Not Sure If Your Gut Is Messed Up? Here Are The 15 Signs To Look For

These are among the most common signs of a gut out-of-balance I see in my practice. How many of these 15 do you regularly experience?

Poor sleep, dehydration, and thyroid issues are among the many reasons you might struggle with constipation—often the result of an unbalanced gut microbiome. Bowel movements should occur at least once daily so that waste and toxins are efficiently removed from the body via the stool. The first and most important treatment for constipation: Drink at least 64 fluid ounces of water daily and don’t dehydrate with caffeine. The second important intervention—increase fiber. You can do this by upping your greens, but it is often helpful to add a fiber supplement, like RenewLife’s FIBER Smart powder.

Contrary to what some patients believe, these are not normal symptoms after you eat. They suggest everything from poor digestion to yeast overgrowth, like Candida, or SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) in your small intestine.

Along with gas, bloating, and constipation, diarrhea gets placed under the umbrella term "irritable bowel syndrome" (IBS), which gives these symptoms a name but does nothing to clarify the true underlying cause(s) or the treatment. Worth repeating: Bolting to the bathroom after a meal is not normal and is a sign that your gut microbiome is out-of-whack.

The standard American diet (SAD) is full of sugar, processed foods, and food additives that promote the growth of harmful bacteria and yeast. Frequent yeast infections are almost definitely a sign your gut microbiota is harboring an overgrowth of yeast and losing favorable bacteria. Women are particularly prone to this, and for that reason, this probiotic is a great choice to create harmony in the vaginal flora.

About 70 percent of your immune system lies in your gut, and one of your gut’s primary roles is to maintain an immune barrier to the outside world. Frequent colds and other illnesses could signify compromised gut health.

Gut yeast feeds on simple carbohydrates found in white starches, sugars, fruit, processed foods, juices, and, of course, sweets and desserts. People with yeast overgrowth will crave more of these foods. Create a better balance of good gut bacteria to yeast by using tools like intermittent fasting, a low-sugar diet, and a high-potency probiotic.

You might have a sweet tooth, but overeating chocolate cake isn’t a lack of willpower. Yeast overgrowth and other gut issues often lead to sugar cravings, and those high-sugar foods feed yeast. That leads to the production of neurotoxins that cause symptoms like mental fog, mood swings, headaches, problems with memory retention, poor concentration, inability to focus, insomnia, anxiety, and depression.

Gut bacteria can alter the way you store fat, your sensitivity to hormones signals that let you know you’re full, and the way your body balances blood glucose levels. The wrong type of microbial diversity (or lack of diversity) can set the stage for obesity and its associated diseases, like diabetes and heart disease. Leaky gut and other gut conditions can also keep your immune system in overdrive, leaving you inflamed and struggling to lose weight.

If you’re getting eight hours of solid sleep nightly yet feel sluggish and fatigued throughout the day, gut conditions, like small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and leaky gut could be among the culprits.

If you are like the millions of people around the world who suffer from acid indigestion, heartburn, excessive burping, gas, bloating in your upper abdomen soon after you eat, or nausea before or after meals, you have a stomach acid imbalance. Before you turn to medication (which could do more harm than good), look at your diet and lifestyle. You may be suffering from low stomach acid instead.

Most infections are viral, yet many antibiotics only kill bacteria. Most of the time, rest and immune support are enough to resolve these infections, and among their chronic damage, repeatedly using antibiotics can seriously affect your gut flora. The good news is you can start to repair your out-of-whack gut ecosystem with a high-potency probiotic.

As experts better understand the association between gut inflammation and pain, more studies show gut inflammation contributes to painful conditions like osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia, the latter of which affects up to 12 percent of the population.

As your "second brain," your gut can affect your mood and the way your brain functions just like your brain talks to your gut. Unfavorable gut bugs interfere with your brain’s ability to do its job, triggering mood disorders including anxiety and depression.

Remember that gut-brain connection? Yeast overgrowth, leaky gut, and other gut conditions can leave you feeling mentally fuzzy and frequently struggling with issues like remembering where you left your car keys. It’s not all in your head! Your gut health affects your brain health.

From that list, you can understand how pretty much every problem originates to some degree—and oftentimes, to a massive degree—from your gut.