What Are The Signs Of A Healthy Gut?

Making sure that your gut is healthy is very important for several reasons but the main one is that a healthy gut can ensure that your entire digestive system is functioning correctly. If your gut is not healthy, for instance, leaky or inflamed, it can affect how your body processed food. An unhealthy gut can lead to bowel obstructions and issues, abdominal pain, and discomfort. In other words, an unhealthy gut can be the trigger to many other health issues that with then only take longer to resolve. Taking care of your gut does not have to be as difficult as you may think; if you are mindful of what you are consuming then this can drastically help you improve your gut health. Limiting fatty and sugary foods is the first step towards a healthier gut and adding more fibrous foods into your diet. You can even opt for a suitable probiotic supplement to help support your gut health! Eating the right foods and supplement are just the beginning when it comes to gut health, as it can be difficult (at first) to identify any problems with your gut. How do you know if you have a healthy gut? Well, that is what we will be covering throughout today's blog posts….

What are the signs of a healthy gut?

It is much easier to identify if your gut is healthy as a healthy gut is unlikely to be causing you any discomfort or bowel obstructions. Therefore these are both good signs that your gut is healthy and functioning properly. Although, more signs could indicate that your gut is healthy. Below we have included a list of things that are commonly linked to a person with a healthy gut:

• Healthy bowel transit time
• Regular and pain-free bowel movements
• Consistent energy 
• ‘Normal’ amount of gas as well as bloating
• Healthy reactions when processing food
• Mental Clarity

Whilst there are generally considered signs of a healthy gut, you will still want to ensure that you keep sporting your gut by eating a balanced diet and adopting healthy eating habits as well as limiting the consumption of foods that could trigger stomach inflammation or gut discomfort. To clarify, regular and pain-free bowel movements, consistent energy, mental clarity and a healthy reaction to processing foods are all signs that your gut is considered healthy and functioning correctly. 

How do you know if you have an unhealthy gut?

If all of the above are signs that your gut is healthy then it stands to reason that the opposite or anything different to the above could be signs of an unhealthy gut! Now, it can be more difficult to ‘diagnose’ the gut as unhealthy as many of the common side effects can all be explained or linked to a different, yet similar health condition. It is very common for many people to account for irregular bowel movements or bloating to overeating or eating too quickly; whilst these can be a quantifiable reason for such obstructions and discomfort, they are also very likely to be signally an unhealthy gut. Therefore, we wanted to share with you a list of common signs that could be your body's way of alerting you that your gut is unhealthy and needs help… 

• Frequently passing gas
• Persistent discomfort, inflammation and bloating
• Constipation or diarrhoea
• Acid reflux, heartburn and excessive belching 
• Chronic fatigue
• Brain fog 

These can all be signs that your gut is having a hard time processing the food you are consuming as well as having an equally difficult time eliminating the waste. An unhealthy gut can even drastically affect your mood, energy levels and even sleeping pattern therefore if you are experiencing any (or a combination) of the above signs then chances are you have an unhealthy gut! However, there are things that you can do to relieve your symptoms and support your gut back to good health as well as maintain your gut health long-term.

How can I heal my gut?

One of the most popular methods to improve overall gut health is to consider taking a suitable probiotic supplement once a day to help support healthy gut functions. Lactobacillus probiotics can help to add essential bacteria directly to the gut; which can help the body better process and absorb nutrients from food. If the gut can better process food, then it’s likely to encounter less obstruction with the bowels to eliminate waste. Probiotic bacteria are essential for the gut, as ‘friendly; bacteria can maintain a balance over ‘harmful’ bacteria that could be overgrowing thus causing gut issues like inflammation, obstructions and discomfort. If you would like to read more on how to support your gut with probiotics, then we have a plethora of suitable blog posts that you might be interested in reading. You may find one in particular very helpful as it explains how probiotics can help improve the gut. That post is titled: What problems do probiotics help? 

How long does it take to heal my gut?

If you do decide to begin taking a probiotic to help you improve your overall gut health, then it can begin healing within just a few short weeks; depending on the ‘state’ of your gut. It could take 2-3 weeks to help health an unhealthy gut of any minor obstructions or inflammation. This time frame is not the same for everyone as it will depend on how much ‘good’ bacteria your gut needs for it to be considered healthy again. This time frame ensures the probiotics have the time it needs to accomplish their three main goals…

• Increase ‘good’ bacteria count
• Decrease the amount of ‘harmful’ bacteria AND 
• Reduce inflammation. 

You need to give your probiotics a sufficient amount of time to heal your gut for it to be healthy again! Then, the main is keeping the gut healthy by not falling back into bad eating habits or patterns otherwise your probiotics will be less effective! 

If you still have questions on how to support your gut health after reading today's post blog, you can always read through our Health Insider Blog. It is full of helpful and reliable posts that aim to answer all your most pressing questions about understanding your gut health and how to repair it. In addition, should you have any personal questions or want additional support on a query, you can send us a DM on Instagram where we aim to get to you as soon as possible!