Expert Breaks Down How The World Around Us Is Disruptive To Gut Health

Between stomachaches, bloating, weird bowel movements, and gas, it can seem like digestive issues are utterly mysterious and so hard to solve. And while it's true that decoding tummy troubles can be tricky, there's a lot around us that could be to blame, says Lisa Anderson, gut health enthusiast and co-founder of Just Thrive, a science-backed probiotics and supplement brand. She shared how to get your gut back in good condition on the "LadyGang" podcast, with hosts Keltie Knight, Jac Vanek, and Becca Tobin.

Anderson says that if we want to improve our overall health, we have to start by looking at the gut. Everything from acne to allergies to mental health issues can be associated with an imbalance in the gut. So how do we become imbalanced in the first place?

According to Anderson, everything around us is working hard to mess with our guts. "The problem is that the world we live in is so disruptive to our gut health," she told the hosts of LandyGang.  

"We live in this world that is killing our bacteria," Anderson said on the podcast. "From antibiotics we need to take, that's a huge offender to our gut health, but just antibiotics that are in our food supplies, in our meat products." Glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in the pesticide spray Round-Up, can be found on our produce, in our parks, and near our pets. We breathe it in daily, which destroys our levels of good bacteria. Stress can also impact the balance of good and bad bacteria in our bodies.

Even household products are to blame. "There was a study that showed that household products that say, 'Kills 99.99% of bacteria,' actually had children with a higher case of allergies and autoimmune issues," said Anderson. "It's really important that we remember that we're living in this world that is so disruptive to our gut health and there are offenders that we're faced with all the time — and then you wonder why there's this rise in allergies."