Rheumatoid Arthritis and Gut Health: It's Not Just About Food

"Gut" ... such an inelegant word for something so immensely important to our overall health! 

In this article I wrote about how healing the gut is the first step in healing rheumatoid arthritis - or just about any inflammatory condition for that matter. This is because about 80% of our immune system is in the gut and it is the immune system that triggers inflammation in other parts of our body.  

How do you know if your gut is inflamed?

Digestive distress is an obvious sign.  Symptoms could include: 

• acid reflux

• heartburn

• burping

• gas

• bloating

• belly cramps

• constipation

• diarrhea

• irregular bowel movements

• undigested particles in the stool

Gut inflammation can also show up as symptoms elsewhere in the body: 

• Respiration: allergies, asthma, congestion, chronic coughing, excessive throat clearing

• Skin: acne, rashes, rosacea, eczema

• Joint and muscles: pain and inflammation, tendonitis, muscle cramps and spasms

• Brain health: brain fog, depression, anxiety, dizziness, frequent headaches, mood swings

• Hormones: imbalances, irregular periods, PMS, hot flashes, night sweats

• Other signs: fatigue, insomnia, low white cell blood count, weight gain or the inability to lose weight, infertility, thyroid imbalance

Having a happy gut is critical to getting these symptoms under control.  

RESTORING GUT HEALTH IS THE FIRST STEP!!

Information about restoring gut health with food and nutrition is widely available.  It’s very obvious that WHAT we eat has a huge impact on our gut health.  Creating a healthy gut won’t happen if a person continues to eat processed foods or any foods that trigger inflammation.

What is often missed, though, is how much our thoughts and emotions affect our digestion.  

When we have negative thoughts and emotions the heart and brain become incoherent, meaning they don’t operate efficiently and neither does the autonomic nervous system (ANS).  

The ANS is like the operating system of our body, running all our bodily functions quietly in the background.  The ANS runs and regulates digestion, circulation, the immune system, the endocrine system, the reproductive system and so on.

(All those things we don't even have to think about!)

The brain regulates the ANS based on what’s going on in the ‘environment’. The ‘environment’ includes the physical environment but also our interpretation of the physical environment through thoughts and feelings.  

If our perception of the environment causes us to feel stress then the ANS does not function well.  Digestion is not as efficient and the immune system is not efficient, often resulting in problems in the gut.  

This is why thoughts and feelings which cause stress may in fact be the root cause of so many illnesses and why these need to be addressed to heal the gut.  

Whether you have rheumatoid arthritis, other autoimmune condition or any of the symptoms of gut inflammation, proper nutrition AND proper mindset need to be part of the healing protocol. 

In my Happy Gut 21 Day Reset group coaching program I combine BOTH nutrition and mindset to restore gut health.  

A great way to help improve your health is choosing to create peace and calm while you are eating.  HOW you eat can be as important as WHAT you eat.  I have a great resource for you to implement TODAY to help you become empowered in your health.  Click on the image below to receive it.