Skip to main content

Spring Into Gut Health: Improve Your Digestion

Written by Monique Gutierrez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

As we welcome the season of renewal, spring is the perfect time to refresh not only your home but also the home of your health—your gut health. Just like a seasonal clean-up, spring cleaning your gut involves adopting healthier habits that can help reset your digestive system, reduce bloating, and support better nutrient absorption. By making mindful choices in what you eat and how you care for your gut, you can give your body the fresh start it needs for the season ahead—and with these positive changes, you’ll feel lucky and energized this season, ready to take on anything!

Proper GI Health

Your gut health is super important—it’s connected to your immune system, brain, and digestion (1). Your GI tract isn’t just your stomach and intestines; it also includes your mouth, esophagus, liver, pancreas, and even your teeth, tongue, and other accessory organs. It’s responsible for breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, secreting water and enzymes, and getting rid of waste. When your gut is healthy, it helps with things like giving you energy, regulating hormones, supporting blood flow, keeping your nerves working properly, and even detoxifying your body.

Gut Microbiome

Maintaining proper gut health starts with a balanced gut microbiome—trillions of tiny bacteria living in your digestive system. These microbes are essential for your health, helping you absorb nutrients, produce beneficial compounds, and defend against harmful bacteria. Think of them as the unsung heroes of your digestive and immune systems, working behind the scenes to keep you feeling your best.

Proper gut bacteria are essential for creating vitamins, making amino acids, and breaking down bile. They also help process foods that our bodies can’t fully digest, like certain fibers and sugars. This process not only provides us with energy and nutrients but also fuels the good bacteria in our gut. In fact, the breakdown of carbohydrates in the colon is one of the main ways our body gets energy (2). They can affect things like gut barrier function, immune response, digestion, gut sensitivity, and the activity of the enteric nervous system (the “second brain” in your gut). But it doesn’t stop there—research also suggests that the gut microbiome may influence behaviors and brain functions. This includes how we respond to stress, emotional behaviors, pain, eating habits, and even brain chemistry.

An imbalance in the gut bacteria, known as dysbiosis, can lead to a range of health issues. It’s been linked to digestive problems like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), as well as broader conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and allergies, showing just how crucial maintaining a healthy gut microbiome is for optimal well-being.

What disrupts gut microbiome?

Many factors can disrupt a healthy gut microbiome, influenced by your diet, lifestyle, and medications. Diets high in processed foods, fats, and sugars don’t provide the nutrients needed to keep the gut healthy and functioning properly. A lifestyle that includes excessive alcohol or drug/toxin intake, chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and the use of antibiotics or other medications can temporarily alter the gut microbiome. However, without proper care and attention, the microbiome may struggle to restore its balance and integrity.

How can I support my gut microbiota?

Key factors that alter the gut microbiome include environmental influences, particularly the foods we eat—or more often, the foods we don’t eat. A diet rich in fiber, fermented foods, probiotics, and prebiotics is essential to maintaining a healthy gut. Postbiotics, the beneficial byproducts of probiotics, also play a key role in gut health by supporting inflammation reduction and the overall function of the gut barrier. Your digestive system plays a crucial role in overall wellness, influencing everything from energy levels to immunity.

The Gut-Brain Axis

The gut-brain axis is a powerful two-way communication system that links your gut and brain, affecting both physical and mental health. It involves the nervous system, HPA axis, and gut nerves. This link allows the brain to influence gut functions, including endocrine, humoral, metabolic, and immune activity, which means your gut can affect mood, cognition, and mental health (3,4).

When the gut microbiome is disrupted, it affects the gut-brain axis, which can influence many aspects of your health. Changes in the way the brain and gut communicate are believed to contribute to common gut issues like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other digestive disorders. More recently, these changes have also been connected to brain-related conditions such as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), Parkinson’s disease, mood disorders, and chronic pain. Essentially, what happens in your gut can affect how you feel, showing just how closely linked digestion and mental health really are.

You’re in Luck with Tucson Wellness MD

If you’re looking to restore gut harmony, check out our Longevity Program, where Phase 1 focuses on improving gut health. Not sure where to start? Our comprehensive Longevity Lab Panel measures a wide range of factors to give you a clear picture of your current health status, plus a one-hour lab review with a provider to discuss your results in depth. Tucson Wellness MD is here to support you in every aspect of your health, helping you achieve true longevity, schedule today to get started!

STAY HEALTHY – STAY CONNECTED

Resources

  1. Pham, V. T., a, Dold, S., a, Rehman, A., a, Bird, J. K., DSM Nutritional Products, Department of Surgery, Division of Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital Zurich, & Bird Scientific Writing. (2021). Vitamins, the gut microbiome and gastrointestinal health in humans. In Nutrition Research (Vol. 95, pp. 35–53). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2021.09.001
  2. Bull, M. J., & Plummer, N. T. (2014). Part 1: The Human Gut Microbiome in Health and Disease. Integrative medicine (Encinitas, Calif.), 13(6), 17–22.
  3. Appleton, J., ND. (2018). The Gut-Brain Axis: Influence of microbiota on mood and mental health. In Integrative Medicine (Vols. 17–17, Issue 4, pp. 28–29).
  4. Carabotti, M., Scirocco, A., Maselli, M. A., & Severi, C. (2015). The gut-brain axis: interactions between enteric microbiota, central and enteric nervous systems. Annals of gastroenterology, 28(2), 203–209.