It is amazing how our stomach can affect every aspect of our lives. They can help us feel good emotionally, can keep us up at night and interrupt sleep, and can cause us pain. Knowing how to properly look after your gut is often the first step to overall health and wellness. - Functional Medicine Doctor Houston

The expression saying that knowledge is power is often true, and especially so for many of us who face digestive issues. Thankfully, there are ways to treat each and every one of these problems. Speak to your doctor about any concerns you have, but educate yourself on thepossibilities. For instance, occasional heartburn is normal, but repetitive burning might be acid reflux, which needs treatment. Celiac disease is an intolerance of gluten, which is a protein found in wheat. It isn’t an allergy; it’s an autoimmune disease.

There are several kinds of inflammatory bowel conditions, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Different ailments can have varyingsymptoms, anything from diarrhea to ulcers to bloating to indigestion. While some conditions require medication for relief, many symptoms can be alleviated with some basic, natural changes to our lifestyles.

Your digestive tract is ruled, so to speak, by the microbiome that lives in your gut. When you GI tract is imbalanced, you suffer from dysbiosis. You know something is wrong if you often find yourself feeling slightly sick, as immune system health often comes down to our stomachs. You may notice your mood dropping repeatedly, as your gut produces many of the chemicals that help you feel happy. Your skin may be breaking out, and you may feel exhausted continually.

One of the largest telltale signs of dysbiosis is bloating. Your helpful gut bacteria may be out of whack, which can lead to overpopulation of bad bacteria. If you suffer from such concerns, you may want to increase the amount of probiotics you eat, which can help relieve bloating and other painful side effects.

These can increase healthy bacteria, which aids in digestion and can help reset our GI tracts. There are also certain foods you can eat to improve the health of your gut. These include yogurt, pickles, wild salmon, almond milk, and sauerkraut. - Functional Medicine Doctor OH

The health of our gut comes down as much to what we don’t eat as to what we do. Ditchprocessed foods, as these often create chaos in our intestines. This includes refined sugars, processed grains and dairy. Soy products, especially processed faux-meat substitutes, can reduce healthy gut flora. Heavy meats, especially fatty red meats, should also be reduced. Vegetables in the nightshade family can cause inflammation, which is detrimental to our intestinal health.

You also might want to avoid GMO foods, as these may reduce the amount of your healthy bacteria. Alternatively, try to incorporate cultured dairy products like yogurt and kefir, and add plenty of healthy vegetables that are light on starch. Fermented foods contain natural probiotics, which help digestion.

Knowing what negative ailments your stomach suffers from may influence the bestexercises for your lifestyle. For instance, aerobic exercise like biking can reduce the heartburn we feel, while deep breathing can help those with bowel movement issues. No matter what, focus on activities that use the abdomen. Walking and using your own body weight to exercise are both excellent options, but so are exercises such asyoga.

Yoga has many gentle stretches that help to move the internal organs and aid digestion and stomach health. Try poses that focus on the abdomen, like the butterfly or energy-freeing poses. At the very least, try to slowly turn your torso, and massage your stomach to stimulate movement internally.

As ZenBusiness.com points out, developing a healthy routine takes time, so be patient with yourself as you begin the process of caring for your stomach. The best way to start taking care of your stomach is to become familiar with the various conditions that can affect it and learning how to treat those ailments. Balance your gut with probiotics, eat for gut wellness, and know what exercise works best for you. It isn’t a lot of work to add to our days, and can make a dramatic improvement in how we feel and how we live our lives.

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