The Big Picture of Wellness Series – Step 5 – Nutrients & Gut Health

We Need Vitamins and Minerals in Our Diet

Every human needs vitamins and minerals in their diet because they are vital nutrients. Vitamins and minerals work together to perform many different roles in your body. They support bones, heal injuries and reinforce your immune system. Vitamins and minerals also repair damage to your cells. Your body needs them to convert the food that you eat into energy that it can use. When you’re missing key vitamins and minerals, your body doesn’t work properly. For instance, it may struggle to make hormones. This is why it’s important to include vitamins and minerals in your diet.

Human Bodies are Complex Dynamic, Organic and Sensitive Systems

A popular analogy is that “food is fuel.” In fact, it’s something that many nutrition and wellness people have embraced as a catchphrase for years. However, the time has come to challenge this line of thinking because human bodies are complex dynamic, organic and sensitive systems.

Often, people attempt to lose weight by counting calories, which appears to make sense. If you give your body enough food, you’ll have the energy that you need to do the active things that you want to do. If you give your body more food than it needs, then it will develop love handles or other fat deposits.

The problem comes from attempting to calculate the right amount of calorie inputs and outputs. Calorie counts for food are often incorrect. A person may have eaten more calories than they thought they should and still lost weight, or they may have eaten a low number of calories and gained weight. When you follow the idea that “food is fuel,” this wouldn’t occur, but it happens to people all the time. Why does it happen? It happens because the human body is a complicated, dynamic, sensitive and organic system.

All Food Is Not Equal

Research has determined that all food isn’t created equal. What a person eats is not always absorbed by their body. A variety of factors impact how your body digests, processes and expends the food that you eat. This means that the calorie worth of something that is not in your body isn’t always the same as when it is.

It’s common to think of food as fuel, calories or energy, but when you focus on that element, you’re not considering the whole picture. Food is communication that tells our bodies how to perform, one that sends instructions that kick off a chemical chain reaction. While it’s accurate that macronutrients, which are the fats, proteins and carbs in food items, contain calories or energy, they also include phytochemicals, zoo chemicals, water, micronutrients and more. These substances affect your health and how your body functions.

Think of the substances in food as the supporting actors in a television show. They are not the main characters, and they don’t give the show energy or fuel, but they provide dynamic interactions with the main actors to help them create a spark. The supporting substances in food are essential for the functionality, mood and best long-term health of the human body. If they’re missing, then the show can’t go on. This is why it’s important to choose food that fuels.

Food that Fuels

Food that fuels features nutrients like:

• Calcium
• Folate
• Flavonoids

Calcium is a mineral that helps your body build bones, regulate blood pressure and clot blood. The mineral also keeps your heart beating and your muscles operating while supporting cell communication.

Folate, which is vitamin B6, helps your body generate energy from food, grow tissue and produce red blood cells. Folate also assists the functioning ability of the nervous system. This is especially important since it sends signals throughout our bodies.

Flavonoids, which are phytochemicals, protect your DNA from free radicals, lower your risk of developing heart disease, protect you from developing cancer and decrease overall mortality.

When you pay attention to the nutrients that you’re ingesting, you’ll be able to improve your gut health. While it’s easy to focus on counting calories and increasing your workouts, holistic health is multidimensional. It requires a comprehensive approach.

Phytochemicals and Their Benefits

To give your body the natural, health-supporting nutrients it needs, eat foods that contain phytochemicals. These substances are in plants, and while you can become deficient in key nutrients like vitamin C, you won’t develop a phytonutrient deficiency. However, they are important to your health.

When people eat a diet that’s high in phytochemicals, they generally enjoy better health. The right phytochemical combination triggers your immune system. They also improve how well your body can detox. These nutrients may even protect you from developing age-related diseases like heart disease, osteoporosis and diabetes.

Additional benefits of phytochemicals include lower blood pressure, reduced blood sugar levels and a lower risk of developing cancer and diabetes. The best sources of phytochemicals are fresh foods that are whole like fruits, nuts, herbs and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables that are bright colors, such as purple, red and blue, usually contain phytochemicals, but there are also less bright foods that have them as well. Cauliflower and potatoes are in this category.

Zoo Chemicals Have Profound Health Effects

Zoochemicals provide your body with the same type of benefits as phytochemicals, but zoochemicals are in animal sources. Human bodies need them to obtain optimal health and to perform at a high level. Zoochemicals are made up of fats, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Some plants contain zoochemicals, but there are more of them in animal-based proteins.

Food Can Heal or Kill

While there are a number of factors that contribute to the formation of a malignancy, eating bad food is one of the top three. Cancer literally feeds and thrives on sugar. To prevent cancer and get your gut health in check, avoid:

• Refined and processed sugar
• Alcohol
• Burned or charred food
• Non-organic meat
• Canned food
• Processed meat

There are many notions about dangerous foods and toxins. Research is still being done to determine how much of an impact these foods and substances have on the human body. For instance, illness and weak immune systems also play a role. However, it is important to embrace the factors and behaviors that you can control. Processed foods often contain added sugar, fat and salt. Sugar is the devil, and it’s a good idea to avoid it as much as possible.

Bacteria Can be Harmful or Helpful

There are bacteria everywhere including your entire body. In some cases, bacteria are harmful, but certain types of them are important, and they help keep the human body healthy. The bacteria on the skin, within the airways and that’s part of the digestive system are one of the body’s main defenders against the kind of foreign pathogens that may cause infections or other issues. Add good bacteria to strengthen the intestinal barrier.

Bacteria helps the body’s immune system by making sure it’s properly tuned. A body’s immune system shouldn’t be overly sensitive or slow to respond. It needs to tackle infections quickly without overreacting. Every body features its own personal bacteria collection, which is called the microbiome. Humans acquire their first bacteria upon birth. Each day, the environment that you’re in exposes you to more bacteria. Some of these bacteria stick with you and work to create a healthy immune system.

Good bacteria set up shop in the respiratory and digestive systems. Once there, they colonize these systems and establish the immune system’s checks and balances. Bacteria also helps the body’s cells by performing some of the jobs that cells aren’t good at doing like breaking down carbs and toxins. Bacteria helps your body absorb fatty acids. Cells need these substances to develop. Bacteria also protects intestine cells from invasive pathogens. When a body has good bacteria, bad bacteria are unable to grow and form into diseases.

Bad bacteria may cause diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Generally, these diseases only occur when a body’s normal microbiome is disturbed. However, the microbiome can be disrupted from a variety of sources including antibiotics. Bad bacteria can be present in your body at low levels without causing harm, or they can grow at an excessive rate and cause major issues.

Good bacteria aid good gut health. Keep in mind that poor gut health causes symptoms such as gas, heartburn, bloating and constipation.

How to Develop Good Gut Health

The average human body contains around 40 trillion bacteria. Most of the bacteria are in the gut. Your gut microbiome is extremely important to your overall health. There are many factors that impact the bacteria in your digestive tract, but food is a major one.

The good news is that you can improve your gut bacteria. One easy way to improve it is to eat a wide range of foods. A body’s intestines contain hundreds of species of bacteria. Each one participates in your health. They also need different nutrients to grow. A diverse microbiome is largely thought to be a healthy one. The reason for this is because when the body has more species of bacteria, they are able to provide more health benefits.

One problem is that the western diet tends to be limited and heavy in fat and sugar. To offset this, eat real food like vegetables, fruit, legumes and beans. Fruits and vegetables are the best options to develop a healthy microbiome. They contain a great deal of fiber, and while your body won’t be able to digest fiber, some gut bacteria can. This stimulates their ability to grow. To develop good gut health, don’t overeat. Also, eliminate any foods/drinks that cause issues.

Have a Dr. check nutrient levels to determine what your body may be lacking. To support your gut, you may need to add iron, vitamin C, selenium, magnesium, micronutrients B vitamins and omega-3 nutrients to your diet. Leafy greens include many of these substances. They also help control inflammation, which can support a healthy gut as well.

Digestion Impacts Mood Health and Even the Way We Think

The human body contains two brains, the one in your head and the one in your gut. Your gut’s brain is called the enteric nervous system, or ENS, and it is made up of two thin layers of 100 million nerve cells that cover the gastrointestinal tract from the rectum to your esophagus.

The main job of the ENS is to manage the body’s digestive system, which means that it has a big job. Managing the digestion system ranges from swallowing to releasing the proper enzymes that your body needs to break down food. The ENS is even responsible for controlling the amount of blood flow needed to help with absorbing nutrients and elimination.

While the ENS doesn’t develop thoughts, it does communicate with the brain in your head. In fact, researchers believe that the ENS may trigger major emotional shifts that people who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome often experience. For years, it was thought that depression and anxiety contributed to gut problems like IBS, bloating, pain and diarrhea, but they are coming across evidence that it may be the other way around.

This is good news because it gives people new treatment opportunities. If you experience gut problems along with emotional ones, then you may be able to treat it with the right balance of food, exercise and supplements.

How to Use Supplements to Help Your Gut

If you are experiencing poor gut health, then it’s important to find the root cause. Some people develop a condition known as leaky gut syndrome. This is an ailment in which a person doesn’t have the proper coating to protect the intestinal lining, making it unable to prevent harmful substances from forcing their way into the bloodstream through the digestive tract.

You may have leaky gut syndrome if you experience food sensitivities, autoimmune conditions or mental health problems. Prevent gut distress with supplements like:

• Zinc
• L-glutamine
• Collagen peptides
• Probiotics
• Fiber

Zinc is important for a number of the body’s metabolic processes. It also boosts the body’s immune system. According to a 2001 study, zinc supplements helped strengthen the guts of those who suffer from Crohn’s disease.

L-glutamine is a critical amino acid. When it’s present in the digestive tract, it works to repair the intestinal lining, providing another layer of support.

Collagen is a helpful protein that is in most of the body’s tissues, but it may also be beneficial to your gut health. Collagen peptides are easy to digest, and a recent study determined that the supplement worked to prevent additional breakages of the intestinal lining.

Probiotics are a therapeutic way to manage and treat gastrointestinal diseases. Probiotics are live microorganisms that aid the gut’s microbiome.

Fiber works a lot like probiotics, and it improves the microbiome as well. Fiber is also a key element of a healthy diet.

A Comprehensive Approach

Obtaining the body physique that you’ve always wanted requires more than a one or two step approach. While a low-calorie diet or intense workout routine may help you tone up and drop a few pounds, maintaining the physique that you want requires nutritional guidance, supplements and exercise. It may even require sculpting and contouring help using aesthetic cosmetology services like electrical stimulation, cool sculpting and non-invasive fat removal techniques.

Create a Healthy Gut for a Healthier You

Recover and renew with sleep, stress management and exercise along with nutritional guidance, supplements and aesthetic cosmetology. Poor gut health will make you feel bad and not perform well. Consider a comprehensive approach to obtaining the body physique and mental health that you want and deserve.

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