Gut Health NZ: A window to Wellness

Taking care of your gut goes beyond just digestion; it plays a pivotal role in your overall health and well-being, including your mental health. At wellnesstherapy.co.nz, we’re here to help you understand how supporting your gut can enhance your life.

What Makes Your Gut Special?

Your gut is home to a diverse collection of microorganisms known as the ‘gut microbiome’. This community, which includes bacteria, viruses, and fungi, works harmoniously to maintain a healthy balance. You may have heard of the ‘gut-brain axis’—a communication system that exchanges chemical signals between the gut and the brain, influencing how you feel and think.

A well-balanced microbiome offers profound benefits:

- It fortifies your immune system

- Elevates your energy levels

- Boosts nutrient absorption from food

- Aids in weight management

- Supports mood regulation and better brain function

How Does Your Gut Work?

Understanding the process of digestion reveals how extraordinary the gut really is. When we eat, food is chewed and swallowed, traveling down the oesophagus into the stomach. Here, enzymes, acids, and hormones break down food into smaller particles.

Next, food enters the small intestine, where nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream and distributed throughout the body. Dietary fiber and other indigestible parts pass into the large intestine, where gut bacteria come alive to break them down. These bacteria perform essential tasks, such as producing molecules that signal fullness to the brain and supporting various critical processes in the body. Certain environmental factors can disrupt the delicate balance of beneficial microbes such as a diet rich in processed sugars and simple carbohydrates, a stressful lifestyle, emotional toxicity and environmental toxicity.

Scientific research increasingly links healthy gut microbes to reduced risks of serious conditions like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and depression.

Gut Health NZ’s Top Tips for Your Gut

1. Chew Your Food Thoroughly: Proper chewing aids digestion and can prevent discomfort like bloating and gas.

   
   

2. Eat Gut-Friendly Foods:

   1. Fibre-rich whole foods: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds

   2. Fermented foods: plain yoghurt containing lactobacillus, kimchi, kefir, sauerkraut, miso, homemade kombucha, and tempeh

   3. Polyphenol-rich options: spinach, berries, turmeric, and green tea

   4. Omega-3 sources: salmon, walnuts, sardines, and chia seeds

   5. Vitamin C and foods containing vitamin C.

3. Manage Stress: The gut is highly responsive to emotions like stress, anger, and anxiety. Frequent stress can disrupt its functions. Simple relaxation techniques, like diaphragmatic breathing, yin yoga, mediation and therapy to work through emotional toxicity and traumatic experiences can assist digestion and absorption.

   
   

4. Limit Alcohol: Excessive alcohol may harm the gut lining, disrupt nutrient absorption, disrupt hormones and liver detoxification.

5. Seek Help When Necessary: Experiencing persistent gut issues like bloating, pain, or irregular bowel movements? It may signal underlying conditions. Don’t hesitate to consult a healthcare professional or reach out to our team for expert advice.

At wellnesstherapy.co.nz we emphasise the importance of nurturing your gut health for a better, more energised you. Explore our services and resources to start your wellness journey today.