Intermittent Fasting as a Form of Gut Health Maintenance

By Conqueror Team

There is evidence that intermittent fasting can enhance cardiovascular and metabolic health, perhaps aiding in the management of type 2 diabetes. Intermittent fasting is a broad term that refers to a variety of strategies. At its most fundamental, it entails intentionally refraining from food for certain periods of time, either for health or religious reasons. Intermittent fasting is any dietary plan in which you alternate between eating regularly and fasting. We all naturally fast while we sleep; however, intermittent fasting is a deliberate decision to not eat (or dramatically reduce calorie intake) for a certain length of time, whether it is hours or days.

When it comes to our gut health, what we eat has an impact on which bacteria grow and thrive in our stomach. What we consume creates a narrow line between probiotic and pathogenic microorganisms.

Unhealthy diets high in saturated fatty acids, processed carbohydrates, and artificial sweeteners can activate the immune system’s inflammatory response. This reaction intensifies with time and can lead to the development of disease states such as autoimmune disorders.

Healthy gut microbe populations are unsure how to deal with this circumstance. For starters, they dislike sweets and fast meals. As a result, they do not aid in the digestion of these meals. This leads to weight gain and increased inflammatory responses.

A long-term diet of junk foods kills beneficial microbes throughout the digestive system. Beneficial bacteria thrive on a diet of nutritious foods, lean proteins, and complex carbs. As a consequence, opportunistic microorganisms will take their place, eventually causing havoc in your body.

This is why eating more fermented foods, such as yoghurt and Kombucha tea, is good for the stomach. Our bodies also couldn’t operate without these essential microbes.

The One Meal A Day (OMAD) regimen

The least popular of the bunch, but growing in popularity. You eat one huge meal each day and then fast for the remainder of the day. These are just a handful of the numerous ways in which individuals engage in IF. There are more rigorous regimens available, such as 24-hour fasts, Eat Stop Eat, as well as Alternate-Day Fasting.

When it comes to weight loss, intermittent fasting has been proven to be just as successful as any other type of diet. Furthermore, the Bacteroidetes study found that reducing weight naturally boosts the prevalence of these gut bacteria. As a result, as you lose weight on IF, you may be boosting the good bacteria in your body. This may help you lose weight over time.

Think your memory power isn’t up to par? Get tips on boosting your memory power with this online course. To start, click here.

Check our conqueror.blog to help you conquer life!

4 Foods You Should Be Eating for Good Gut Health

by Jennifer Diffley

The word “gut” isn’t exactly the most pleasant word in the English language, and maybe that’s because nothing is more unpleasant than an unhappy gut. From constipation to irritable bowel syndrome to chronic acid reflux, your gut—also known as your gastrointestinal tract—seems to know exactly how to ruin your day.

You may exercise and manage your stress and get plenty of sleep, but if you aren’t paying attention to your gut health, your overall health will suffer. On the other hand, when your tummy is happy, you’ll process food better, feel more energetic, and even better ward off illnesses through a strengthened immune system.

Thankfully, tending to your gut’s needs isn’t expensive or complicated: In fact, here are a few foods that contribute to your GI health.

1. Prunes

Listen to your grandmother and eat more prunes. These dried plums are a great source of soluble and insoluble fiber. The fiber combines with bile acids in your intestines and then forms a gel that’s passed.

2.  Asparagus

You may have heard of probiotics, but how familiar are you with prebiotics? Most cultures naturally include prebiotic foods in their diets, but Americans have managed to eliminate most healthy foods from our plates and that includes vegetables like asparagus, artichokes, and leeks.

Prebiotics are the only foods that feed good bacteria in our guts, and that good bacteria plays a role in improved digestion, lowered stress response, and lower risk for weight gain.  

3. Kefir

Prebiotics and probiotics work together to maintain gut health; kefir happens to have both, which makes it synbiotic. Kefir is a type of yogurt, and it’s great at feeding lactobacillus, bacteria that helps with lactose intolerance and overall gut health.  

In fact, check out the BBC’s study that showed how significantly people who drank kefir improved in overall gut health. There’s one catch, though: Store-bought kefir usually contains much lower amounts of probiotics and prebiotics, so save some cash and make your own.

Click Here To Read More https://selecthealth.org/blog/2018/09/4-foods-you-should-be-eating-for-good-gut-health

Your Gut Health Is Your Mental Health

By Conqueror Team

Gut bacteria have an important role in your mood and mental wellness. They can alleviate symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, but they can also exacerbate them.

Trillions of bacterial cells live in your colon, forming a unique environment known as the gut microbiome. Their functions influence your brain in addition to allowing nutrients into the body and keeping opportunistic microorganisms out.

When the body is stressed, it undergoes a sequence of changes that send all energy and key resources to the muscles and brain. Stress also leads the body to release cortisol, which can all have an impact on the gut microbiota.

Similarly, if your gut microbiota is out of balance (dysbiosis), your general mood can suffer. This is due to the fact that the activity of your gut bacteria affects stress and anxiety – a balanced microbiome can promote stress resilience, but an imbalanced microbiome can harm your mental health.

Your gut microbiota needs to be diverse to sustain your health, and diversity helps keep it balanced. However, if it is not balanced — a condition known as dysbiosis — opportunistic bacteria can take advantage of the situation and multiply, resulting in inflammation.

Because your body does not desire opportunistic bacteria, your immune system is activated, causing inflammation. Inflammation, interestingly, can cause depression and sadness can cause inflammation. However, a diversified microbiota can help to reduce inflammation.

Controlling inflammation can thus assist to enhance both mood and anxiety. Diet is one approach to boost the abundance of certain bacteria while decreasing inflammation. Because fibre is a vital source of energy for beneficial gut bacteria, they flourish on a natural, plant-based diet.

It’s tempting to think of the body’s systems as distinct entities, and while they are in some ways, they are also interconnected and can influence each other’s actions. The gut and the brain are good instances of how one can influence the other.

Dysbiosis, or an imbalanced gut microbiome, has been linked to a variety of ailments, including mood disorders such as depression. Similarly, depression can produce inflammation, which disrupts the natural environment in the gut. However, encouraging evidence reveals that probiotics and prebiotics are having positive benefits on depression, anxiety, and stress resilience.

Learn even more on how to boost you memory power and your overall mental health through our professional online course.

What’s an Unhealthy Gut? How Gut Health Affects You

Written by Megan Dix, RN, BSN 

The gut microbiome

The incredible complexity of the gut and its importance to our overall health is a topic of increasing research in the medical community. Numerous studies in the past two decades have demonstrated links between gut health and the immune system, mood, mental health, autoimmune diseases, endocrine disorders, skin conditions, and cancer.

At one time, our digestive system was considered a relatively “simple” body system, comprised essentially of one long tube for our food to pass through, be absorbed, and then excreted.

The term “gut microbiome” refers specifically to the microorganisms living in your intestines. A person has about 300 to 500 different species of bacteria in their digestive tract. While some microorganisms are harmful to our health, many are incredibly beneficial and even necessary to a healthy body.

According to Dr. E. M. Quigley in his studyTrusted Source on gut bacteria in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, having a wide variety of these good bacteria in your gut can enhance your immune system function, improve symptoms of depression, help combat obesity, and provide numerous other benefits.

7 Signs of an unhealthy gut

Many facets of modern life such as high stress levels, too little sleep, eating processed and high-sugar foods, and taking antibiotics can all damage our gut microbiome. This in turn may affect other aspects of our health, such as the brain, heart, immune system, skin, weight, hormone levels, ability to absorb nutrients, and even the development of cancer.

There are a number of ways an unhealthy gut might manifest itself. Here are seven of the most common signs:

1. Upset stomach

Stomach disturbances like gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and heartburn can all be signs of an unhealthy gut. A balanced gut will have less difficulty processing food and eliminating waste.

2. A high-sugar diet

A diet high in processed foods and added sugars can decrease the amount of good bacteria in your gut. This imbalance can cause increased sugar cravings, which can damage your gut still further. High amounts of refined sugars, particularly high-fructose corn syrup, have been linked to increased inflammation in the body. Inflammation can be the precursor to a number of diseases and even cancers.

3. Unintentional weight changes

Gaining or losing weight without making changes to your diet or exercise habits may be a sign of an unhealthy gut. An imbalanced gut can impair your body’s ability to absorb nutrients, regulate blood sugar, and store fat. Weight loss may be caused by small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), while weight gain may be caused by insulin resistance or the urge to overeat due to decreased nutrient absorption.

4. Sleep disturbances or constant fatigue

An unhealthy gut may contribute to sleep disturbances such as insomnia or poor sleep, and therefore lead to chronic fatigue. The majority of the body’s serotonin, a hormone that affects mood and sleep, is produced in the gut. So gut damage can impair your ability to sleep well. Some sleep disturbances have also been linked to risk for fibromyalgia.

5. Skin irritation

Skin conditions like eczema may be related to a damaged gut. Inflammation in the gut caused by a poor diet or food allergies may cause increased “leaking” of certain proteins out into the body, which can in turn irritate the skin and cause conditions such as eczema.

6. Autoimmune conditions

Medical researchers are continually finding new evidence of the impact of the gut on the immune systemTrusted Source. It’s thought that an unhealthy gut may increase systemic inflammation and alter the proper functioning of the immune system. This can lead to autoimmune diseases, where the body attacks itself rather than harmful invaders.

Click Here to Read more https://www.healthline.com/health/gut-health#signs-and-symptoms

https://azuni.blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Azunivoice-get-a-free-voice-over-1.mp3
Get A Free Voice Over Like This One