Nourished Living

12 - Let's Talk Gut Health: Why It's Not Just A Trend

• Courtney Podany

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Gut health has become a buzzword lately — and for good reason. It connects to nearly every part of your body: digestion, immunity, hormones, energy, mood, inflammation, skin health, and even chronic disease.

This is a high-level overview to get you started on your gut-healing journey, whether you’re dealing with fatigue, skin issues, digestive discomfort, food sensitivities, or just want to feel better overall.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • What gut health really is — and why it goes far beyond digestion
  • The powerful connection between your gut and your immune system, energy levels, and mood
  • Why fiber is your gut’s best friend (and the best food sources to get it)
  • How processed foods affect your microbiome — and what to eat instead
  • Why variety in plant foods matters (eat the rainbow!)
  • What probiotics are and when to use supplements
  • Common gut disruptors like stress, poor sleep, medications, toxins, and alcohol
  • Lifestyle habits that support and nurture a healthy gut long-term

Whether you’re just starting to explore gut health or you’re looking for ways to improve it, this episode will give you the tools to begin taking action today.

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and leave a review! It helps this podcast get in front of more people who are in need of support on their health journey. Thank you, it means the world to me!

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Connect with Courtney: 

Instagram: @nourished_living_

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Welcome to the Nourished Living Podcast, where I'll be diving deep into nutrition, holistic wellness, and practical tips to help you live your healthiest, most vibrant life. I am Courtney Podany, a nutritional therapist, certified personal trainer, type one diabetic and mom. And I'm here to help you take charge of your health with ease and confidence. Together we'll explore how to nourish your body, mind, and soul in a way that feels good and sustainable. So grab your favorite beverage. Take a deep breath, and let's get into the episode. I. Welcome back everyone. I hope you are having a fabulous week. So I just wanted to share something personal. My kids are trying out team sports for the first time, so I have them all in soccer and my daughter is. Killing it. She's four, almost five, and she's doing great. She actually listens while she's there and she's kind of picking up how to dribble and really seems to enjoy it. Then my sons who are two and a half twin boys. They are on their own team and one of the boys is also doing really well and participates, and then the other one seems to just want to run off and do his own thing. That doesn't necessarily include soccer, so. I've actually been really thankful that I have been running a little bit more at the gym because once he takes off, he is gone and not coming back, so I have to chase after him to retrieve him. So the kids' soccer has also turned into a workout for me, but it's been really cute. They even got their own little jerseys. I didn't expect that for, you know, four and two year olds, but it is really cute to see them in that, and most of us have been enjoying it. So that's a win. All right. Well, I am so excited you're here today because we are kicking off an important and quite fascinating topic of gut health. Gut health has definitely become a bit of a buzzword lately, and honestly, for good reason. Your gut is connected to nearly every aspect of your health from digestion, immunity, hormones, energy, mood, to inflammation, chronic disease, and even your weight. That being said, gut health is a huge topic. There are so many different layers to it, and I could probably spend a solid 12 hours. Talking about it, but today's episode is meant to be a high level overview and a big picture. Look at what Gut health is and why it matters. And as always, I'm going to make sure you leave with some practical tips and tools that you can start using right away to begin supporting and nurturing your gut. So let's start here. Your gut health really is your overall health. When I say gut health, I'm talking about your physical health, emotional health, and even your mental health. They are all linked. If you frequently get sick, feel down or unmotivated, struggle with anxiety, have a hard time losing weight, experience, digestive issues, skin problems, chronic fatigue, food sensitivities, or even autoimmune conditions. This episode is for you. Your gut health could be at the root of what you're experiencing. Now when you hear the word gut, you might automatically think of your stomach, but your gut is actually located in your intestines. And you might also hear me use the word microbiome. That is just another word for your gut. So I might use these terms interchangeably. Inside your intestines, you have about 500 different species of bacteria. Yes. Over 500 species and all of those bacteria combined weigh about three pounds within your body. We also sometimes call these bacteria flora, so if you hear me say flora, I'm also talking about those same gut bacteria. Now here's where it gets really important. Your gut houses about 70% of your immune system. That's why when we talk about gut health, we're really talking about your entire wellbeing, not just digestion, and the foods that you eat directly affect your gut, either feeding the healthy bacteria or feeding the harmful bacteria. So here is how food shapes our gut health. One of the best things you can eat for your gut is fiber. Fiber is like a buffet for your healthy bacteria. They thrive on it. In addition to feeding our gut flora, fiber is not digested or absorbed. So it adds bulk to the contents within our digestive tract to ensure regular elimination where toxins are removed here as well. And when you feed your gut with nutrient dense foods, think fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, red meat, bison, fish, nuts, seeds. You help to grow a healthy, balanced microbiome. But when you eat a lot of processed manmade foods, things that usually come in a box, have lots of artificial ingredients, high amounts of sugar, and live down the aisles of the grocery store, you feed the bad bacteria. And here's the thing, while a tiny bit of bad flora is normal and even necessary, you always want the majority of your flora to be good and thriving, not just surviving. When your gut is dominated by this good bacteria, you're going to feel happy, energized, and resilient. You'll get sick less often, and you'll avoid chronic inflammation and disease. But when the bad bacteria take over, that's when we start seeing issues like poor mental health, frequent illness, chronic conditions, food sensitivities, sugar cravings, and constant fatigue. The gut and brain are in constant communication through the vagus nerve, cranial nerve 10. So when something is off in the gut, the brain often responds with physical symptoms signaling that something needs to change. That is why poor gut health can lead to a wide range of symptoms all throughout the body, but also why so many aspects of your health can improve when you intentionally support your gut. So how do we keep our gut happy? Feed it nutrient-dense foods and lots of plants. Your gut bacteria love diversity, and they need diversity. Remember, there are 500 different species in there, so different plants feed different species. So when it comes to plants, think the more the merrier. And like I always say, try to eat the rainbow. Meaning get a variety of colors into your diet. Each color of produce offers different phytonutrients and feeds different bacteria. But I just want to be clear. I'm not telling you to become only plant-based unless you already are. That's fine. I'm just saying your gut bugs love plants, so including them regularly is key. And with fiber, you won't just find this in fruits and veggies. Those are great sources, but you'll also find fiber in foods like almonds, black beans, chia seeds, lentils, oats, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, and quinoa. Ideally, you want to eat fiber rich foods every single day, but I would just like to be clear. Another critical piece to gut health is probiotics. Probiotics are live beneficial bacteria that help populate your gut and keep harmful bacteria in check. You can get probiotics naturally through food sources like yogurt, so especially ones with live and active cultures. Kombucha, which is a fermented tea, miso, sauerkraut, kimchi, keefer, Tempe, and pickled vegetables as long as they are naturally fermented. Including probiotic rich foods in your daily routine can really boost your gut health, especially if you're eating a lot of fiber to feed those good bacteria once they're there. Now, if you're not getting enough probiotic rich foods in your diet, or if you've recently taken antibiotics, it can be a good idea to supplement with a quality probiotic. Antibiotics, while of course, are sometimes necessary, they don't discriminate and will wipe out both the good and the bad bacteria. That's why it's crucial to intentionally repopulate your gut flora after a round of antibiotics. Supplementing with probiotics can help restore balance, rebuild your microbiome, support your immune system, digestion, and your mood. Think of probiotics as reinforcements for your gut army, whether through food or supplementation. They help maintain that healthy, thriving environment we need. Now. We've talked about how to support a healthy gut, but it's just as important to be aware of the factors that can harm it. While diet is a major factor, it's not the only one. There are other lifestyle and environmental factors that can harm your gut health. So sedentary lifestyle, lack of movement, and exercise. Certain medications and antibiotics, like I was saying, they wipe out both good and bad bacteria. Household toxins and chemicals from cleaners, personal care products, plastics, cookware, that's why we covered different toxins and how to eliminate them. In the last episode, episode 11, if you have not listened to it already, we talk about removing toxins within our kitchen to decrease that toxic load stress. Lack of sleep less than seven hours on a regular basis, and smoking and alcohol. While we can't avoid every chemical or stressful situation, being mindful about what you put on your body, how you move your body, and how you manage stress can go a long way in supporting your gut health. So that also means though, that the reverse is true as well. So exercise will help to keep a happy gut using non-toxic clean products, managing and reducing stress. Sleeping well about seven to nine hours each night and avoiding smoking and alcohol will contribute to boosting your gut health. So to summarize, your gut is located within your intestines, not your stomach, and it houses 70% of your immune system with 500 plus species of bacteria. Your diet directly influences whether you have mostly good flora or mostly bad flora, so you'll want to routinely include nutrient dense foods. Plenty of colorful produce and lots of fiber to help your good bacteria thrive. Meanwhile, processed foods, chemicals, stress, lack of movement, not enough sleep. Smoking and alcohol can tip the balance toward an increase in bad bacteria. And this really reinforces many of the core values I've already shared with you. Focus on eating nutrient dense foods, those that are located around the perimeter of the grocery store. I. Moving your body often prioritizing quality sleep and choosing non-toxic products whenever we can, these habits lay the foundation not just for a healthy gut, but for overall wellness. So to look ahead in the next episode, we will have our very first guest and we will be examining the correlation between gut health and chronic pain, which is why I set up this episode right before, so we have a better understanding of gut health, how to manage it, how to make it. Better for your health and what things to avoid. I can't wait for you all to hear it. Trust me. It will be incredible and you won't want to miss it. Thank you for hanging out with me today. Thank you for hanging out with me today for this introduction to the gut. In the meantime, take good care of your gut and I will see you soon. Thanks for hanging out with me today and tuning into the Nourished Living Podcast. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and found something you can start implementing right away to kickstart your nourished transformation. If you loved this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, or share it with someone who could benefit from these insights. You can also connect with me over on Instagram@nourished_living_ for more resources and support. Until next time, stay nourished.