Poor Gut Health: Causes, Effects on Overall Health

The microscopic environment in your gut contains trillions of microorganisms. Though they live in your digestive system, they affect your overall health, including the nervous, immune, and endocrine systems. However, many factors contribute to poor gut health, causing imbalances that influence the entire body. These include your diet, stress level, sleep habits, and activity level.

Proper nutrition is vital to maintain your gut microbiome because the food you eat directly impacts the balance of beneficial bacteria in your digestive system. A diet rich in fiber, probiotics, and diverse nutrients supports good bacteria, while processed foods and excessive sugar can disrupt this balance. A well-nourished gut microbiome aids digestion, strengthens the immune system, and even influences overall well-being.

Assorted fresh fruits and nuts on a plate, highlighting their role in improving poor gut health through fiber and essential nutrients.

Fairview Rehab & Nursing Home in Queens, NY, has several meal options to match your dietary requirements. These include low cholesterol, 1500 calories, no salt added, low potassium, or no concentrated sweets diets. A trained nutritionist helps determine the best dietary options to meet your needs. We encourage our patients to make informed choices to prevent flare-ups.

Common Causes of Poor Gut Health

Several factors contribute to an unhealthy gut microbiome. Environmental toxins, pesticides, tobacco smoke, irregular bowel movements, and too much sugar are common offenders. Though helpful for fighting infection, evidence shows antibiotics may temporarily disrupt the delicate balance. The following sections detail the most common causes of poor gut health.

Diet

A diet consisting of nutrient-rich foods maintains a balanced microbiome in the gut. Unfortunately, the standard Western diet consists of unhealthy options that have the opposite effect. Over time, an unhealthy microbiome develops, called dysbiosis.

Consuming too much sugar increases several bad bacteria, causing various health issues. These include gut inflammation, irritable bowel disease, and gut barrier integrity.

High fat levels also cause poor gut health by reducing the good bacteria and encouraging the unhealthy ones to thrive. These changes promote obesity, intestinal inflammation, IBD, colitis, and other health concerns.

Protein is essential for building and repairing bones, muscles, and other tissues. However, the body can’t digest excessive amounts. These ferment in the distal colon and produce too many complex metabolites, potentially damaging colonic tissue.

Chronic stress and poor sleep

Short instances of stress cause minimal damage and are actually beneficial. They improve focus and allow you to handle those unexpected situations mentally.

Chronic stress has the opposite effect, causing the body to remain alert long after the stressful situation has passed. Several health problems result from chronic stress, including poor gut health.

Consistent high stress levels slow or stop digestion, retaining energy to fight the perceived threat. Abdominal pain and other gastrointestinal issues occur, worsening until coping strategies are introduced.

Evidence also shows poor sleep habits alter the gut microbiome. When circadian rhythms are disrupted, beneficial bacteria decrease, causing inflammation. Short-chain fatty acids, serotonin, and melatonin are metabolites produced in the gut. When the microbiome is altered, their production is also affected, worsening sleep disruptions.

Physical inactivity

Exercise keeps your body strong and your mind sharp. But it’s also vital for a healthy microbiome. And when you’re physically inactive, poor gut health may be in your future.

In fact, one study links several health concerns to leisure screen time, which often indicates sedentary behavior. These include gastric ulcer, Crohn’s disease, pancreatitis, IBS, gastrointestinal reflux, chronic gastritis, and fatty liver disease.

Lacking exercise causes poor circulation, limiting how much oxygen travels through the bloodstream to the rest of the body. Limited activity also reduces how quickly food moves through the digestive tract, disrupting the microbiota.

Resources:

  1. UCLA Health, Antibiotics can temporarily wipe out the gut microbiome
    https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/antibiotics-can-temporarily-wipe-out-gut-microbiome
  2. Cleveland Clinic, Dysbiosis
    https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/dysbiosis
  3. PubMed Central, Aug 24, 2022, Influence of Foods and Nutrition on the Gut Microbiome and Implications for Intestinal Health
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9455721/
  4. Harvard Health Publishing, Aug. 21, 2019, Stress and the sensitive gut
    https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/stress-and-the-sensitive-gut
  5. Frontiers, July 30, 2024, Gut microbiome and metabolic pathways linked to sleep quality
    https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1418773/full
  6. MedRxiv, Nov. 1, 2023, Sedentary lifestyle, Physical Activity, and Gastrointestinal Diseases: Evidence from Mendelian Randomization Analysis
    https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.03.15.23287301v1
This article contains informational and educational materials and does not replace health or medical advice. For questions or concerns regarding your medical condition or health objectives, speak to a qualified physician or healthcare provider.