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6 SIGNS YOU MAY HAVE AN UNHEALTHY GUT

6 SIGNS YOU MAY HAVE AN UNHEALTHY GUT

Do You Have an Unhealthy Gut? 6 Common Signs and Symptoms

Your gastrointestinal system plays a central role in health and disease prevention. When gut health is compromised, it can manifest in many ways throughout the body and mind. As a Functional Nutritionist, I work with clients to heal the gut as the foundation for achieving optimal wellness and balancing hormones. This is especially important for women with endometriosis and adenomyosis.

In this blog, I’ll examine an unhealthy gut’s top signs and symptoms. Addressing these issues through dietary changes, stress relief, supplements, and other interventions can get your gut back into balance.

Sign #1: Digestive Troubles
One of the most obvious signs of poor gut health is ongoing digestive problems. This includes symptoms like:
● Bloating, gas, abdominal cramps
● Constipation and/or diarrhea
● Nausea and vomiting
● Heartburn and acid reflux
● Undigested food in stool

If you regularly experience any of these common GI issues, it likely indicates inflammation, infection, permeability, or another imbalance in the gut. Healing the gut can resolve these unpleasant symptoms.

Pay attention to changes in your bowel movements, stool consistency, pain levels, or nausea/vomiting. Don’t ignore new digestive symptoms – they are a sign something is off.
Keeping a symptom journal can help identify triggers.

Sign #2: Food Intolerances
Developing new intolerances to foods you once ate without issues is a clear sign of gut dysfunction. This happens when increased permeability (leaky gut) allows food particles to enter the bloodstream and trigger immune reactions.

Typical food intolerances that may develop include dairy, gluten, egg, soy, corn, nuts, and nightshades. Keeping a food journal can help pinpoint problem foods. Removing irritants and healing the gut barrier restores tolerance.
Reacting to several different foods is a sure sign of a leaky gut. Look for reactions like rashes, fatigue, joint pain, and changes in digestion.

Sign #3: Skin Conditions
Many chronic skin conditions like acne, eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea are driven by gut imbalances. Inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract gets communicated to the skin through the gut-skin axis.

Healing your gut by reducing inflammation and antigens entering the blood can improve these embarrassing skin conditions. A healthy gut means clear, glowing skin!
The gut is your “second brain” – what happens in the intestines directly impacts the skin. To clear up skin from the inside out, avoid inflammatory foods, load up on gut healing foods like colostrum, slippery elm & collagen, antioxidants, and lower stress levels. High cortisol can cause havoc on our gut health by breaking down our mucosal barrier!

Sign #4: Nutritional Deficiencies

Poor gut health impairs your ability to digest and absorb nutrients properly. This can result in deficiencies in vitamins, minerals, protein, fatty acids, and more, leading to symptoms like chronic fatigue, brain fog, and frequent illnesses.
Restoring gut function through diet, supplements, and microbial balance helps you properly break down and assimilate nutrients to correct deficiencies.
Nutrient deficiencies develop slowly over time. Get tested to identify any low levels of B vitamins, magnesium, omega-3s, or other critical vitamins and minerals. Improving digestion and eating a nutrient-dense diet can resolve them.

Sign #5: Mental Health Issues

There is a strong connection between the gut and brain through the gut-brain axis. Dysfunction in the gastrointestinal system can manifest through anxiety, depression, mood swings, brain fog, and sleep issues.
Correcting underlying gut issues can improve mental health symptoms dramatically. A healthy gut equals a stable, happy mood and sharp cognition.
Stress also damages the gut-brain connection. Adopting relaxation practices while avoiding inflammatory foods and correcting nutritional deficiencies can improve your mental health outlook.

Sign #6: Autoimmunity

Intestinal permeability allows antigens to escape the gut and trigger autoimmunity in susceptible individuals. Autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus have been linked to gut dysfunction.
Healing leaky gut and sealing the junctions between cells can help reverse autoimmune disease. Removing trigger foods is also essential. A compromised gut is a significant contributor to systemic inflammation.

Over 90% of women with endometriosis have gastrointestinal symptoms driving a large portion of inflammation. Since over 70% of our immune system lives in the gut and endometriosis is largely a disease of immune dysfunction, we have to start with the gut….always! Gut health is also a pre-requisite for hormonal health, so again, it’s the foundation for many processes to follow.

Working with a Functional Practitioner like myself to identify and heal underlying gut issues through diet, stress relief, microbiome support, and other interventions can significantly change women’s lives, as my clients are currently experiencing.
Several studies have found women with endometriosis are much more likely to experience IBS like symptoms than women without the condition. Read here: Endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analyses
and
Microbiota in Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Endometriosis: Birds of a Feather Flock Together—A Review

Take the Next Step to Heal Your Gut

If you are experiencing any signs of poor gut health, take action today to restore optimal digestive function. Eating a clean, anti-inflammatory diet, managing stress, taking supplements, and adding gut-healing foods can all help get your gut back on track.
To develop a custom gut healing protocol tailored to your needs, schedule a free 15-minute consultation with me. Just click below to book an appointment. I look forward to helping you optimize your gut health!
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