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Our gut affects every part of our bodies in some way.  You may have the obvious symptoms that would be a sign of unhealthy gut bacteria like diarrhea or constipation, but today I want to point out some of the less obvious signs of unhealthy gut bacteria and then I’ll give you some tips that you can use to heal your gut naturally.

Let’s start with the signs of unhealthy gut bacteria.

1. Food Allergies-Research has recently shown that food allergies may be caused by changes in the human gut flora.  We are all born with certain strains of gut bacteria passed on to us by our mother.  This could be why certain families have a tendency to have the same health problems.  These bacteria are altered any time we take antibiotics.
2. Mood issues-If you have unexplained mood swings, depression, stress, or anxiety, it could be a sign of unhealthy gut bacteria.  We all have our good and bad days, but if you find on a daily basis you are having mood issues, your gut could be to blame.
3. Skin problems-If you have acne, dry skin, rosacea, bumpy skin, eczema, itchy skin, it could be your gut causing it.  As a teenager I had pretty bad acne.  In my 30s I developed rosacea on my cheeks, but it was also super itchy and I would get bumps similar to pimple but not a pimple.  The more cleansers and things I tried to use to fix it, the worse it would get.  Once I started getting my gut bacteria in balance, it went away within days.
4. You get sick all the time-Most of your immune system is found in your gut which explains why an unhealthy gut could contribute to you getting sick a lot.
5. Can’t lose weight no matter what you do-Ugh!  If this is you, I can relate.  I was in the same spot.  I tried everything!  I was starving all the time and still not losing.  Fixing your gut bacteria can change this!
6. Autoimmune disease-Unfortunately this is one of those medical mysteries.  Your immune system attacks it’s own cells.  It has been linked to gut health and is thought that undigested particles of food from leaky gut could be to blame.
7. Inflammation-Inflammation can present itself in so many ways.  My whole body was inflamed.  My feet were burning, my hands and feet would swell up, my face was round and my whole body was bloated.  I think this goes along with your immune system issue above.  Your body is just attacking everything.
8. Heartburn/Acid Reflux-This is actually caused by too little stomach acid.  If your stomach doesn’t produce enough acid to digest your food, it just sits there in your stomach and gets bad bacteria growing in it and then passes to your small intestines eventually with the bad bacteria.  Not good.
9. Yeast infections-When you gut bacteria is imbalanced, it can allow yeast to grow out of control in your body.  You may have experienced this after taking antibiotics.  If the yeast gets too far out of control, it can become overgrown throughout your body causing all sorts of craziness.  This is called candida overgrowth.
10. Urinary Tract Infections/Interstitial Cystitis-The reason for this is not really known, but if you constantly have urinary tract infections or you have the painful bladder syndrome known as Interstitial Cystitis, it’s probably caused by a gut imbalance.  I was “diagnosed” with interstitial cystitis after going through tons of tests, antibiotics, etc.  This is a term that doctors use when they can’t figure out what’s wrong with your bladder.  Once I got my gut bacteria back on track, my symptoms began to lessen.
11. Tiredness-If you are tired all the time for no reason, it could be unhealthy bacteria in your gut stealing your nutrients.  I was deficient in Vitamin D and B vitamins due to the bacterial imbalance in my gut.
12. Poor Concentration-The gut and brain are connected.  So it’s no surprise that brain fog, poor concentration, and memory problems are related to gut health.

Now that you know the signs of unhealthy gut bacteria, here’s how you can heal your gut naturally.

1. Remove processed foods, meat and dairy from your diet.  These foods feed the unhealthy bacteria and yeast in your gut.  Cut these things out and eat whole plant based foods to feed the good bacteria to get your gut back in balance.  If you need help getting started with this type of diet, I highly recommend reading this.
2. Eat probiotic and fermented foods.  You can take probiotics, but in my experience, the probiotic pills have never done much for healing my gut and often make me feel worse.  Eating fermented foods like saurkraut, kimchi, pickles, and drinking kombucha will get good bacteria into your gut.  You can get these at health food stores and even traditional grocery stores are starting to carry some of these items now.  I especially love the Simple Truth brand kombucha from Kroger stores.
3. Take apple cider vinegar before each meal.  Raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar helps your stomach produce acid and aids in digestion.  You could also take an HCL supplement if you aren’t producing enough stomach acid.  I took an HCL supplement, but when I switched to a plant based diet, I no longer needed it.  If you have hypothyroidism, low stomach acid is a common problem.
4. Break up the biofilms that the bad bacteria have created in your gut.  The unhealthy bacteria, yeast, and parasites in your gut form this protective layer around themselves that is really hard for anything to get through called a biofilm, which may be the reason antibiotics are becoming less effective.  Cistus tea will break up these biofilms so your body can get the bad bacteria out.  This is the most crucial step in correcting your gut imbalance in my opinion.  The really awesome thing is that it also reduces hunger and cravings and I saw a huge change in my belly bloat when I started drinking it.
5. Chew your food well.  I struggle with this.  I was a nail technician for 18 years and would have 2 minutes to eat before my next client arrived.  I developed the terrible habit of scarfing my food down in no time because of it.  Chewing your food well makes it much easier for your stomach to break it down especially if you have low stomach acid.

Put these steps into action to correct your unhealthy gut bacteria and heal your gut naturally and I bet you’re going to start seeing some truly amazing changes in how you feel!

Resources From This Post

• The best whole food plant based diet book
• Raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar
• Cistus Tea
  HCL supplement

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