Gut Check: 5 Surprising Signals You Need to Improve Your Digestive Health
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- April 29, 2025
When you experience a lot of work stress, anxiety, or cold symptoms, you may not immediately think to blame your gut. However, your digestive system plays a bigger role in your mental and physical health than most people realize. It is responsible for mood regulation, nutrient absorption, and even inflammation control. Seemingly unrelated symptoms can make it tricky to realize your digestive health needs improving. When you learn to recognize the signs of poor gut health that isn’t necessarily related to digestion, you can bring those concerns to your healthcare provider and create a plan of action much sooner. The first step is to learn to identify some symptoms that may point to an unbalanced gut biome.
An Overload of Stress
Most people don’t realize that their guts are widely interconnected to their mental health. Stress can cause poor gut health, and vice versa—poor gut health can cause stress. Excessive stress can lead to indigestion, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and even constipation. Serotonin is a mood regulator and is mostly produced in the gut itself; when your gut isn’t absorbing nutrition properly, your imbalanced serotonin levels can lead to conditions like depression, anxiety, or a massive amount of stress. If you’re experiencing indigestion and increased stress, you’re going to want to address them quickly. Learn about nutritional deficiencies or any digestive conditions you may have, and your mental health and emotions will likely improve.
Excessive Fatigue
Many nutrients, such as vitamin B12 and iron, are responsible for keeping our energy levels up. Poor gut health means that you’re likely not absorbing these nutrients well, leading to drops in energy levels. Unhealthy gut bacteria can lead to systemic inflammation, which can cause chronic fatigue as well. Obviously, if you’re up at night with stomach issues, you won’t get much sleep. However, if you find yourself excessively tired throughout the day, even when you get a good amount of sleep, you might need to take a closer look at your diet and digestive system.
Your Skin Is Struggling
If you’ve noticed an increase in skin breakouts or flare-ups despite not changing your skincare routine, there could be an issue with your gut health. Nutrient deficiencies or food sensitivities can translate to skin inflammation and acne. Excessive stress or hormonal imbalances from poor gut health can also increase hormonal acne. These breakouts may not respond well to topical solutions, requiring you to do a deeper dive into your skin health. Make sure your digestive system is thoroughly tested; it may get to the bottom of your skin issues better than other approaches.
You Get Sick Too Much
Your immune system mostly lives in your gut. It is responsible for defending your body against harmful pathogens that can make you sick. It also helps keep autoimmune conditions in control. When there is a problem with your gut health, your immune system won’t be as strong as it could, making you vulnerable to catching illnesses. You can even catch deadly viruses or pathogens, like COVID-19 or MRSA. If you have an autoimmune condition, poor gut health can lead to an increase in symptoms, as harmful gut bacteria can lead to more inflammation throughout the body. If you’re seeing more autoimmune flare-ups or getting sick more often, it could be due to your gut. You should also pay attention if it’s harder for you to overcome illnesses; the longer it takes, the more trouble your immune system is having.
Your Cravings Are Out of Control
While cravings can indicate a lot of health conditions, poor gut health can cause many cravings, particularly of the sugary variety. If you’re craving a ton of sweets and unhealthy desserts, you may want to pay attention. The bad bacteria that live in your gut feed on sugar, and the more you consume, the more they can grow. You don’t have to cut out sugar entirely; sugar in moderation is beneficial. However, excessive sugar cravings may indicate that you need to let your beneficial gut flora grow. Eating some probiotics, like yogurt or kombucha, can help balance the bacteria in your gut. On-the-go options are available as well, like strawberry yoggies or probiotic gummies.
Conclusion
Digestive problems don’t just affect your gut. Symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, and constipation are major inconveniences, but poor gut health can also cause skin problems, stress, mental health conditions, cravings, fatigue, and immunity issues. When you ignore your gut health, you can be vulnerable to other diseases, too. Make sure you discuss any symptoms with your healthcare provider, even if they don’t feel relevant. They can help you address symptoms and determine if your gut is to blame. Your doctor may prescribe probiotics, immunosuppressants, or a specific diet to help you manage your digestive system better. There are many treatment options to help your gut work the way it is meant to.
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