How to Fix Your Gut Health with IV Therapy
Gut health. We may be talking about number two here, but gut health should truly be first on your priority list. A healthy digestive track and balanced gut biome may make meals, bathroom breaks, and life a much smoother experience, but gut health has a much deeper, more profound effect on overall health. No reason to feel gutted if your intestinal balance is off, though—luckily, there are a few very effective ways to restore your gut health and improve your overall lifestyle.
The microbiome of the gut
So what exactly do we mean by “gut health” anyways? Gut health refers to the wellbeing of your entire digestive track, from your esophagus all the way to your large intestine and colon. Each part of the digestive system contains its own microbiome of good and bad bacteria. In fact, the large intestines houses over 200 unique species of bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The key to good gut health is to keep the bad bacteria from overrunning the biome and “colonizing” the good bacteria in the gut. The more good bacteria in the gut, and the more resources they use, the better.
All of the microorganisms that make up the gut’s microbiome help the body break down food into nutrients it will later absorb and send to vital organs, as well as the waste it will excrete. And while every part of the digestive system plays a crucial role in breaking down food, the flora in the gut are incredibly important. They are able to digest food particles even stomach acid isn’t strong enough to break down sometimes.
However, the effects of the digestive system don’t end in the bathroom stall. Gut health affects so many more systems in the body, from the immune system to sleep to brain and heart health, and even mood. Essentially, the digestive track, and the microorganisms in it, are the tools the body uses to absorb nutrients and vitamins from food to support other vital organs and processes.
Spilling the Tea on Leaky Gut and Inflammation
So what happens when the delicate gut microbiome is thrown out of balance? What does “bad gut health” look like? When bad bacteria start to overrun the intestinal microbiome, they attack and damage the innermost lining of the intestines, called the mucosa. The cells that make up the mucosa are very close together, and they prevent any toxic or waste material from slipping in between them and entering the blood stream. Once the mucosa has been damaged—either by bad bacteria or by other factors—the cells that comprise it become further apart. The new spaces between those cells allow molecules that should have been expelled, and sometimes, entire bacteria or fungi cells, to leak into the blood stream.
Once these toxins enter the bloodstream, the body issues an inflammatory response. The combative cells that the body sends to attack the new toxin can damage the intestinal lining even more, leading to an even “leakier” gut, more toxins in the blood stream, and more inflammation. It’s a slippery slope.
Inflammation in the gut—and the gas, bloating, diarrhea, and discomfort that accompany it—can prove to be a major problem by itself, but there’s an even more dangerous underlying issue that coincides with leaky gut. It's bad enough that a large intestine that has become permeable lets bad bacteria and other toxins through to the blood stream. But a damaged intestinal lining is also unable to absorb the nutrients and good stuff that passes through it. Malnutrition and vitamin deficiency often follow, and eventually, much more serious health problems.
How to Restore Gut Health
And while it’s easy to disrupt your gut’s biome with things like alcohol, excessive sugar, lack of sleep, and stress (many of the things our modern lifestyles are flooded with), it’s possible to reverse the damage, too.
Probiotics and prebiotics
The key is to introduce enough healthy bacteria back into the intestines to outreproduce the bad bacteria and give the intestinal lining time to rebuild itself. One of the easiest and most powerful ways to bring healthy bacteria back to the gut biome is to take probiotic supplements. Most probiotics contain the Lactobacillus and Bfidobacterium strains, two of the most important bacteria for the intestines.
In addition to a probiotic supplement, consider eating foods naturally rich in gut-healthy bacteria. Yogurt, and fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, pickles and kombucha are rich in organisms known to help with gut health.
While on the hunt for a probiotic, you may come across prebiotics. Though they may sound similar, they play different—yet equally important—roles in the gut microbiome. Probiotics refer to the actual organisms that help break down food in the intestines, while prebiotics are the carbohydrates that those organisms eat themselves. In other words, prebiotics help sustain the probiotic organisms in the intestines. They can also help alleviate some of the inflammation caused by a leaky gut. Microorganisms break down prebiotics into short-chain fatty acids, which aid in inflammation and help with the production of protective mucus in the intestines. Prebiotics often come in a supplement form as well, but these essential carbohydrates naturally occur in onions, garlic, asparagus, bananas, barley, oats, and apples, among other grains and roots.
How IV Therapy Can Help
However, sometimes the intestinal lining becomes so damaged that it’s no longer able to properly digest foods and supplements with pre- and probiotics to repair itself. If you notice that no matter how many supplements you take or how much yogurt you eat, it may be time to bring in the big guns: IV therapy. As you may already know, the main benefit of IV therapy is that instead of going through the entire digestive track, the nutrients and vitamins in an IV blend are injected straight into the bloodstream. This means they have a much higher chance of reaching the correct cells and repairing the intestines' mucosa layer, rather than faring a hostile microbiome and a damaged, nonabsorbent intestine.
There are several key nutrients present in common IV blends that are proven to aid in the repair of the intestinal lining. Glutamine and zinc, both common in vitamin infusions, are vital in closing the gaps between mucosal cells that cause leaky gut and inflammation. Try our glutamine-rich Recovery and Performance Blend to nourish cells in the intestinal lining and the muscles, or our Get Up and Go Blend to heal the gut, kick-start the metabolism, and burn fat throughout the day.
However, once intestinal inflammation has begun, antioxidant depletion usually follows. That's where IV-OG glutathione comes in. Glutathione, an antioxidant known as the “Master Molecule,” aids in inflammation by protecting the mucous layer of the intestines and mucosal cells of its lining. Vitamin C, another antioxidant that often drops in patients with a leaky gut, also helps strengthen and support the mucosal cells of the intestinal lining and promote future vitamin absorption. For an intensive dose of glutathione, try our Glutathione Blend, or our Tri-Immune Boost, formulated with a comprehensive combination of zinc, Vitamin C, and glutathione to support the immune function of the gut and alleviate inflammation.
As most of us who’ve struggled with stomach issues know, one of the worst parts of diarrhea can be the dehydration. Because truly, what’s better cure for dehydration than a tall, refreshing bag of IV fluid in the comfort of your own home?
