I had a girl ask me one day, "How do you know if your gut is unhealthy?” This is such a great question, because this is the very beginning of the journey to a better understanding of your body and how it relates to your gut!
If you have an unhappy gut, you could experience symptoms like reflux, stomach pain, gas, bloating, constipation, or diarrhea. These are all symptoms that are obviously related to digestion issues.
However, gut health isn't just about poor digestion or crappy bowel movements (pun intended). Some symptoms are not as obvious! You could also experience fatigue, brain fog, depression, allergies, weight gain, skin conditions (acne, psoriasis, eczema), or joint pain. (See my other blog post about the gut-body connection!)
There are other symptoms or “diseases” (which is really just a cluster of symptoms) that the medical world would say has an “unknown etiology” or are “idiopathic”. In other words, they have no idea what is causing the symptoms. On the other hand, the natural world would point toward your individual history and lifestyle affecting your gut.
These conditions or “diseases” could be hypothyroidism, IBS, Candida, or other autoimmune conditions.
Some doctors can run tests to determine if you have a food sensitivity or a gut bacteria imbalance. Functional medicine doctors are known for targeting the gut first in order to heal other areas of the body. However, a lot of people don’t like going to the doctor to be poked and prodded. (And I totally get that!)
