There’s no doubt about: a healthy gut is crucial to your overall health and wellbeing. And if you’ve lived with an unhealthy gut, you already know exactly how uncomfortable it can be (i.e. gas and diarrhea).

But it gets even worse – turns out that an imbalance of healthy gut flora could lead to a number of serious health conditions.

The good news? You can heal your gut and dramatically reduce your chance of developing any of these dire consequences of an unhealthy gut.

So if you’re looking for motivation to start healing your gut today, here are 8 reasons to do it!

Autoimmune diseases

You know how they say immunity begins in your gut? Well, that’s because nearly 70% of your immune system is regulated in your gut!

So it’s no surprise that even the slightest variation in gut bacteria can have far reaching consequences on your health.

How so? In brief, your small intestine is what keeps nutrients inside the body while blocking bacteria and toxins. There’s just a single layer of cells that separates the bloodstream from the contents of the intestines.

This layer of cells can be easily affected by an imbalance of bacteria and when this small intestine lining is compromised, your body has to fight against increased intestinal permeability that allows bacteria and toxins to slip into your bloodstream and overtax your immune system.

This causes your immune system to launch a response, which results in inflammation. And inflammation, as we all know, is the basis for a huge array of preventable chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes and a whole host of autoimmune diseases.

Diabetes

Imbalances in gut bacteria can damage the lining of your gut and create a profound effect on your digestion which, in turn, impacts your entire body.

One potential consequence it could have? According to recent studies, the bacteria in your digestive tract could play a critical role in the development of type 2 diabetes.

For years now researchers have been studying the connection between diabetes, intestinal permeability and gut bacteria. As it turns out, people with type 2 diabetes have different gut bacteria than those without diabetes.

The good news is that research has also demonstrated that taking certain probiotic strains can have a positive effect on insulin sensitivity. Go for the common stomach bacteria lactobacillus, which was found to stimulate insulin production in the intestines.

Osteoporosis

Researchers don’t currently know exactly how gut bacteria connects to osteoporosis but it has become clear that there is some relationship.

According to researchers at MSU’s departments of Physiology and Radiology, inflammation in your gut can lead to bone loss- which is a scary thought! The good news is that probiotics have been proven to enhance bone density.

ADD and ADHD

It’ll probably come as no surprise to you that children suffering from ADD or ADHD often have imbalances in their gut bacteria.

A recent study of nearly 750,000 children found that kids with ADHD have more than three times the rate of ingestion and constipation. They also have six times the rates of incontinence and are significantly more like to visit their doctor about bowel issues.

This link is incredibly important today. With 11% of children having been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD and 66% of those kids taking daily medication, this gut bacteria imbalance is having a major impact on kids around the globe.

Being born by Caesarean section and taking antibiotics has a significant impact on children’s gut health. Kids who are regularly exposed to antibiotics and didn’t receive the beneficial bacteria that comes through natural birth are much more likely to have ADD, ADHD and the whole range of other health conditions that are related to gut health.

High cholesterol

A recent study has discovered that our gut bacteria has a direct link to our levels of cholesterol and body fat. It turns out that certain types of gut bacteria affect our levels of triglycerides, HDL levels and body mass index.

Thanks to this all of the new data on the topic, researchers are currently searching for a way to effectively use probiotics to prevent heart disease and reduce body fat.

Candida overgrowth

If you’re wondering what candida is, you’re one of the lucky ones ’cause that means you haven’t suffered through one of these infections. A form of yeast, candida lives inside of your mouth and intestines. Its job is to help out with digestion and create a high level of nutrient absorption.

When it comes to candida, you can definitely have too much of a good thing. When it is overproduced, candida can break through the walls of your intestine and get into your bloodstream. When this happens, you will be dealing with a wide range of issue from depression and indigestion to skin and nail fungal infections.

Reduced libido

It has been well proven that an imbalance in the good and bad bacteria in your gut can cause women to have an unusually high occurrence of urinary tract infections (UTIs).

We have known this for a while but we didn’t know how this could relate to a woman’s libido. It turns out that taking antibiotics for issues like UTIs can lower women’s libido. In addition, other research has shown that an imbalance in gut bacteria alone can negatively impact a woman’s libido.

Chronic anaemia

Do you know it’s called a “leaky gut”? When the walls of your gut become too permeable, your gut starts wreaking havoc on your body. With the bad bacteria free to play, you are going to be feeling worn down.

When you are dealing with leaky gut, your body’s supply of Vitamin B12 is depleted because you aren’t able to create as many healthy red blood cells as your body needs.

Disclaimer: While our team of medical expert writers makes every effort to convey the correct, relevant, and most up-to-date information, you should never disregard advice given to you by your medical practitioner or delay seeking medical assistance because of something you have read on Gutsify or received in correspondence from Gutsify. Please refer to our Terms and Conditions.