When you think about unhealthy gut symptoms, you may imagine having an upset stomach. This is certainly one of the most recognizable signs of gut health issues, but you may be surprised to hear that there is a substantially larger range of gut symptoms you may have experienced.
There are quite a few irritating and uncomfortable side effects of an unhealthy gut, that most of us think have nothing to do with digestion. Let’s look at some of these gut issues, as well as one of the best ways to create and maintain balance in your gut.
Weight gain and obesity
It seems like common sense that weight gain and obesity are related to your gut - after all, we associate the foods we eat with how much we weigh. However, the equation is much more complex than that.
When we say that your gut health can influence your weight, we’re talking more about the good bacteria in your gut that can help limit inflammation and regulate hormonal signals.
When your gut is balanced and healthy, your digestion is better, your body is regular, and you are more likely to maintain a healthy weight. We’ve seen that a diverse microbiome in the gut is correlated with a more healthy, lean body weight. On the other hand, obesity has been tied in part to a less diverse, less healthy group of bacteria in the gut.
Eating the right foods is an important step in increasing the diversity of the good bacteria in your intestines, but choosing the right probiotics can be one of the best steps to take.
Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids can be painless and unnoticeable, or they can be extremely painful and scary. If you’ve ever seen blood in your stool, you know that can be shocking, especially since this can be a sign of serious health problems like colon cancer. Not only are hemorrhoids often uncomfortable, but they are also difficult to get rid of. While you may not realize that your gut health has anything to do with hemorrhoids, it does.
That’s because the lack of good bacteria that can cause unhealthy gut symptoms can also lead to constipation. Constipation and straining are major contributors to developing hemorrhoids, as well as the inability for them to heal. Keeping your digestion regular is one of the best ways to avoid hemorrhoids.
Heartburn
Heartburn, or acid reflux, is an uncomfortable condition that can cause burning pain in your chest. This pain is often worse when you lie down and can interfere with your sleep quality. Acid reflux, if left untreated, can lead to ulcers, chronic coughing, and a dangerous condition called Barrett's Esophagus which is linked to an increased risk of developing esophageal cancer.
You may know that heartburn can be triggered by eating spicy or high-fat foods, and is worsened by smoking. But did you also know that this unhealthy gut symptom like heartburn can be made worse by an imbalance in your gut bacteria? This is because your body may react to an unhealthy gut by producing more stomach acid, which is the cause of heartburn. Probiotics are one of the best ways to increase the good bacteria that can help your body function correctly.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Irritable bowel syndrome is a disease that can have significant effects on your quality of life. People with IBS can experience diarrhea, constipation, and sometimes severe pain. IBS is a chronic condition with flare-ups that vary in length and intensity. The good news is that for many people, IBS can be managed with lifestyle choices.
One interesting fact about IBS is that some research has shown that people with IBS have differences in their gut bacteria, compared to people without IBS. This is why we emphasize how important it is to create and maintain a healthy, balanced, diverse colony of good bacteria in your gut.
Infertility
Is it possible that infertility has anything to do with unhealthy gut symptoms? It is, especially because of the link between obesity and an unhealthy gut. Obesity is linked to infertility, and weight loss is often linked to an improvement in fertility.
Before trying to conceive, you want to ensure that your health is as optimized as possible. Infertility can also be related to hormonal imbalances, which can be tied to your gut health. Probiotics can help create an overall balance within your body. In addition, we offer probiotics that are specially formulated for women who are pregnant, as well as newborns. You can learn more about Life Start here.
Skin Conditions
It's hard to image that redness or blotches on your skin can actually be an unhealthy gut symptom. However, imbalances in your gut bacteria can show up in your skin. In some cases, this is through an auto-immune condition like Vitiligo.
In other instances, irritations in your skin can be your body's way of reacting to an allergy or a food sensitivity. Keeping the bacteria in your intestines healthy can keep your body in good shape for digesting and processing the foods you eat. Better digestion can help many aspects of your body from your skin to your energy level.
Lowered Quality of Sleep
Like with skin conditions, it may be hard to see how your gut health can affect your sleep. The clearest connection may be for those people with heartburn. Often that condition interferes with sleep because of the discomfort that increases when you're lying down.
There are other reasons that your gut health can affect your sleep quality as well. One crucial aspect of this relationship is that sleep can be regulated by hormones like melatonin.
If your body is not producing the right hormones at the right time, this can get in the way of falling asleep, staying asleep, and getting a sufficient amount of deep sleep. Your gut health is directly tied to your body's ability to function correctly, which includes producing the right hormones. Digestion and sleep are critical to your overall health, so learning about how probiotics can bring balance to your body may help you not only feel better - but sleep better also.
If you are suffering from unhealthy gut symptoms, or you want to lower your risk of any of them in the future, probiotics may be a good choice for you. At Natren, we not only believe in the power of probiotics, but we commit to the highest level of quality and safety.
Probiotics are NOT all the same, and it’s important to realize that trying to improve your health with subpar probiotics is not only useless, but it is also potentially dangerous. Natren products are created with 35 years of detailed, comprehensive research from leading scientists. We guarantee the potency of every strain in our products, and we take the utmost of care in ensuring your products arrive to you in the best condition. You can view all our probiotics here.
