‘I’ve got a gut feeling about this.’
I bought the following book in a charity shop for £1 – ‘Gut’ by Giulia Enders. She is a German doctor and I now use this book as a valuable resource for gut information.
Here are my top 10 astonishing tips and facts about your gut:
1) The squat position is best to stool – place a small stool under your feet and lean forwards when on sitting on the toilet.
2) The hunter-gatherer diet had up to 500 varieties of roots, herbs, plants etc. Our modern diet has only 17 different varieties per year.
3) Cigarette smoke increased the feeling of satiety but also the quantity of stomach acid. Hence smoking causes heartburn, acid reflux and gastric ulcers.
4) Healthy gut bacteria are needed for good mood and help to decrease pain perception by the brain.
5) Stress takes energy away from the gut, so prolonged stress means a weakened gut and digestion.
6) Breast-milk is best for colonizing young gut flora.
7) Identical twins have the same genes but different gut flora.
8) The gut microbiome weights up to 2kg!
9) 80% of your immune system is in the gut.
10) Pre-biotic food e.g. artichoke, asparagus, endive lettuce, green bananas, garlic, onion, parsnip, oaks, leeks etc. All these foods encourage good bacteria to have increased ability to fight the harmful bacteria in our systems.
Gut – Brain connection.
The gut-brain axis theory has been established through many studies. So a happy gut = happy person.
Are you taking good care of your gut?
Contact me for more tips on how to have a happy gut!
