What is invisible to the human eye may be the key to our health and wellbeing. Our gut, the intestinal tract, our colon – it goes by many names but the function of the digestive system is one, to break down the food we eat and help our body absorb the nutrients.

Quite surprisingly, perhaps due to its function of distributing nutrients to our body, the gut is also involved in a lot of other bodily processes. In a sense, our body’s health is dependent on the gut’s wellbeing! When the digestive tract is healthy, the entire body is healthy.

• Gut health is key to digestive health
  When you have a healthy gut with a strong lining and healthy bacteria, your digestive system functions much better. You experience a lot less of indigestion and stomach discomfort and have regular bowel movement. A healthy gut also means you’re less likely to get the Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

• Gut health is behind your immune system’s strength
  You may not know this, but your immune system works very closely with your gut. People with a healthy gut and immune system have their body fight viruses during an illness. However, when their gut health is not at its best, the immune system may be weaker than usual and thus may lengthen the recovery period from an illness.

• Gut health could be key to clear skin
  In some cases, large amounts of bad bacteria in your gut could lead to a condition called the leaky gut syndrome. This happens when bad bacteria widen the pores in your digestive tract, allowing toxins to flow through your bloodstream. This increases the risk of skin-related ailments like acne and eczema.

Here are some common signs that may indicate your digestive health needs some attention:

• If you have bad breath…
  If the balance between the good and bad bacteria in your digestive system is off, you may start to experience more than just digestive discomforts. Bad breath that smells less than fresh is a common symptom of dysbiosis, an imbalance between good and bad bacteria in your gut.

• If you experience frequent bloating, gas and diarrhea…
  A major cue of digestive dysfunctionality is frequent bloating, gas and diarrhea. This is due to the health and number of bacteria living inside your gut. These bacteria are known as microbiome and symptoms such as bowel irregularity or gas occur when the balance of this bacteria is not at the right count.

• If you are prone to food allergies…
  The gut is the gatekeeper that decides what gets to go in the gut, what gets to stay and what needs to leave. Any food you consume and is not digested will pass straight out to the other end. This shows the most important function of the digestive system, which is to prevent foreign substances from entering our bodies. When your intestinal passage becomes permeable, large protein molecules get to escape into the bloodstream.
  
  Since these large proteins do not belong outside of the gut, the body depends on the immune system to attack them. This results in the bodies way of attacking through food allergies.

• If you experience gastric from your irregular meal times or from stress…
  In times of stress, blood rushes away from the digestive system to other organs which help to fuel us with what we need. Someone who experiences long term stress experiences a lack of blood supply to their digestive system, which leads to poor gut health.

Here are ways you can address your digestive health problems and keep your gut healthy:

• Ensure you drink sufficient amount of water
  Have a bottle of water in hand and drink at least 8 glasses of water daily. Water helps to flush out your systems from toxins and helps to avoid the symptom above.

• Have a balanced intake of food
  What you consume on a day to day basis affects your microbiome health. If you consume a diet of processed foods, you put yourself at risk of little to poor nutrient absorption. However, if you consume a diet that is easily digestible and rich in nutrients, you are more likely to feel energetic as your microbiome thrive on a healthy diet./li>

• Avoid foods that cause allergies
  For people who are living with food allergies, this should be second nature: read labels carefully to take note of its ingredients. It is best to control your food intake and avoid consuming foods that can trigger these allergies.

• Keep your stress levels in check and get enough rest
  Adopt healthy stress management habits to keep your digestive system health in check. Get at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep daily and stick to a regular eating schedule.

It's a norm to be prescribed with medication or antibiotics in times of an illness. However, it has been shown that antibiotics have the power to kill both good and bad bacteria at the same time. One way to have good gut health is to replace the good bacteria through probiotic supplements and fermented foods if you regularly consume antibiotics.

A healthy gut is key when it comes to the state of your digestive health and overall wellbeing. Take the necessary steps today to improve your gut health, for better health.