According to nutrition and wellness expert, Dr Liz Isenring, gut health is paramount when it comes to a person’s general, mental and physical wellbeing.
Dr Isenring cautions against simply following the latest fad diets, instead advocating a simple three-pillar approach, ‘Mindset, Menu and Movement’ when it comes to health and wellness.
This three-pillar approach recognises that diet alone is not going to keep most of us healthy – movement is also important and Dr Isenring advocates what she calls ‘enjoyable movement’ that a person likes, and which can be undertaken daily.
Dr Isenring believes that by combining ‘enjoyable movement’ with a healthy approach to eating we can dispense with the draconian and burdensome activity of calorie counting, which she says can frustrate people, and more importantly, fails to take into account the quality of the calories themselves.
It’s far better, she argues, to focus on the quality of the food eaten because “consuming three chocolate bars may be within your caloric intake for the day, but your body’s not going to love it”.
Speaking about sugar, Dr Isenring adds that while the processed sugar found in many sweets, treats and sugary drinks may contribute to many health issues such as inflammation, weight gain, type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease, “it’s not as black and white as simply denouncing all sugars and eliminating [all] carbohydrates from your diet”.
“The naturally occurring sugars in fruits are handled very well by the body and accordingly, fruit is very important in a healthy diet because of the nutrients, phytochemicals and fibre it contains,” she says.
“Our bodies need sources of carbohydrates from fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as wholegrain cereals.
“I think the message around sugar has become a bit distorted. Sure, we need to avoid soft drinks and certainly cut back on processed foods but, a little bit of sugar or honey every now and then is quite OK.
“Don’t go crazy, of course, and try to make better choices by substituting foods high in processed sugar for fruits such as berries, or as I like to call them, ‘natures lollies’.
“They’re very important for overall health, especially blueberries, which are a well-known prebiotic that really helps healthy digestion.
“Remember, health and wellbeing are not so much dependent upon what you weigh as what you’re putting in your body and the health of your gut microbiota.”
Speaking about the importance of gut health, Dr Isenring underscores the fact that “70% of our immune tissue is in our gut”.
“There is strong scientific evidence to demonstrate that microorganisms govern our general health and likelihood that we become susceptible to disease, infections, viruses, etc.,” she says.
“The gut is exposed to and deals with a variety of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, fungi, archaea and viruses that live in our digestive tracts.
“When a person’s good gut flora is overwhelmed, a number of health conditions can present, and age, diet and environmental factors play a big part in the maintenance of healthy gut microbiota.
“This is why the gut is truly the body’s ‘engine’ and food, quite literally, its fuel.”
To learn more about Dr Isenring’s work, visit: drliznutrition.com/
