Gut Health – by Freda Coetzee – May 16, 2025
Why Gut Health Is Crucial
It is nearly impossible to be healthy without good gut health.
We can eat the best quality food, have low exposure to toxins and have the most positive attitude – if our gut is not healthy, our overall health will deteriorate.
The gut performs three functions that are crucial to our health:
It breaks food down into nutrients,
Facilitates the absorption of nutrients into the blood through intestinal walls, and
Prevents foreign and toxic molecules from entering the bloodstream.
Add to it that a healthy intestine has a major role in detoxification by neutralizing or breaking down toxins ingested with food and it becomes clear that any gut malfunction will adversely affect health.
What is gut health?
Gut health is broken down into digestion, nutrient absorption and gut-detoxification. If these functions are not working as they should – it can spell disaster!
You are what you eat.
Actually, you are what you absorb and assimilate. Over two-thirds of neurotransmitters are made in the gut. The gut is considered the second brain since the majority of serotonin (90-95 percent) is made in the gut, not the brain.
What about poor gut health?
If your gut is inflamed or not functioning optimally, production of serotonin will be impaired and the end result can be depression.
Bear in mind that an inflamed gut = an inflamed brain = increased risk of depression and dementia.
Poor gut health can be the root cause of most of your current health problems, like type 2 diabetes, weight gain (or struggle to lose weight), insulin resistance and obesity. It can also cause problems such as poor digestion, food cravings, poor immune system, IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome), Candida, belatedness, constipation, diarrhoea, fatigue, etc.
Because your immune system revolves around the gut, poor gut health can manifest in different ailments with horrendous symptoms.
What are the symptoms of poor gut health?
Diffuse or localized abdominal pain (contractions, spasms, heartburn etc.)
Bloating & gas
Changes in digestive transit, such as bouts of constipation or diarrhoea, and sometimes both alternately.
There are many different conditions related to the digestive system. Some may not last long and could be symptomatic of other things – such as constipation and diarrhoea. However, some are long-lasting, life-changing and need proper care and support to help manage the condition.
Conditions related to poor gut health can be:
Acute Diarrhoea
Allergies
Bad breath
Candida
Changes in brain function
Coeliac Disease
Constipation
Crohn’s Disease
Diarrhoea
Fatigue (chronic fatigue syndrome)
Fibromyalgia
Food intolerances (sensitivity to grain and dairy)
Foul smelling excretion
Headaches
Gallstones
Haemorrhoids (Piles)
Heartburn and acid reflux
Indigestion
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Leaky gut syndrome
Skin problems
Ulcerative Colitis
The transit time of food should be between 24-36 hours from eating to elimination.
Causes of Gut Health Problems
The culprits that can play a part in damaging your gut health are:
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
NSAIDs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen relieve pain and inflammation by blocking an enzyme called cyclo-oxygenase. The problem is that this enzyme also performs important functions, such as protecting the stomach from the corrosive effects of its own acid, which strengthens the activity of the immune system. Because of this, they can cause intestinal inflammation, damaging the lining of the intestine and causing intestinal permeability. This process can turn on an autoimmune response in the body. Among people who chronically use NSAIDs, research estimates that 65% will develop intestinal inflammation and up to 30% will develop ulcers.
Antibiotics
Frequent use of antibiotics can decrease your beneficial, protective gut bacteria (good flora). And with your body’s natural defences down, antibiotics are more prone to damage to your gut’s lining. What’s worse is that without some healthy intervention, your body’s unique diversity of trillions of beneficial bacteria won’t automatically be recovered after it’s lost.
Stress
Chronic stress will weaken your immune system’s response to infection. Your brain and intestines are mediated by many of the same hormones (which is why your gut is referred to as your second brain). This connection is referred to as the gut-brain axis.
Alcohol
Overuse of alcohol has a negative impact on just about every system in your body. As far as your intestines go, alcohol can irritate the stomach and intestines and suppress the hormones which protect against the inflammation that contributes to leaky gut syndrome.
Grains
The negative impact of gluten is well documented now, but in a few years research will find a similar, possibly even worse, the negative impact from other gluten-free grains. With their abundance of amylose sugars that cause inflammation, anti-nutrients such as lectins and phytates that bind to the intestines and make nutrients inactive in the body, grains can cause a wide array of damage to your gut and your health.
How to repair Gut Health:
Remove the bad
The goal is to get rid of things that negatively affect the environment of the GI tract such as inflammatory foods, infections and gastric irritants like alcohol, caffeine or medication (if possible). Inflammatory foods such as gluten, dairy, corn, soy, eggs and sugar can lead to food sensitivities. Follow the Manna 7-day damage control program to get rid of all the “bad” foods.
Infections can be from parasites, yeast or bacteria, and comprehensive stool analysis is a key to determining the levels of good bacteria as well as any infections that may be present. Removing the infections may require treatment with herbs, anti-parasite medication, anti-fungal medication or even antibiotics.
Replace, restore and repair
Replace the “bad” food with “good” food, which is beneficial to your gut health.
Add back in the essential ingredients for proper digestion and absorption that may have been depleted by diet, medication (such as anti-acid medications), diseases or ageing.
Restore the balance in the gut with the correct digestive enzymes, probiotics, and l-glutamine that are required for proper digestion.
Consuming foods high in soluble fibre is very important.
Looking for an added gut health boost?
Get the Manna GUT Support to supplement proper gut health.
The Manna GUT Support helps to restore the balance of healthy bacteria in your gut. Therefore, it helps to provide a solid base for your immune system, and a healthy gut also helps the body absorb nutrients more effectively.
It also includes the most important digestive enzymes and an amino acid called L-Glutamine to repair the inside wall of the gut. This helps improve your immune system and keeps bloating away.
