Gut Pilot March 7, 2024

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“Walking is man’s best medicine.” –Hippocrates​​

I grew up in a family where my Uncle Dan played for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1960's and my 2nd cousin, Kent Tekulve pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 1979, the Steelers beat the Cowboys in the Super Bowl and the Pirates won the World Series.

Where the hell are you going with this Jeff?

If you or someone close to you was born in 1979...

Schedule your colonoscopy.

According to a 2013 research study, walking briskly can help your health just as much as running. When you walk regularly and at the right pace, you can get all the cardiovascular exercise you need, plus added health benefits.

One added health benefit from walking is it's great for your gut.

So, in addition to all the heart-healthy benefits, I'd like to highlight a few of these "added" benefits that impact gut health.

Specifically, motility, diversity of bacteria, and active meditation.

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In normal digestion, food is moved through the digestive tract by rhythmic contractions called peristalsis. This process is referred to as gastrointestinal motility.

Exercise stimulates the nervous system and helps the muscles and nerves in the gut to work better, preventing and relieving constipation is one example.

I had the opportunity to see this in a pretty extreme example. Having my colon surgically severed and reattached was the equivalent of unplugging my digestive system and plugging it back in.

It was a computer crash of sorts with the same "fingers-crossed" reaction when you reboot it.

Will this damn thing ever work again?

I received 3 pieces of advice from my surgeon to get things moving again; chew gum, don't think about it, and walk.

Chewing gum begins mastication, which is the act of chewing and grinding to start the digestive process. You can imagine my surprise when my post-surgery medication tray showed up with pain pills and chiclets.

The next tidbit of advice was to not think about it. When the only thing racing through your mind is "will my bowels ever refire again", it's really tough to not think about it.

But the mental side of motility is real. If you ever need a tangible example of the gut-brain axis, this is it. If you try to will yourself to the bathroom, your gut will politely decline you every time.

The most impactful piece of advice was walking. It's very simple. When you move, you greatly assist in muscle contractions, and everything moves.

It was the perfect combination of mechanical and mental worlds colliding for sheer, motility euphoria.

Try walking the next time you need to move things along.

We talk a lot about microbiome diversity in this space. We want as many different strains of bacteria to reside and pass through our GI tract as possible.

The gut microbiome development and makeup can be influenced by a good balance between internal and external factors like host physiology, lifestyle, exercise, and diet.

We hammer on diet because it has the largest impact on which microbes get to eat, the good or the bad. Lifestyle factors like stress management and sleep are crucial too.

But a lot of research is beginning to uncover the relationship between exercise and microbial composition. There are identifiable bacteria strains present in healthy, active guts that are absent in sedentary subjects.

Walking is the easiest activity for everyone to do. It doesn't require a gym membership, a training partner, or a specific wardrobe.

Lace up your shoes and go walk. I too aspire to do more strength training to combat the natural muscle loss that comes with aging.

But every bit of success I have achieved to date has had one consistent exercise activity- walking.

It works.

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The benefits of meditation are seen and talked about far and wide. I don't practice any intentional meditation sessions in the typical sense, sitting or lying down, breath work, etc.

But I'm a firm believer in the phenomenon known as Active Meditation.

It is the meditative state that we reach while conducting any form of physical activity.

Walking is my active meditation.

I started walking for all the reasons I've mentioned above. I have a bad back so running and higher impact activity gives me trouble.

I had no earthly idea that walking was considered active meditation.

But I did notice a few things.

I was able to clear my mind and solve a lot of problems when I walked. Things make more sense. My mind slows down.

And on days when I don't really want to get out of bed, a walk completely changes my outlook. My mood is instantly improved.

If you know, you know. If you struggle with stress, feel overwhelmed, or have trouble focusing, I promise you taking a walk will help.

You don't need to take it to extremes like a specific movie character.

A massive part of my gut rebuild has been exponential mental clarity. I mentioned last week that everyone should have walking in their toolbox, regardless of your fitness level.

If you need to get moving, walking will help.

If you need to slow down, walking will help.

Just walk.

Next Week- Repetition is a superpower. Knowing what to do for gut health is only half of the equation. I'll share what I've learned over the years that makes repeating habits a bit easier.

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Thanks for reading!

Jeff

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