3 Reasons To love Your Gut

No conversation about detox would be worth its salt if we didn't talk about our gut. What's the first reason to love your gut? You might be surprised to know that your intestines are considered 'external' to the body. In other words, from the mouth down to your butt, it is external. Meaning it's a tube that runs all the way through, and that whatever goes in there, doesn't become part of the body until it's absorbed.

So the process of eating and chewing and going through the stomach and all of that breaks down food and gets it into a place where it can be absorbed.

So this is one of the key things that our gut does for us. It has to actually absorb the nutrients from our food before we can use it. If something's going wrong with that absorption system, then we're going to have problems.

Another key thing that it does is elimination. Now our GI tract is one of the main ways we eliminate waste and toxins. And if you don't eliminate on a regular basis, and that would probably mean different things for different people, but if you're not doing it regularly, then there's going to be a buildup of waste and a buildup of toxins.

Some of those toxins can be recirculated back into the system. So those are two really important things that our gut does for us.

The next thing is 70% of our immune function is in our gut. So not only are there lymph structures, but the bacteria that's in our gut really helps preserve our health.

And it's not just bacteria, its viruses, there's some yeast in there, and some fungus, and probably a few other things. And that's a good thing when they're all in balance. So when you've got enough of this and enough of that, and enough of this, it keeps one or the other from taking over.

That balance will get thrown off with antibiotics. It also happens with other things like food sensitivities, such as when people have a problem with gluten or other such things. They can cause inflammation. So if you do take antibiotics, make sure that you do everything you can to rebalance your gut.

And how would you do that? By eating fermented foods like yogurt or sauerkraut, or by taking probiotics.

The other thing that I want to say, the third thing, is that our gut produces 95% of the serotonin in our body.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, and we often refer to our gut as our second brain, because there's a direct connection between our gut and our brain. And that happens through the Vagus Nerve.

The other thing I want to say is that a lot of times problems we have such as skin problems, or hair problems, or things of that nature, are really because our gut function is off.

So how can you take care of your gut? How can you detox?

The best way I know how to do that is to make sure that you're eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, getting plenty of fiber, both soluble and insoluble, and eating whole foods.

When you can, those things are going to help you, along with drinking plenty of water, and getting exercise and good sleep to keep your gut really healthy. That's the best way, in my opinion, to detox.

Thank you for listening.

Dr. Elaine

This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the medical advice of your doctor or healthcare provider. Please consult your healthcare provider for advice about a specific medical condition.