It’s a sweet age-old saying that you should ‘trust your gut’ — and surely we all know the feeling.That totally undeniable and totally unsettling sensation that creeps up on you out of nowhere, sending a tingle through your tummy, a chill down your spine and insists on being acknowledged.
It’s a gut feeling, and as it turns out — surprisingly — it’s not just for fun.
“Your gut is literally your brains better half and the one secretly calling the shots behind the scenes. It’s truly a crucial counterpart when it comes to your mental, emotional, physical and instinctual health.”
So, here we are, in the name of all things self-love, with a few key things you should know about how to love your guts a little more and why it should be a part of your daily self-care practice.
1. Second in Command
First, it’s no secret that in the 'science of well-being' world, your gut is actually considered your ‘second brain’. Your ‘gut' is made up of the organs found in your digestive system: the stomach, small intestine, large intestine and colon.
In fact, it has more than 100 million nerve endings and connections that are constantly in communication with your cells, muscles and organ systems, constantly fighting to keep your body in homeostasis (or perfect balance).
Your gut and it’s lining makeup what’s called your Enteric Nervous System (ENS), and controls things like digestion, motor functions, localized blood flow, your immune and endocrine systems’ functionality.
There is constant back and forth communication between your gut and brain, tirelessly sending signals to the other trying to keep everything in check.
“This means that whatever happens in your brain, you’re likely to feel in your gut first, which is why you should listen to it (it knows something you don't)”
2. Keeping the Peace: A Healthy Microbiome
Your microbiome is made up of millions (many, many millions) of different kinds of bacteria, yeast, mould and viruses living in your gut.
Your microbiome is a whole little ecosystem unto itself, creating a sweet harmony between good and bad bacteria.
“We depend on this balance for gut health, toxin removal, digestion and for absorption, which ultimately becomes the building blocks for our mental, emotional and physical health."
Not only that, but it’s the healthy, happy microbiome that also creates beautiful skin, luscious hair, strong nails, bones and all the other things that ultimately help us to look and feel our best as we confidently grow older (and hopefully wiser).
This is called the Gut Skin Axis.
As it happens, when this system is under duress from physical or mental stress, processed foods, antibiotics, caffeine or alcohol, our little biomes can’t maintain a healthy balance of bacteria, leading to a sort of microbiome crisis.
This is the crucial point when we start to see the breakdown of health: colds and flu, digestive issues, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, poor skin, brittle hair, breaking nails and so on.
This is the time that calls for serious care and attention.
3. Daily Rituals: Probiotics
Constantly moving through day-to-day stresses can be overwhelming and generally wreaks havoc on your natural microbial environment.
Enter probiotics. Specifically: multi-strain, gut and skin-nourishing probiotics — Hallelujah!
“Supplementing a full spectrum, bioavailable source of probiotics is the first step you can take in creating a healthy microbiome and in maintaining overall gut health. Probiotics should be considered a vital part of your diet and can easily be made into a delicious, self-loving part of you daily routine."
And Imbibe is doing just that; creating delicious, multi-strain, gut nourishing, skin-loving, bioavailable probiotics that literally taste like love.
Probiotics have been known to be a healthy source of bacteria that will penetrate the gut lining, absorb seamlessly into the system and begin to support the microbial environment upon ingestion. Each serving of Imbibe’s Beauty Renewal provides 6 billion active probiotics with six different strains of healthy bacteria and a concentrated dose of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae.
This concentrated elixir is designed to provide a potent dose of gut-loving probiotics and skin-loving ingredients that will support a healthy microbiome.
Healthy lifestyle choices like exercising, getting enough clean water and a nutrient-dense diet should still be the peanut butter to your jam when it comes to really reap the benefits of a healthy gut and giving your body the balance it needs.
However, creating this healthy environment first will not only make your gut happy but it will also help to improve your mood, your sleep and will ultimately help your skin glow.
Because what they say is true: it’s what’s on the inside that counts. You can shop our gut supportive, skin-enhancing, deliciously potent products via the shop now button below.
AUTHOR: Amber McKenna
Amber is a Holistic Nutritionist with extensive training in a wide variety of holistic modalities. Using science-based nutrition and symptomatology, she is able to help clients to better understand their individual needs, identify their goals and in turn, live their most balanced, vibrant lives. All material included in this post is intended to be of a general nature only, and is included for the sole purpose of providing general information. Material included does not, and is not intended to constitute advice or any statement on which reliance should be placed. Users should seek advice as appropriate from a professionally qualified physician on all specific situations and conditions of concern to them.
