Gut health is one of the many important factors in your weight loss journey. Your gut is a very complex system that involves the balance of microorganisms that live and interact with our bodies. The microbiome is the collection of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microorganisms. They have an important impact on your digestion, metabolism, immune function, and your mood. In the most recent health and weight loss studies, they have found that a balanced gut health is one of the greatest aids in weight loss.
With a healthy gut you can digest and process food efficiently, absorb nutrients, and support a more stable metabolism. This stable metabolism is essential for weight management. When your gut is imbalanced it can give you many different kinds of gut related issues. Issues like cramps, bloating, gas, and inflammation. All of these are usually what makes weight gain easier or weight loss harder to achieve. If you choose to focus on your gut health while on your weight loss journey you will notice better energy levels, moods, sleep, and a stable metabolism.
Connecting Gut Health and Weight Loss
The microorganisms in your gut are important for digestion and metabolism. They help break down your food, extract and absorb nutrients for your body, and give you energy. When everything is balanced it helps with a healthy metabolism and efficient digestion. This in the long run will help with maintaining and losing weight.
Although, when your gut is in an imbalance it can disrupt these natural processes. This disruption is called dysbiosis. This happens when there is too much growth of harmful bacteria or not enough of the beneficial bacteria. How do you know you might have this? You might experience fatigue, digestive problems like gas and bloating, trouble urinating, acid reflux or heartburn, infections, inflammation and aching joints, and acne or skin rashes. Also, an imbalance can lead to insulin resistance, which is one of the reasons for weight gain. Chronic inflammation as well will cause the body’s stress response to release more cortisol. High levels of cortisol will lead to storing more fat.
Your gut microbiome also is important in regulating your appetite and feeling full. Some of your gut bacteria produce a short-chain fatty acid. (Lactobacillaceae, ruminococcaceae, and lachnospiraceae) This helps signal the brain when you are full. This is helpful for controlling your appetite. When you do not have enough of these (probiotics) you will likely feel more hungry and have more cravings which makes it hard to keep a healthy weight. Basically, by balancing your gut microbiome you can improve your body to have a healthy appetite and metabolism to help you with losing weight.
Why Enzymes Are Important
Enzymes have the job of breaking down your food into smaller and more absorbable molecules. They speed up the chemical reaction in your body so that you can digest food properly and efficiently. There are different kinds of enzymes and each target a specific macronutrient (carbs, protein, and fats). Without a proper amount of enzymes in your body you cannot extract and absorb the essential and necessary nutrients. This leads to many digestive issues and weight gain.
This nutrient extraction and absorption is what helps with weight loss. Because your food is properly broken down, your body can absorb the nutrients effectively. This helps you with maintaining natural energy levels and less bloating and digestive issues. Although, on the other hand if you do not have sufficient amounts of enzymes your body will result in having undigested food particles which will irritate the gut lining and lead to inflammation. This is one of the many factors as to why your gut can make you gain weight.
Enzymes are also important for regulating your metabolism. When everything in your digestive system is working efficiently it supports a stable and steady metabolic rate, which allows your body to burn calories effectively. This is extremely important when it comes to weight loss, as a slow metabolism makes it hard to burn calories as you move and exercise. So if you find that you are working out endlessly without losing weight, it might just be as simple as fixing your gut health.
So how do you boost your digestive enzymes? This is where diet comes into play. Adding in enzyme rich foods like pineapples and papayas will help a lot. These two have bromelain and papain which both break down protein molecules. Avocados have lipase which breaks down fats and bananas have amylase which breaks down carbs. Also fermented foods have many different enzymes as well. This is the most natural way to boost your enzymes, by eating plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Why Probiotics Are Important
Probiotics are live microorganisms. They are primarily beneficial bacteria that are important in maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. Probiotics support your digestion by fighting off infections and balancing your intestinal environment. By adding these beneficial bacteria into your gut, probiotics can improve your gut health. It helps by reducing inflammation and helping to stabilize your metabolism.
One of the ways that probiotics helps you to lose weight is by restoring the balance to your gut microbiome. You need a healthy mix of beneficial bacteria. This improves nutrient absorption, regular trips to the bathroom, less bloating and other digestive issues. Also they help with producing hormones that regulate your appetite and satiety. This is helpful so that you do not overeat or undereat. A healthy appetite will allow you to feel hungry at the right times and help you to eat the right amount of calories. Remember that there are both sides. There is overeating and undereating. Both will cause more fat cells to accumulate and hold tight. Undereating will force your body into a starvation mode, where your body will hold on tight to those fat cells for survival.
There are different kinds of probiotics. These different kinds are called strains. Some strains like lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are known to help with losing weight and body fat. These strains have also been known to lower your fat storage and improve your insulin sensitivity. (Digestive Aid from Elixaid has Lactobacillus). The most natural food sources for probiotics are found in fermented foods. Foods like yogurt, kefir, kimchi, and sauerkraut.
Strategies For Boosting Your Gut Health
The best way to boost your gut health is to eat a balanced diet everyday. A balanced diet is one that looks like this. 50% of your calories from fruits and veggies, half of your weight in protein (a mix of lean and red is best), healthy fats (avocados and olive oil as example), and healthy grains like legumes, beans, brown rice, quinoa, and lentils. (These are prebiotics which nourish the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Stay focused on including whole, unprocessed foods that are rich in fiber. Try to cut out or eliminate as much as possible processed foods and sugary foods. By balancing your diet you can improve your gut microbiome with a healthy balance of carbs, proteins, and fats.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to cut out the processed foods. When you go through the store try to have a list ready so you know what you want to plan for. Meal prepping is not only just storing meals ahead of time, it is planning what you are going to cook that week. That way when those moments come, you do not overeat out of feeling super hungry, you have something planned and ready. All the processed and sugary foods will only lead to inflammation and will disrupt your microbiome into an imbalance. Have snacks prepped and ready as well. Snacks can be healthy sources like a veggie or fruit tray.
This strategy is my personal favorite and that is exercise. Consistent exercise will increase your blood flow to your gut and help with keeping a healthy gut environment. Working out 150 min (2.5 hours) minimum a week will help you to regulate your stress hormones like cortisol. High cortisol levels will impact your gut health by disrupting the microbiome, so by reducing your stress you reduce the cortisol. Including a mix of cardio and strength training is the best way to go. This will keep your blood moving and create more immune cells as well to help with your gut health.
Also, quality sleep is important for your gut health. It is recommended to stop eating at least 2-3 hours before you go to sleep. When you lay down to sleep, it will slow down the digestion processes. So any food left over is left slowly digesting and not allowing you to sleep at your best. This also encourages acid reflux. Getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep is important and allows your gut to heal and regenerate. This in the long run will also help you with your weight loss journey.
Your Gut Health
Boosting your gut health is the best way to support your journey to weight loss. The gut microbiome is important for digestion, metabolism, and fighting inflammation. Making a lifestyle change so that you are eating a balanced diet everyday is also very important. This ensures that you have a diet full of fiber, probiotic, and prebiotic foods. This creates a healthy gut environment to support better digestion and absorption. Enzymes and probiotics are key as well to supporting your gut health. Enzymes break down your food for better absorption and extraction. Probiotics are essential in keeping a balanced bacterial environment.
The best ways to improve your gut health are to eat a healthy balanced diet, eliminate processed and sugary foods, meal prep, exercise consistently, manage your stress levels, and sleep 7-9 hours of quality sleep. By incorporating these strategies, you can help your gut health naturally. By keeping your gut healthy, you will be able to support your metabolism and burn calories efficiently so that you can lose weight.
If you still need a bit of a boost check out Digestive Aid from Elixaid. It has a blend of probiotics and enzymes to help boost your gut health. Thanks for reading, I wish you well on your fitness journey. Feel free to reach out and message me about any fitness or nutrition questions you may have.
Written By:
Kiara Paz
Fitness Coach of Condition By Kia
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