Our digestion story and why gut health is so important

Our digestion story and why gut health is so important

This is the first video and post of our Gut – Digestion Health Series.

**Disclaimer: This information is from personal research and experience. It’s not meant to be comprehensive. We are not doctors. We are not claiming anything here. Just sharing what we’ve learned to help educate.

We have read a lot of articles and books, watched lots of videos and listened to many podcasts and did a few self experiments and we are left with just a few words …

Where did it all go wrong? Why us? Why do we have to suffer from bloat, constipation, imbalanced hormones, allergies, skin issues etc.

Do you ever think like this? Do you ever question your health?

You may be wondering now after all this reading and research do we have the answer to your stomach woes?

Yes, no and maybe.

Don’t hate us for that answer, as we plan to dive into many topics about the gut – digestive health.

As we mentioned last week, a few weeks ago on Facebook and Instagram we asked :

And the top 3 responses once we tallied all the comments were:

1. Digestion

2. Bloat

3. Skin/ Acne

So we decided on starting a series to help with these issues. We are first starting with digestion and bloat.

Digestion/tummy issues is a highly ranked issue if you consider how much money is made in that industry.

60 to 70 million people affected by all digestive diseases (source)

Americans spend $725 million a year on laxatives (source)

Although it is a topic that many feel is silly, stupid or embarrassing to talk about.

But not here. We hope this opens the doors for more discussion on these topics. You all know we are very open here about our stomach issues. We did document our gut healing journey last year. We have mentioned many times about our bloat, constipation, acne and hormone issues, which we know they are all related to the health of our gut.

We will admit we did have a history of laxative abuse. We remember in high school coming up with any excuse possible to avoid hanging out at friends houses as we were embarrassed of our stomachs (gas, bloat, constipation!!). We just didn’t feel good to go hangout. We would rather curl up on the couch. Not fun issues to have as a teenager and already dealing with other social acceptance issues. Dealing with these digestive issues really hurt our self-esteem.

We cannot just rely on doctors for help as they have a million things to deal with, and most of the time they just prescribe a pill for a quick fix. They do not educate you. Actually some doctors are not even educated on nutrition and lifestyle themselves.

If you find this information useful please SHARE it. We want to help as many people as we can.

We hope this helps educate you so you can make better decisions about your health. So you can become a master of how your body works.

Our digestive story:

When we think about what we’ve put our digestive systems through, from childhood to now, it is no surprise we have issues. We thought we could just put anything into our mouths. We thought we were eating healthy according to what the media and the government said. And somehow through all of that we expected our systems to somehow magically digest and process, keep the good, get rid of the bad, all while giving us energy and have no stomach issues.

Silly right?

This sure goes to show how amazing our bodies are. They can put up with a lot.

There was a period of time when we thought this is just something we have to deal with. That having digestive problems was normal. It was just who we were.

Have you ever thought like that?

We have seen major progress in our overall stomach and digestion through changes in our diet, exercise and overall lifestyle habits.

Everything we have read is leading us to think we have micro-organisms in the wrong places pretty much. Flora is suppose to be in the large intestine mostly and if you have problems it could mean that some has leaked out into the small intestines and your stomach.

What does this mean?

Not good.

Inflammation occurs and it comes in many forms.

There are many causes of inflammation. For us, inflammation lead to:

• skin issues … check, we got those from acne to eczema to dry skin.
• hormones out of whack …check again, we have had irregular periods since puberty and we have shared our struggle with getting our periods back due to getting off birth control over 6-7 years ago. And Lori being diagnosed with PCOS.
• allergies – food and environmental…double check, where do we begin with those?!?
• bacteria overgrowth – check. Michelle has been tested for candida a few years ago, and is dealing with it again

Why should you care about the state of your digestion?

Your digestion is related to your metabolism and overall health.

A key to better digestion is having a strong metabolism. If you have a broken metabolism you will continue to struggle with weight and health until it is fixed. If you have suffered from an eating disorder or have done any type of “diet” you mostly likely will have digestive problems as it is highly related to every organ in your body! We know as we have done all that! If you have been following us for a while you know that we have tried all types of diets and supplements to help.

When reading through the book, Eating Alive, by Dr. John Matsen N.D. he states that almost every disease known could be a result of a malfunctioning digestive system. The more we abuse the stomach it no longer does its job, therefore putting our health in danger.

Pretty powerful, eh?

The digestive process is moving or emptying food particles from one part to the next. This process is highly dependent on the activity of a large network of nerves, hormones and muscles. Problems with any of these components can cause a variety of conditions.

The inability to digest food properly could indicate a deficiency of stomach acid and digestive enzymes. This is a common problem due to poor eating habits and high stress levels.

You see where we are going with this.

The digestion process is very important to overall health!

What’s next?

Start thinking of what you can do to start healing your body. Stop saying your body is broken!! As we know the body is very powerful and can heal if you allow it too!

As mentioned in the video, here is your homework assignment:

digestion part one homework (click to print to fill in)

So stop for a second to look at your life. Look at all areas of your life!

Just make a note of them. Do not worry now about making any changes, just become more aware.

Write down your issues. Write down what areas you might not be doing right for your gut. Where do you see you can make improvements?

Hold onto this list as we you will refer to it throughout this series.

And we leave you today with a few articles to check out:

Metabolic damage symptoms – a great article with a lot of information, especially how digestion and metabolism can cause you to be more sensitive to food!

The Ultimate Gut Reboot – a great podcast with good information

CLICK TO TWEET –> Have questions about why having a good digestion is important? Check this out via @purelytwins #guthealth #digestion

And next week we dive deeper into how the digestive system works. Stay tuned. Make sure you subscribe to our blog via newsletter or youtube so you don’t miss a video or post!

xo

Original article and pictures take purelytwins.com site