Follow your gut. It’s a saying you’ve heard your entire life, and it turns out to be some of the smartest advice you’ll ever hear! Your gut health is vital to your overall health and well-being. Did you know that 60-80% of your immune function is located in your gut, and that your gut is also responsible for making up to 95% of your body’s serotonin, the feel-good neurotransmitter? This is why gut imbalances have been linked to so many chronic health problems, from hormone imbalances to autoimmune diseases and depression.
So, how do you know if you are suffering from a gut imbalance?
When your gut is out of whack, it’s also suffering from some degree of inflammation, and vice versa. Inflammation and gut health are directly related. Inflammation should occur in everyone in short spurts as the immune system manages our body. When you get a cut, for example, your body becomes inflamed and rushes various white blood cells, enzymes, and nutrients to the injury, a form of acute (short-term) inflammation that is good for your body because it cleans and re-establishes balance as it heals you.
The inflammation you don’t want, however, is chronic, sustained, ongoing, low-grade inflammation. Sustained Inflammation is the silent killer and originator of auto-immune disease which degenerates and destroys the body at accelerated rates, causing advanced aging. Chronic inflammation can go undetected for years, disabling and/or killing people early in their life. This is largely due to the fact that many symptoms of inflammation like weakness, poor sleep, reflux, swelling, fatigue, memory problems, arthritis, circulation problems, diabetes, hormone imbalances, and general aches or stomach ailments, are easy to dismiss as just stress or getting older. But is it? Current research and clinical trials say no. Where there is chronic inflammation, there is a gut (microbiome) and immune imbalance.
Generally speaking, if your stomach is always off or you never feel quite right, it’s time to visit us for a personal consultation. Keep an eye out for symptoms that never seem to go away, such as:
● Fatigue
● Food allergies/sensitivities
● Mood swings/irritability
● Rashes (psoriasis or eczema)
● Bloating
● Diabetes
● Poor memory and difficulty concentrating
● Autoimmune disease
● Digestive issues
We’ll take a close look at all your symptoms and perform special diagnostic blood tests to detect key inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein, Lp-PLA2, HGBa1c, AA, EPA), that typical blood tests miss. If inflammation is the culprit or at least a part of the problem, we can help you get back on track with a combination of wellness solutions tailored to your exact needs, including dietary and lifestyle adjustments, supplements, and medications, as indicated.
Can you eat your way to a better gut?
Your diet has a profound and immediate impact — positive or negative — on your gut health. Staying away from inflammatory foods while beefing up your intake of anti-inflammatory foods will go a long way toward restoring optimal gut health and lowering inflammation throughout your body.
Our nutritional and nutraceutical counselor, Reyne Kappius, has over 25 years of experience in nutrition, functional wellness, enzyme therapy, and nutritional counseling, and will be able to guide you on making wise food choices for lowering inflammation and restoring your gut to an optimal, balanced state.
Common inflammation-causing foods to cut out of your diet include:
• “Healthy” gluten-free foods like cookies, crackers, and other boxed foods. Just because the box days “organic,” “natural,” or “gluten-free,” it doesn’t mean it’s good for you.
• Most processed and boxed center-aisle foods
• Soy
• Genetically-modified crops
• Raw nuts and seeds
• Sugar and refined carbs
• Gluten and dairy
• Trans-fats
• Grain-fed meat and farm-raised fish
• Vegetable oils
• Hydrogenated fats
Foods that reduce inflammation include:
• Wild-caught fish, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids
• Walnuts, avocado, freshly ground flax, and chia seeds
• Extra virgin olive and coconut oils
• Grass-fed beef
• Sprouted nuts and seeds
• Colorful, non-starchy plants
Your first step is coming in for a consultation. Reyne and I have dedicated our careers to helping people just like you discover the root causes for imbalance and the most efficient and gentle path toward optimal vitality. To learn more, please call 303.327.7300 or request a consultation online today
—Dr. Messer
Sources for this article can be found in:
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/what-does-having-inflammation-mean?otm_medium=onespot&otm_source=inbox&otm_campaign=Daily+Mailer&otm_content=daily_20190728&otm_click_id=6d4728d6ebe58e231cd1849d5d8fbf41&os_ehash=5cd4380f0accf9d50e19b4754a8f6bc7b5ba8ad7
