A healthy body begins in the gut. This idea has been around for many decades, but recent studies have shown that having a healthy gut is more than a notion. Many chronic metabolic diseases begin in the gut including fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, depression, multiple sclerosis, allergies, chronic fatigue syndrome, and diabetes.
How Gut Health Works
Trillions of bacteria call your gut home, existing in different states of acidity and alkalinity at any given time. Keeping the gut balanced, not too acidic or too alkaline, is vital to having a healthy gut home. Protecting the body from infection, supporting metabolism, and promoting healthy digestion and elimination, a healthy gut eliminates harmful pathogens and absorbs the minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants the body needs to flourish.
Is Your Gut Healthy?
Poor gut health results from a variety of reasons including poor diet, overuse of antibiotics, chronic stress, and environmental toxins such as pesticides, herbicides, and BPA (found in water bottles and canned food linings).
Is your gut balanced? If you experience any of the following, then your gut may need some attention:
- Acid reflux, burping, flatulence, bloating, digestive pain, or diarrhea
- Constipation (less than one bowel movement in a day or painful bowel movements)
- Mucus, undigested food, or blood in your stool
- Anxiety, depression, allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases, fatigue, frequent illness, headaches, trouble sleeping or skin conditions
Best Foods for a Healthy Gut
Add these foods to your diet to improve your gut health:
Fiber (pears, strawberries, avocados, apples, bananas, artichokes, oats, beans, and chia seeds)
Fermented foods (sauerkraut, tempeh, kimchi, miso, kefir and kombucha)
Ways to Reset Your Gut
- Drink warm lemon water first thing upon rising.
Drinking this when you wake up in the morning helps stimulate and lubricate the digestive system. The lemon also contains fiber that feeds good bacteria in the gut. - Take a probiotic supplement.
Probiotics are good bacteria for a healthy gut. Probiotics can help repopulate the gut’s good bacteria, restoring a healthy balance.
Read more about probiotics and prebiotics here.
- Cut artificial sweeteners.
Synthetic sweeteners like sucralose or aspartame can stress the gut. Try stevia, monk fruit or coconut sugar as gut-friendly alternatives. - Check for food allergies.
Some foods and substances like gluten, soy, dairy and some grains can cause digestive imbalance. Try eliminating these disruptors for a healthier gut. - Get your fiber.
High fiber foods like apples, berries, legumes, and leafy greens are great sources of fiber that the gut loves.
So give your gut to TLC, especially during this flu-season. You’ll be happy you did.
