Our digestive tract has a significant impact on our overall health. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, its most important role is to "split nutrients into small components for your body to absorb and use for energy, growth, and cell repair." We will face not only discomfort but potentially serious health concerns if our gastrointestinal system is not healthy.

Digestive diseases affect 62 million Americans every year. Most digestive illnesses occur in older adults. Hemorrhoids, inflammatory bowel disease, and chronic liver disease are further exceptions, which are more common in young and middle-aged persons. Let’s look at some signs of an unhealthy gut to keep an eye out for.

1. Poor sleep 

Having poor sleep is not just a common issue that affects almost everyone, chronic sleep issues might be an indication of gut problems. Low levels of serotonin in your blood can also affect your sleep cycle and make sleep less restful. 

Gut microbiomes also produce and respond to the same neurochemicals, like GABA, serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, acetylcholine, and melatonin, that your brain needs to adjust your mood, cognition, and sleep.

2. Tiredness 

We've all had extreme tiredness at some point, but if your fatigue is long-term it might be an indication of an underlying problem. Your gut helps your body in vitamin and nutrient absorption from your food. When your gut is not functioning properly, you can have malabsorption of key vitamins, contributing to overall long-term fatigue.

3. Migraines

Having constant migraines might be linked to poor gut health. Nearly 37 million people in the United States have migraines. CGRP (Calcitonin gene-related peptide) is a vasodilator that is implicated in migraines and can also be impacted by poor gut health. Migraines often occur in patients with IBS or irritable bowel syndrome. That’s why there seems to be a bidirectional relationship in people with stomach problems and migraine headaches. So, to treat migraines, you need to address your current gut issues. 

4. Skin, nail, and hair problems 

Vitamin deficiencies caused by malabsorption can also show up as poor skin/hair and nail health since these are rapidly reproducing cells which require these nutrients to replicate and grow.

5. Heartburn 

The integrity of the immune system, which surrounds the gut 70% of the time, is determined by gastrointestinal health. The gut is the source of the majority of chronic health issues. Beginning with the upper GI tract, gastrointestinal reflux (heartburn) are symptoms that the gut is sick — or that specific meals are causing the stomach to operate poorly.

Bloating, distension and stomach discomfort are classic indicators of a dysfunctional small intestine as we go along the GI system. Changes in bowel motions, such as constipation and diarrhea, are common signs of a diseased large intestine. Food sensitivities, particularly multiple food sensitivities, can also signal a weakened gut.

6. Bloating 

Bloating isn't just annoying; it could also be a sign that something is wrong with our gastrointestinal tract.

Bloating can occur as a result of excessive sugar consumption, as the "bad bacteria" Candida lives in your gut and feeds on sugar, causing bloating and explaining why so many people have huge waistlines. Candida, which feeds on sugar, may be to blame for sugar cravings.

7. Irritability 

Because the majority of your body's serotonin is produced in your gut, which can affect both mood and sleep, poor gut health can lead to poor serotonin production. This can make you irritable and affect your mood. It can also cause anxiety, gloomy moods, and extreme exhaustion.

8. Susceptibility to infections 

Your gut microbiome has a significant impact on your immune system. A substantial part of your immune system is located in your gut, according to some GI doctors. There are many patients with weakened immune systems who also have stomach issues. As a result, persons with poor gut health are more susceptible to infections and, in certain cases, autoimmune diseases.

4.5 Stars.

 

 

"You’re Mine"

I swear every time Gabe said that my heart skipped a beat.

I loved Jared and Gabriel they are so beautiful together their relationship was touching, emotional and so intimate, and when they get to the sex part they were HOT and passionate.

I fell in love with Gabe since the moment I read about him in Just a Bit Obsessed he was captivating, his love for Jared was wonderful that consuming needy clingy possessive love that warmed me from the inside out and the things he would say and do for Jared made my heart melt.

I loved this story so much, everything about it it so amazing the plot , the characters and the writing they are fabulous.I wish this book didn't end I need more Gabe and Jared in my life.

I loved the prequel of the series but I didn't love the first and second book as much but I think this book is my favorite one of them all.

I adore this serise and I really like the author's style and I will definitely continue reading it.

This book is one of the most talked about novels in 2015 and for the life of me, I can't understand why.

The premise of this story is like a poorly written episode of Desperate Housewives.  It centers around Rachel Watson, a divorcee alcoholic who is obsessed with her ex-husband and his new family.  She rides a train each day that passes her old neighborhood and catches brief glimpses of the lives of families living on Blenheim Road, longing to return to her former life.  One day, she witnesses a startling event that later develops into the disappearance of Megan Hipwell, one of the residents on Blenheim Road.  Rachel embarks on a journey to solve Megan's disappearance and immerses herself into the middle of a murder investigation.

I am baffled by the popularity of this book.  The story is narrated by three different female characters, all of whom are rather pathetic: Rachel (divorced woman), Anna (wife of Rachel's ex-husband), and Megan (neighbor).  These women essentially possess identical flaws - they turn to alcohol when they are stressed, engage in irrational and unhealthy behaviors (ex. snooping in their partner's email/phone to discover a lie or engaging in inappropriate affairs), and they become fixated on their failures as wives and mothers.  None of these women are emotionally or mentally stable, and they are basically the same character.  

We're supposed to be gripped by Megan Hipwell's "mysterious" disappearance and feel sorry for these women, but I felt nothing.  I like flawed characters, but there needs to be some redeeming feature that makes me want to root for them even if I disagree with their motives or logic.  Unfortunately, I didn't find anything enjoyable about these characters or the story as a whole.  As far as the so-called "mystery" is concerned, it is evident early on who is responsible for Megan's disappearance.  Rachel's constant blackouts due to her perpetual state of drunkenness are overly convenient barriers to solving the mystery until the moment arises in the narrative that she miraculously remembers a key detail when it's needed the most.  I wish I enjoyed it more than I did, but the book and its characters were so contrived I couldn't take the story seriously.

So as you'll know if you've followed my last few reviews, that I've been pretty obsessed with this series over the past couple of days. I don't know what it is with these questionable straight guys and the gay/bisexual guys they end up with but I've pretty much devoured them.

This one was all just a bit too strange for me. For these guys to be so obsessed with each other--well Gabriel anyway. Jared was trying to move on but one request from Gabe and he was running back to him like the man in love he was. It was rather unhealthy and maybe a little twisted. I didn't understand it much.

I kinda wanted them to get together but at the same time it didn't seem right. Gabe had a girlfriend and a baby from pretty much the start of the book and...just no. I like my M/M stories to not have children attached unless they're grown up (Or a certain book that I loved by M.J. O'Shea and Piper Vaughn :D)

This has been my least favourite of the series so far but I will read the next book in the series to see what it's like.