We’ve all been there: You eat something out of the ordinary and suddenly feel unusually bloated. You’re experiencing unusual stomach pain, and even your trips to the bathroom have become a bit out of your norm. But you brush it off, assuming that as much as you enjoy your meals, your body just isn’t digesting it well these days.
But you never think to yourself: “Could my gut just be really inflamed from what I’ve been eating? According to Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, while the term “inflammation” gets thrown around a lot, few of us really understand what it means when it comes to gut health.
“Usually people are lacking the clarity of exactly what it is,” says Bulsiewicz, an award-winning gastroenterologist and author of the recently released Plant Powered Plus. “To me, it is the activation of our immune system, and that sort of thing can be something that actually is very, very good for us. Inflammation is what protects us when we’re exposed to some sort of infection. Inflammation is what helps us to repair our bodily tissues.”
“But the bigger conversation that is taking place now is around the chronic, ongoing, low-grade inflammation, which the story there is that this is contributing to all of these different health conditions that include autoimmune, allergic, but also metabolic diseases, cancers, hormonal issues, mood disorders, like basically far-reaching effects throughout the entire body. And what I’ve discovered is that its origins are in our gut.”
In his book, the Charleston-based gut health expert talks a lot about the correlation between gut health and overall health and discusses the biggest symptoms patients most often mistake for inflammation.
Bulsiewicz explains that bloating is often one of the most misunderstood signs people associate with inflammation. That “gassy” feeling many people experience is quickly and oftentimes inaccurately assumed to be attributed to gut inflammation caused by something you ate.
“That’s not actually true that in the vast majority of cases what’s going on there is that your diet is not matched to your microbiome,” Bulsiewicz says. “And so basically what I’m saying is your microbiome, it’s been conditioned and trained to eat whatever it is that you normally eat, and for the average American, that’s a lot of ultra processed food and almost no fiber.”
Another possible factor, he mentions, is that inflammation can be accelerated by a person’s low energy levels.
“There is a lot that we have accepted as normal in the modern world that we should not accept as normal, and part of this is low energy,’ he says. “What I want people to see and understand is that when you have inflammation, you have fatigue. And it’s not to say that all fatigue is caused by inflammation. When the gut is unwell, not only do you get those symptoms of bloating and things like this, but you’re also gonna feel basically like the wind was taken out of your sails.”
Other parts of your body may also show differences too, which is why it’s important to take a look at your overall health.
“You may notice symptoms in other parts of your body,” Dr. Bulsiewicz says. “So you may get a headache, you may feel joint discomfort, you may get a runny nose, congestion, things like this. Those are all sort of indicators of heightened levels of inflammation throughout the entire body, I look at.”
What Does Good Stool Really Look Like?
It may be an awkward conversation starter, but the biggest indicator of gut health, according to Bulsiewicz, is having a healthy-looking stool. But what should a normal-looking No. 2 look like?
“Your bowel movement is indicative of the health of your microbiome,” Bulsiewicz adds. “To me, that’s one of the strongest signals that we have of what’s going on with the gut. When the gut is well, you have healthy, regular sausage shaped bowel movements. You have complete emptying and you are satisfied and when the gut is struggling, you drift away from that.”
But Bulsiewicz believes there is a lot you can do to combat inflammation, and it starts with what you’re putting in your mouth.
The best-selling author explains that our day-to-day patterns are crucial for our health. In his book, he outlines four critical components of a healthy diet: fiber, polyphenols, healthy fats, and fermented foods. While there are many different ways to eat well, Bulsiewicz says that one of the main keys to sustaining a healthy diet is to choose an approach you genuinely enjoy and stick to over a period of time.
Why these four are important, he adds, is because each one is largely missing from the typical American diet.
“We’re sort of talking about plant-based foods, so mixed nuts is a great snack. Having a piece of fruit is a good snack. I’m a big believer in the first phase of the protocol in the book. I have people doing smoothies and soups. Because these smoothies and soups, they’re sort of pre-digested in a way. So for a person who isn’t used to eating this way, it actually becomes a much more gentle approach that allows you to introduce these different plant-based foods, and allow your gut to adapt and adjust to them.”
Why Ultra-Processed Foods Can Harm Your Gut Microbiome
“There’s a big conversation that’s starting to take place around ultra-processed foods,” Bulsiewicz says. “The key here is that ultra-processed means that it’s something that you literally cannot create at home, like it’s not possible. Because you don’t have access to the ingredients, the different additives that are necessary to create this ultra-processed food. You can make your own version of an Oreo, but it’s not an Oreo.”
Beyond their long ingredient lists, ultra-processed foods may possibly contain chemicals and additives that can subtly interfere with the way our bodies and brains regulate appetite. Bulsiewicz says it’s time we begin to take a closer look at what we’re putting into our bodies.
“They have these food additives that we’re starting to learn more and more about and a lot of what we learn is not like we’re not concerned about the impact of these food additives on our gut microbiome,” he says. “And they also are what we call hyperpalatable, which basically means that there are normal signals to tell you when to stop eating [that] are missing. So then you overshoot and there’s research that’s been done with these ultra-processed foods and this characteristic of hyperpalatability that shows that people are consuming on average 500 calories more per day because they don’t know when to stop eating.”
Why Restrictive Diets Can Backfire For Gut Health
With everything in life, there are truths and myths, and some of the bigger ones about gut health are tackling things head on.
“There’s a difference between strategies that reduce symptoms short term versus actually making your gut healthier, and this to me is the biggest myth,” Bulsiewicz says. “Basically what I’m saying is that if you go onto a restrictive diet. The vast majority of strategies that were proposed for gut health are about reducing restriction, avoiding 150 things, and the issue with this is that you can reduce your symptoms when you do that because you’re avoiding the thing that’s triggering you. But the gut becomes less healthy.”
“The key mistake that most people make is that they become so focused on eliminating the symptoms that they sort of put themselves into a corner on a super restricted diet.”
Bulsiewicz says results happen quickly once you start tweaking your diet and lifestyle but to implement changes steadily.
“The solution is to start low and go slow with those foods” he says.”So to rebuild function if someone really truly rebuilds slowly, with food and plant-based fiber, the right amount of things, cuts out things that are not good for the gut, take supplements, things like that, how quickly can they see results? Very quickly.”