Why your gut effects more than bloating
and how you should be treating it
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Hey girl, it's Katie 💚
When most women think "gut health" they think bloating, which makes sense. If your gut is unhappy, bloating is usually the most frustrating symptom. But your gut is quietly running a LOT more than your digestion and most women have no idea.
It impacts your mood, sleep, energy, skin and cravings. Even how well your brain works on any given day. All of it traces back to what's going on in your gut. Once I understood this, it completely changed how I think about my health and honestly it'll probably change yours too.
On the menu today:
Let's get into the deets 👇
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Your gut talks to your brain all day long 🧠
There's a direct communication between your gut and your brain called the vagus nerve. It runs both directions. Your brain sends signals down to your gut (ever gotten a stomachache from stress? that's this) and your gut sends signals UP to your brain.
Here's the crazy part. About 90% of your serotonin (the "feel good" chemical most people associate with your brain) is actually produced in your gut. Not your brain. Your gut.
So when your gut is inflamed, out of balance, or not functioning well, your serotonin production can suffer and that becomes anxiety, irritability, a bad mood, and feeling emotionally off for no obvious reason.
Ever had a week where you just felt "blah" and couldn't explain why? Your gut might have been the reason.
I went through a phase where my mood was all over the place and I blamed it on hormones, stress, sleep, everything. When I started actually taking care of my gut, my mood actually got better with it I'm not saying it's always the gut. But it's worth looking at if you've been feeling off and can't figure out why.
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Your gut affects your sleep more than you realize 😴
Remember that serotonin your gut produces? Your body converts serotonin into melatonin, the hormone that makes you sleepy. So if your gut isn't producing serotonin efficiently, your melatonin production can suffer too.
This is why women with chronic gut issues often have sleep problems. It's not just the discomfort keeping them up. It's the actual biochemistry of how sleep hormones are made.
I take Slumber Party every night 30 minutes before bed it has Magnesium, L-Theanine, GABA, Valerian Root, Chamomile, 2.2mg Melatonin and it absolutely helps me fall asleep and stay asleep.
But I also know that the gut work I do during the day (BBG before meals, L-Glutamine in my herFORM every day) is supporting the whole system from the other side.
When my gut is good, my sleep is better.
When my sleep is better, my gut works better.
It's a cycle that goes both directions.
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The cravings you feel, explained 🍫
Ever wonder why you crave sugar at 3pm even though you ate a good lunch? Part of it is blood sugar. But part of it might be your gut bacteria literally sending signals to your brain asking for the food THEY want.
Your gut bacteria communicate with your brain through the vagus nerve and through chemical messengers. Certain bacteria thrive on sugar and processed food. When those bacteria are dominant in your gut, they send cravings signals. You think you want the cookie. Your gut bacteria want the cookie. You're just the one walking to the kitchen 😅
When you improve your gut health (better bacteria balance, less inflammation, stronger gut lining), a lot of women find their cravings go down.
The bacteria that were screaming for sugar get booted out by healthier bacteria that don't send those signals. Pretty awesome!
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So how can you actually support your gut...🫶
Three things you should be focused on:
Digestive enzymes help your body break food down properly so it doesn't just sit there fermenting and causing problems. This is where bloating comes in but it also reduces the inflammation that comes from poorly digested food.
I take Bloat Be Gone (6 digestive enzymes plus Slippery Elm, Peppermint, Ginger, Turmeric, Dandelion Root, Lemon Balm) every morning and before big meals. It has 100+ five-star reviews and is truly the supplement my friends text me about the most.
L-Glutamine supports the cells that line your gut wall. Those cells turn over every 3-5 days and they need glutamine to rebuild properly. A strong gut lining means fewer particles escaping into your bloodstream and causing inflammation elsewhere.
I get 3g of L-Glutamine every day in my (her)FORM creatine. It's one of the reasons I included it in the formula because gut health is SO connected to everything else.
Probiotics and fermented foods help balance the bacteria in your gut. Yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir. I'm not going to pretend I eat fermented foods every day but I try to often. And on days I don't, knowing that the BBG and L-Glutamine are taking care of my gut makes me feel a lot better.
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Support your gut from both sides 🤍
BBG handles the digestion and soothing while (her)FORM gives you 3g L-Glutamine daily for gut lining repair. Together they're covering your gut from two angles. Plus Slumber Party at night to support sleep and your gut-brain cycle.
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What to try this week...
🫄 Keep an eye out for what happens BESIDES bloating when you eat something that doesn't agree with you. Try to connect the dots between your gut and the rest of your body. Once you see it, you can't unsee it!
📱 Take BBG consistently for a week. 2 capsules in the morning, 2 before your biggest meal. Most women notice a difference in how they feel after eating within a 30 mins.
💛 Reply and tell me: have you ever noticed your mood or energy shift when your gut is off? I'm curious how many of you have made this connection already. Lmk!
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