Signs Your Gut is Healing

This post is co-authored by Jillian Cleland, a former intern of Holistic Health and Wellness

If you’re reading this, congratulations! You’ve likely tackled the hardest part of healing your gut which is starting your journey. 

Most of the time starting down this path requires support and expertise to help identify the root cause behind your gut issues. Then, you can start taking action and make changes to heal your gut. 

One question you might have as you are getting started is, “How do I know my gut is healing”?

Read on to learn about the physical, mental, and emotional signs that your gut is healing. 

3 Types of Signs

Gut healing looks different for everyone, but there are some clear cut signs in physical, mental, and even emotional health that can tell you you’re on the right track. You will likely experience only a few in the beginning and more as time goes on. Keep in mind that these may not all apply to you

Physical

Usually, people start seeing improvements in their gut symptoms early on, but don’t forget your gut has connections to many parts of the body. As a result, you’ll likely notice physical signs of healing all over your body

Gut-related signs:

• More regular bowel movements
• Less constipation or diarrhea
• Decreased gas and bloating
• Less abdominal pain and discomfort
• Improved digestion
• Ability to eat more foods without experiencing gut discomfort

Other physical signs:

• Improved overall well-being
• Decreased joint pain 
• Improved insulin sensitivity and metabolic health
• Healthier looking skin
• Improved sleep
• Getting sick less often (stronger immunity)
• Increased energy 

Mental & Emotional

The connection between the brain and gut is so well known that it is called the gut-brain axis, and it is a powerful thing! 

Gut health is connected to emotional well-being, and studies have shown that a diverse, healthy microbiome also positively impacts brain health and aging. In fact, some researchers are exploring probiotic and prebiotic supplements that positively improve mental health!

When you gut is healing, you see this emotional and mental changes:

• Less brain fog
• Improved memory
• Enhanced cognitive performance

• Decreased stress and anxiety
• Improved mental health

Tools to Monitor Your Signs of Gut Healing

It can be hard to notice improvements in your day-to-day life, so being equipped with tools to measure your progress is a great way to encourage yourself to keep moving forward. 

Measuring your progress is also key for knowing when you need to change course because what you’ve doing isn’t working. 

Subjective: Symptom Journal

Journaling offers a tangible way to look back and monitor your progress over time. Try typing in the Notes app on your phone when you notice symptoms start or write in a notebook that you keep by your bedside at the end of each day.

Objective: Testing

Many health care practitioners will take the guesswork out of monitoring by asking you to track your symptoms periodically and using tests to objectively measure progress.

By utilizing the right tests, you can measure what’s going on under the surface and see how your gut is changing and how that is impacting your hormones and nutritional status. This way you can better understand how your body is responding to changes you’ve made. 

Seeing the progress of these imbalances over time can help steer you in the right direction and tell you if what you are doing to heal your gut is effective.

To learn more about utilizing the right tests and getting support on your gut healing journey, book a free discovery call with functional medicine dietitian Kaytee Hadley MSc, RDN, IFMCP.

Key Takeaways

Signs your gut is healing may come sooner than you’d think and will go beyond your gut to impact your mental, emotional, and physical health.

Physical signs can be both in your gut and elsewhere in your body ranging from improved bowel movements, less gas bloating, clearer skin, better sleep, less joint pain and more!

Mental & emotional signs of gut healing range from improved memory to decreased feelings of anxiety and overall happier mood.

I recommend tracking your progress subjectively using a symptom journal and working with a gut health specialist to objectively measure through tests.

Seeing these symptom changes can encourage you to keep going with any positive changes you’ve made and can also help to redirect you if you aren’t seeing the expected improvement.

For more information on how we can help support you in healing your gut, schedule a free discovery call with us at Holistic Health & Wellness.

Bio: Jillian Cleland is a current dietetic intern and candidate in the University of Southern California’s Master’s program in Nutrition, Healthspan, & Longevity. As a future dietitian, she’s highly passionate about inspiring others to harness the power of nutrition for prevention of chronic diseases and exploring the intricacies of food and gut health.