowel movements such as diarrhea, constipation, or both. (1) If you think you may have IBS, diarrhea, constipation or allergies, check with your doctor.
For general gut health, one great way to rebalance is to build healthy eating habits with the support of a credible nutrition app. Simply eating healthier foods can help heal your gut and grow your community of healthy gut bacteria.
Mood changes and fixing how you feel with food
Speaking of healthy gut bacteria, let’s learn more about them and how they can impact your mood.
The gut and brain are very closely tied together. The health of our digestive system can have an impact on our mood and the other way around. When our gut is damaged or inflamed, it can actually lead to anxiety or depression. (2)
Probiotics and prebiotics have been shown to help improve mood and gut health. (3) Probiotics are helpful bacteria and yeast that live in our bodies and keep us healthy. You can add more to your diet by adding foods such as yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut or pickles. Prebiotics are also important because they help feed these healthy bacteria. Add some by eating more fiber-rich foods such as bananas, asparagus, oats, garlic and onion.
Facts about fatigue
Since our intestines help break down and absorb nutrients, when there is an imbalance, our bodies don’t get what they need to function optimally and energetically. In fact, some research shows that people with chronic fatigue may have imbalances in their gut microbiomes. (4)
To balance your gut for better energy, supporting those internal microorganisms is essential. In addition to eating more probiotics and prebiotics, try to limit processed foods, fried foods and high-sugar foods while upping wholesome and natural foods.
Love sweets and need a good excuse to break the sweet tooth? Learn about: How A Sugar Detox Can Help You and try a low sugar plan with Lifesum.
All of the content and media on Lifesum is created and published for information purposes only. It is not intended to be used as a substitute for medical advice or treatment. Users should always consult with a doctor or other health care professional for medical advice.
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All of the content and media on Lifesum is created and published for information purposes only. It is not intended to be used as a substitute for medical advice or treatment. Users should always consult with a doctor or other health care professional for medical advice. If you have or think you are at risk of developing an eating disorder, do not use the Lifesum app and seek immediate medical help.
