Love Your Gut Blog
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
You’re probably wondering what sleep has to do with a website about digestive health. Well quite a lot actually and not just because I’m feeling a little tired myself. 
Sleep is vitally important to the workings of the digestive system. In the same way we need to consider what and when we eat and drink, we also need to make sure that the amount of sleep we get is also important.
You often hear athletes talking about their rest days - they realise that their bodies can’t train all the time and need time to recover. Well the digestive system is the same - it needs to relax and recuperate. And it can’t go off for two weeks on the Med!
How many times have you stayed up watching a late night film? And then when you’ve been awake have started to get out the popcorn or crisps cos you’ve just got to have something to munch on? And then off you go to bed, late of course, and food still needing to be processed. So the digestive system kicks into action when it should be resting, and of course you’ve reduced your amount of sleep too! Worse still some studies have shown that insufficient sleep can lead to weight gain, and additional weight around the middle puts extra pressure on the digestive system.
So what can you do? Well first lets cut out the midnight snacking, and try and make a conscious effort to get to bed earlier. Whatever time you need to get up, count back 7-8 hours and start making that time your bedtime.
And try not to have your large meal too late in the day. You may not be able to avoid that your largest meal is the one you have in the evening, but you can look to ensure that it is a few hours before you go to bed - two to three hours is best.
So time to turn over a new leaf and see how your sleep patterns and digestion might just improve.
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Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
It’s not much of a surprise to those in the Love Your Gut team, but we’re only eight weeks away from the digestive health event of the year! 
So if you’re thinking of how you can get you and your friends gut healthy, then look no further! We’ve got information packs and posters, balloons and display materials which will help you bring some life to a notice board or staff canteen - just email us today to get your pack!
Or how about having some gut healthy recipes in your staff canteen or even having a day when people bring in food and you raise money for charity? Gut Week is supported by both digestive health charities Core and The Gut Trust, and we have a recipe section that will give you some delicious and healthy recipes to get you started! You could charge people per item or plate of food and am sure our charities would be pleased of the support!
And don’t forget our Gut Week on the Road campaign! We still have some spaces for bookings in London and the South East and are happy to come to workplaces and hospitals with our Gut Week experts - send us an email and hopefully we’ll be able to join you and your staff.
And of course look out for information across national and regional press to see further information and the celebrities involved in the campaign this year!
So what are you waiting for? Get in the Gut Week mode now and lets see how many people we can reach together!
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Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
It’s funny but as we get closer to Gut Week (23-29 August if you hadn’t heard) I start to wonder how many people ‘truly’ love their gut?
They probably appreciate their digestive systems, especially when they are working well and processing food as they should be. And when you’re eating the right foods, getting exercise and promoting a healthy lifestyle then there’s a good chance that your gut is loving you right back!
But like with so many other things in life, the more you learn and understand the more you can love. And that sentiment relates to our gut as well. So while there will be some of us who may always face digestive problems, and have learnt lots about their gut to try and manage symptoms, others will be at a much earlier stage in their digestive education and will be looking for help and advice.
So what sort of things can we teach you? Well for instance we’ve talked about bacteria before - both the good and the bad - did you realise that your gut contains about 1.5kg of bacteria? Did you also know that the majority of your immune system is based in the gut? Well it’s something that all experts are agreed on so looking after your gut, and keeping it healthy, can make a difference to your overall health and wellbeing.
The gut is about 24 feet in length. Of course it does bend and fold back on itself and runs through the centre of the body. But some bits are even longer than you think. The small intestine is in some ways inadequately named as it has an immense surface area. It is elaborately folded, but if it was smooth and you would need a space of two miles! And if laid out flat it would be the size of a tennis court! Now think about that when Wimbledon comes around!
Of course there is a lot more to share about the digestive system but hopefully you’ll take some time to look around the site to see for yourself. Go to the What does the gut do? section to get started or share some of your tips and even myths with us. The more we can share help and advice then the more of us will be on the road to healthy digestion - and that is certainly a journey we want to experience.
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Monday, May 24th, 2010
How many of you had a very hot and outdoor weekend? If you did I can’t blame you, 
and have to say that I spent my fair share of time enjoying the countryside and a barbecue or two.
Are there many of you looking around the workplace and spotting a few ruby coloured faces, or those with a two tone effect where the weekend outfits finished and the sunburn began?
Well we do have a tendency to embrace the great outdoors when the sun starts to shine but while we should enjoy the possible beginning of a long summer (one can hope!) we also need to make sure we’re taking care of our bodies.
And of course wearing sunscreen, sunhats, getting enough shade is all good for helping the external factors (just ask those people who haven’t gone red!) but what about the inside of the body?
How many people may be suffering from the heat simply because they didn’t take in enough fluids of the non alcoholic variety? The sun can be very good at dehydrating you so make sure you’re getting enough water and soft drinks to keep your fluid levels up.
And what about the barbecues? How good are the people at cooking the food? Is the meat thoroughly cooked or is it completely burnt to a crisp? Try and avoid any unnecessary stomach issues by checking before eating and cutting through meat to check its ok to eat.
Also if you’re planning days out or trips to the country then don’t forget to pack a small first aid kit with you. You may not need just the regulars such as plasters and insect creams but may need to consider constipation and diarrhoea remedies. Remember it may smell good but has it been prepared well? The last thing anyone wants to do is spend days of the summer stuck indoors as we can’t move too far away from the loo!
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Monday, May 17th, 2010
At Love Your Gut we are always thinking about the importance of good digestive health but as many of our followers will know, there is one week of the year when we pay our guts some extra special attention - Gut Week.
Yes 2010 will see the 12th annual Gut Week and we’ll be aiming again to provide a host of digestive tips to people across a wide range of media. The actual week will be 23-29 August and the Love Your Gut team will be out across the country, giving out digestive advice at various workplaces and hospitals. If you want your workplace to benefit then contact us today as we do have a few places left.
The week will again be supported by digestive health charities Core and The Gut Trust and also by Yakult, and we have a host of celebs and experts available to provide much valuable advice. Check out our recipe section to try some digestive friendly dishes from top chefs or ask a health question in confidence to one of our doctors.
And of course don’t forget to order your Gut Week pack! These free information packs are full of digestive health advice and could help you take those valuable first steps to better gut health. So what are you waiting for? Click here and get yours now!
As we get closer to the week we’ll be putting more information online and will let you know more about what we’ll be doing in August! So keep watching.
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