Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

Symptoms of discomfort are our body’s way of saying “pay attention to me!”
Liz Lipski (Digestive Wellness)

Most of us pay little attention to our health until we don’t feel so well. We rarely think about our digestion and its importance until we feel bloated and windy or suffer from nausea, constipation or diarrhoea. Our stomachs today are generally treated like a garbage bin where everything is just thrown in; the good, the bad and the ugly. Little thought is given to nutrition. It just needs to taste good. We assume that our stomach will just deal with it; all will be digested, the goodies will be absorbed so our organs can be nourished and support our life and the bad stuff – well it will just be eliminated! OOPS!

If we have symptoms of digestive discomfort such as bloating, it is easy to figure out that our gastrointestinal tract is out of balance. But if we experience arthritis, eczema, acne, autoimmune disease, mood swings, depression, fatty liver, chronic fatigue, regular and persistent cold and flu symptoms, chronic headache or migraine, oestrogen dominance, chronic vaginitis or bladder infection due to Candida infection - and the list goes on – perhaps it would be surprising that these symptoms also could indicate that parts of our gastrointestinal tract are out of balance?

What do we know about the gastrointestinal tract that could explain this surprising association?

• Gut flora in an adult weighs about 3-4 kgs. The importance of the proper balance between the good and the bad bugs is now being recognised as essential to good health.
• Good bugs complete digestion and facilitate nutrient absorption. Their metabolism provides us with essential vitamins and cofactors such as B vitamins, folate and Vitamin K. Good bugs are also important immune system modulators.
• Broad spectrum antibiotics can destabilise the normal microbiological balance and allow opportunistic pathogens – the bad bugs – to proliferate which can result in both acute and chronic health issues.
• Good Lactobacilli are shed from our gastrointestinal system in times of stress. This destabilises the normal microbiological balance and allows the bad bugs to proliferate.
• 75% of our lymphatic system and 80% of our antibody producing B cells are found in our gastrointestinal system. Autoimmune issues often arise in susceptible individuals due to the proliferation of bad bugs in the gut.
• 90% of our Serotonin is manufactured within our gut. Without adequate serotonin we can develop insomnia and become depressed.

As we can see gastrointestinal imbalance or dysbiosis can often be an important underlying factor in many common health issues. If our gut isn’t right – we are not right!

Reclaim Your Health is about sharing some amazing foundational health information, which can empower you to take control of your health issues and begin a positive journey to a better, healthy future by reclaiming digestive balance.

(Article references available upon request)

Reclaim Your Health - Colleen Smith Dip App Science (Med Tech)
Colleen can be contacted on 0423 779 350.