The gut is a key to understanding our health and weight. It’s time we get to know it better.
This blog post will explore the link between your gut and how it can be impacting your weight, plus what you can do about it!
What is the Gut?
It’s not just food that you need to worry about when it comes to your weight, but also the internal bacteria that reside in your gut.
Scientists estimate there are more than 100 trillion microorganisms living inside of our digestive systems.
These microbes include both “good” and “bad” bacteria, and our abundance (or lack) of each can impact weight-loss efforts like never before.
These microorganisms are key players in everything from how well you digest food to whether or not your body is able to extract nutrients properly.
And although the microbes living inside us outnumber our own cells 10 to 1, we still have a lot to learn about these tiny residents.
One thing scientists do know is that your gut may be the key to understanding your weight, and a large concentration of these microbes happen to reside in one of the most important organs regulating our body weight: the hypothalamus.
What’s Going on in There?
In order to protect itself from harmful bacteria, the hypothalamus produces an inflammatory response in the gut when it detects toxins.
Unfortunately, this is where many people run into trouble with weight loss.
When your body is constantly inflamed by internal factors like bacteria and toxins, cortisol levels are forced to rise to counterbalance the stressor.
High cortisol levels are usually associated with weight gain, and can also suppress the immune system.
Without strong immunity, your body is more susceptible to disease-causing invaders, both foreign and domestic (such as harmful bacteria in your gut).
So what can you do?
First of all, having a healthy microbiome goes beyond just losing weight. But it’s certainly a huge factor when it comes to your physical shape.
Studies show that the microbiome may play a role in everything from cancer risk to mental health, so it’s important not to ignore this area of research.
Your gut has an enormous amount of influence over your body’s ability to lose weight.
But how does your gut help manage your weight? And how can you maintain a microbiome that is healthy and helps you lose weight?
The Gut-Brain Connection
Your gastrointestinal tract has its own nervous system, the enteric nervous system, which mainly controls digestion. Your gut also houses 100 million neurons, making it essentially another brain in your body.
This “second brain” is linked to your central nervous system through the vagus nerve, which runs from your brainstem down to your abdomen. It’s this connection that may play a crucial role in weight management.
Researchers are discovering links between gut health and mental health on an almost daily basis nowadays. We now know that stress and anxiety can disrupt gut flora, leading to compromised immunity and, as a result, weight gain.
Gut health is also closely tied to emotional well-being because of its link with the neurotransmitter serotonin (aka the “happy hormone”).
Your body produces more than 90% of the serotonin in your digestive tract, so if your gut is compromised, you’ll miss out on the mood-boosting effects of serotonin.
Serotonin is produced in response to both food intake and physical touch (like sex or hugging), which may explain why having a strong social life (and plenty of hugs) can improve your weight loss efforts.
So how can you make sure your gut flora is in optimal shape?
First of all, avoid foods that are known to damage the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, like processed sugar and refined grains.
Eating cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli or cauliflower) regularly can also reduce inflammation in your gut.
Then just be a little more mindful of your stress levels and consider getting a dog – recent research shows that canine companions can actually reduce cortisol levels!
1. Avoid foods that damage the lining of the gut microbiota, such as processed sugar and refined grains.
2. Consider adding cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli or cauliflower) to your diet regularly for their anti-inflammatory properties.
3. Get daily physical touch via hugs or sex to boost serotonin levels, which mediate both mood and appetite hormones.
4. Be mindful of overall stress levels because they directly alter gut microbiota composition through influence on inflammation in the gut during times of bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
5. Consider snuggling up with a furry friend like a pup to reduce cortisol levels and therefore boost weight loss.
6. Consider a probiotic supplement to help populate your gut with good bacteria and reduce the risk of inflammatory bowel disease, which can also occur from dysbiosis.
Conclusion
So, you see how your gut may be the reason why you’re fat.
In order to get lean, you have to get your gut healthy! Try the strategies above and see if it works for you. And let us know in the comments below how it goes.
Related Post: Does BioFit really work for weight loss?
References:
https://www.science.org.au/curious/people-medicine/gut-bacteria
https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2012/11/your-microbes-you
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4872506/
https://www.medicinenet.com/can_stress_make_you_fat/views.htm
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-brain-gut-connection