Anyone who's been acquainted with me for the past 6+ years is very familiar with my struggles with my gut health and how it's affected me in some incredibly debilitating ways. I wrote a blog earlier about returning to consuming steamed food as a way to avoid aggravating the gut further which you can read here: https://www.globalfastfit.com/post/hello-old-friend-i-never-thought-i-d-miss-you

I do have a backlog of things I need to post, including more of my thoughts on Thai society, Kenya vs. Uganda, etc., but I've always wanted to return to this topic on why it's incredibly important to maintain a healthy gut, and some of the very dire consequences of what happens when you don't.

When I use the term gut I refer to the digestive system as a whole, and all of its working parts which include and is not limited to your stomach, small and large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, and so on. I also refer to all of its working parts such as the bile produced by the liver, the acids produced by the stomach, the bacteria that reside in the stomach and intestines and so forth. All parts are equally important in their own way, and dysfunction to any of these lead to some severe problems to not just the gut itself but other parts of the body that may not even immediately come to mind.

I would strongly advocate care for your gut due to a plethora of reasons but here are three that should help sway you into doing so: 

First, when any of the working parts of the digestive system begin to break down, your ability to process and synthesize what you eat is reduced and your body has a tougher time finding what it needs to work optimally. If you're someone who values their youth (or at least someone who values how they felt when they were young), then this is more than enough reason to keep things in order. It's amazing how quickly you age when your body doesn't get what it needs on a daily basis because you have a bile issue, acid reflux, or intestinal erosion. If you're inclined to look and feel old, then look no further than letting your body not get any of the nutrients it needs just because your body can't process them anymore. 

Second, if you've seen and read the post I've referenced in the first paragraph then you'll really understand this. Do you enjoy being able to eat whatever you want? If you're a foodie and you live to eat then I promise you that gut issues are the last thing you want to have. Our guts (for the most part) are extremely durable, with some more than others depending on genetics. It's easy to overlook any problems because they generally start small. There are a few telltale signs that something is wrong early on to look for. If your stomach sounds like a Category 1 hurricane on a consistent basis, then you're probably going down a bad path. It usually starts with gas (on both ends), so if there's a good amount of it then you need to start taking better care of what you eat and drink. What does it lead to if you don't? All sorts of fun and nasty stuff; you might discover that you're becoming sensitive to certain foods you never were before; the selection of things you can eat and drink without getting sick becomes smaller and smaller. Can't live without coffee? You're going to have to when it gets the stomach acids going. What about the occasional drink here and there? Also gone. Blueberry cheesecake? Too rich, too tasty, and unfortunately too difficult for the stomach to process; gone. The list continues.

The third reason is probably the one reason I'd go back and change my diet and lifestyle habits. How much do you value your ability to observe/comprehend/reason/remember the world around you? When there's enough dysfunction in the digestive system, the central nervous system is directly impacted. The reason that this happens can vary, whether it be stomach acids irritating the vagus nerve, malabsorption of digested foods not allowing for the nervous system to get the right sustenance, gut bacteria not being able to communicate with your brain, the liver not being able to cleanse impurities, etc. One or two of these can make it hard for you to remember what you had for dinner yesterday, several of them can make you forget who your parents are. If there's any reason to take care of your gut, it's this one that gives you the sense of self, and to lose oneself is truly not a reality worth living.

There are many more reasons, but I think the three above should suffice. I may blog about my own personal experiences with these issues in the future if there's any interest in me doing so. The human digestive system is complex, but caring for it doesn't have to be. Just not aggravating the gut and keeping watch for signs that it's getting into poor shape should already give it plenty of longevity. If something you're eating or drinking is causing you to get sick then avoid it; if you need to have a vice like sugar or alcohol then consume it moderately if you can't live without it.