One of the most commonly unknown or ignored health problems is the bad or unhealthy gut. The gut is a complex part of our body that can have a great effect on our overall health and can be linked to our immune system, mental health, skin condition, and even mood. Our digestive system consists of a long tube for our food to flow through before being excreted from the body. While passing through the body our food passes through our gut and in turn our gut microbiome. The gut microbiome is made up of microorganisms living in our intestines with up to 500 different species of bacteria living in our digestive tract. These microorganisms are extremely beneficial to a healthy body.

Here are some signs that you may have an unhealthy gut:

An unhappy gut can cause stomach issues, so if your stomach is upset often, consider your microbiome. This can be a sign that your gut is finding it hard to digest your food. This can lead to bloating, gas, heartburn, constipation, and diarrhea. 

If you are experiencing skin breakouts or flare-ups, the problem may be your gut. Inflammation in your gut can lead to a food allergy which in-turn can lead to skin irritation or flare-ups. 

Dropping or adding pounds without trying is often a big warning sign for gut imbalance. Losing or gaining weight without a change to your diet or a change to your fitness lifestyle is a sign that your body may not be absorbing nutrients, not regulating blood pressure, and storing fat. Weight gain can be caused by insulin resistance and weight loss can be from intestinal bacterial overgrowth.

If you crave more and more sugar it could be a gut problem and the more you eat, the worse it becomes. Highly processed foods and added sugar in your diet can decrease the number of good bacteria in your gut. This leads to sugar cravings which can make this problem worse and damage your gut even more. 

If your breath is often stinky, your microbiome’s bacteria could be to blame. An overgrowth of bad bacteria in the digestive tract can lead to bad breath.

An off-kilter gut could make you feel grouchy and anxious. An unhealthy gut can also lead to sleep disturbance or poor sleep. A large amount of the body’s serotonin is produced in the gut. This hormone can greatly affect sleep so a damaged gut can greatly affect your sleep.

With all these signs to bad gut health, there has to be some solutions to these problems. One solution that can be taken immediately is adding some new items to your grocery list, high fiber foods, fermented items, and collagen-boosting food. High fiber foods like beans, peas, oats, bananas, berries, asparagus, and leeks; Fermented items such as kimchi, sauerkraut, yogurt, tempeh, miso, Kombucha; and collagen-boosting foods like bone broth and salmon.