What's Your Gut Telling You?

“All disease begins in the gut” is a famous quote from Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, from nearly 2,500 years ago. Research on the intestinal microbiome dates back to as early as the 1840’s and we have seen a strong comeback in gut health research in recent decades, with mounting evidence that many degenerative diseases are linked to the gut.

Yet how many of us today really understand the importance of the gut on our overall health? Even in a world where, in a recent 2020 international survey across 33 countries, it was found that over 40% of all adults suffer from gastrointestinal disorders, including acid reflux, stomach pain, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, bloating, etc.

Why is this? Why, in our society, do we eat highly processed foods that can lead to gut illnesses? Why do we focus on treating the symptoms of gut disorders rather than the underlying conditions themselves? Why do we take medications that interfere with our microbiomes and severely damage the overall balance, health and function of the gut? In short, why are we not paying attention to our gut and what it is trying to tell us?

What makes matters even worse is that we are constantly inundated by popular fad diets that tell us opposing things about what’s best for us. Eat less fat, eat more fat, eat less calories, eat more protein, eat raw foods, eat cooked foods...and the list goes on and on. How are we supposed to make sense of any of it? It’s overwhelming and confusing, and simply not working for most of us.

Ayurveda, on the other hand, has for thousands of years understood that the gut plays the most important role in our overall health and it offers an effective and holistic approach to managing gut health. The science places enormous importance on proper diet and digestion, recognizing that the food we eat becomes our body and that the gastrointestinal system is the main “portal” for taking in and processing nutrients. Ayurveda also recognizes that the gut is a communication center and disease fighter; from our nervous and immune systems to our mental health and digestive function, the gut plays a pivotal role in our overall health and wellbeing.

Ayurveda also deeply understands the interconnection of all the systems of the mind and body, and as such looks to the root cause of gut-related imbalances not only the symptoms, with a focus on regulating vital gut functions like digestion, nutrient absorption and synthesis, metabolism, gut balance (homeostasis), excretion, etc.

Finally, Ayurveda understands that each of us has a unique, personal constitution that greatly influences the nature of our gut microbiome and digestive system. This means that personalizing our diet and eating in alignment with our dosha is a critical practice in Ayurveda, so that our body’s natural, cellular-level intelligence can take over to help manage and optimize both our digestive and overall health.

Find out what your gut is telling you. Schedule a Free Clarity Call with Karen to see how she can best support you. And look out for our next workshop on Ayurvedic Nutrition in which we will teach you how to manage your gut health and gut microbiome based on your personal doshic constitution to optimize your overall health.

In this workshop you will learn:

• About the different doshic constitutions according to Ayurveda and the role they play in diet and digestion.

• How to identify and assess your own digestion, and support improved digestion by learning which gut health foods, herbs, spices and protocols (i.e. gut health supplements) are best for each dosha.

• How to manage your diet and digestive fire to improve not only your digestion but also your overall health.