It has only been in recent years that people have come to realize that gut health is vital to wellness. The gut provides the essential nutrients your organs and the rest of your body need to function optimally. Early signs of gut issues can be subtle — skin rashes, fatigue, irritability — but the outcomes can be extreme. Poor gut health can ultimately lead to chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity, and cancer. Thus, improving gut health is a critical issue.
1. Integrate Foods and Supplements that Target the Gut
One helpful option is to take vitamins and supplements. Often, the gut suffers from a lack of essential nutrients, which is what causes it to become unbalanced. As the center of digestion, the gut breaks down food using good bacteria. It also sends the proper nutrients to the rest of the body. But if the gut isn’t getting the proper nutrients, it gets thrown into something called dysbiosis, which can be detrimental to the rest of your body.
Probiotics are the most obvious supplement you can take, often in the form of digestive enzymes. These enzymes will help the gut break down food and distribute nutrients properly. You can also look into ACV gummies; apple cider vinegar is rich in polyphenols, which support good gut bacteria. Finally, if you’re not already taking a collagen supplement, consider it. In addition to your skin and joints, collagen also helps support the lining of your gut!
2. Eat More Whole Foods
Another step you can take to improve your gut health is to ensure you’re getting a varied diet. Supplements with vitamins and nutrients are great for “topping off” your body’s needs. But most nutritionists will advise you to get the bulk of your essentials from food. Why? Your body knows best how to utilize the vitamins and nutrients it gets from all-natural sources.
So, start integrating a variety of plants into your diet, which are rich in fiber and aid in digestion. You can start eating a salad each day. Leafy greens, brussel sprouts, and beets are all great additions. Add fresh onions and garlic to a dressing with olive oil, which are prebiotics, or food for your gut bacteria. Also make sure you’re getting protein with each meal, which works to maintain bacterial balance. Aim to eat a variety of whole foods every day.
3. Cut Back on the Junk
A side benefit of eating so many whole foods is that you won’t have much room left for junk. Gut-healthy foods like leafy greens, sweet potatoes, and cucumbers are filling. So, incorporating a big salad in the middle of your day will help you curb cravings for inflammatory foods. Too many snacks with refined carbs, like chips, or high fructose corn syrup, like candy, can cause inflammation. Inflammation is related to many health issues, including gut dysbiosis.
Of course, no one is going to tell you to never grab a bag of potato chips or gummy bears. Your body is highly intelligent and can handle a lot of so-called “poison.” But when your gut gets overloaded with junk and doesn’t have enough of the good stuff, you may have problems. Your job is to make sure you’re getting way more of the gut-healthy foods and way less of the stuff that might be toxic. It’s all about balance.
4. Try More Fermented Foods
In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a big surge in the popularity of items like kombucha, kefir, and sauerkraut lately. There’s a good reason for this upswing. As nutritionists have begun discussing gut health more often, the demand for gut-healthy foods has risen. Fermented foods can be hugely beneficial to gut health, and those items on the shelves are all examples. Add Greek yogurt to this list, and you’re set.
Fermented foods are foods that have undergone a process that packs them with probiotics. Probiotics are an essential part of a healthy gut, supporting the integrity of your intestines and suppressing bad bacteria and pathogens. And while it’s probably a good idea to take a supplement, remember it’s always best to get your nutrients from food. Try Greek yogurt with fruit for breakfast and your gut should be beyond pleased.
5. Manage Sleep and Stress
Last, but certainly not least, the health of your gut is heavily affected by your stress levels. And while stress has been discussed more often in recent years, it’s still not taken seriously enough. Too much stress can significantly disrupt the proper function of your gut. The brain-gut connection is an intricate one you must pay attention to for your total wellness. One factor that contributes greatly to increased stress is sleep deprivation.
It’s up to you to commit to managing your stress and sleep. Yes, you live in a world determined to stress you out to the max, but you can do your part to start today. Turn your television and smartphone off a few hours before bed. Read a calming book or magazine instead, and practice meditating in the morning and at night. Take your lunch break instead of working through it! These small steps can make a big difference in your stress, sleep, and gut health. And you can start to be a healthier you.
Ultimately, if you’re interested in improving your gut health, you have a lot of the power in your hands. And remember, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can still enjoy your loaded nachos and the occasional late-night movie binge. Simply begin by adding in those healthy practices and slowly cutting out the unhealthy ones. Over time, and likely sooner than you think, you may notice big changes in the way you feel.