How To Improve Your Gut Health
Nov 21, 2024
Gut health is the current hot topic, with lots of new information, tips and tricks circulating about how you can improve your gut health. The influx of health information can be confusing, which is why we have put together our top 5 tips to help you support your gut!
Why Is Gut Health Important?
Your gut does more than just process food—it also influences your immune system, mental well-being, and energy levels. A healthy digestive system ensures efficient nutrient absorption and waste elimination, but its impact goes beyond the stomach. The gut-brain axis, a communication network linking your gut and brain, plays a vital role in regulating mood, stress, and cognitive function. Prioritising gut health through a nutrient-rich diet, probiotics and a healthy lifestyle supports this critical connection, promoting both physical and emotional wellness.
How Can You Improve Your Gut Health?
There are many things we can do to improve our gut health, however the best solution for you will depend on a variety of factors, and there is no "one size fits all" approach to gut health. If you are experiencing uncomfortable digestive symptoms, it is always important to speak with a healthcare professional as they will be able to determine the cause of your symptoms as well as the best way to treat any underlying causes. But if you are just looking to improve your general gut health, here are a few tips that can help:
1. Take A Probiotic
Our digestive system consists of trillions of microorganisms that are essential in aiding digestion and help keep us healthy - we can also introduce new gut healthy bacteria to our diets by incorporating probiotic rich foods in our diet. Fermented foods like sauerkraut, yoghourts, kombucha, kefir, kimchi and pickles are healthy foods that contain naturally occurring probiotics. Probiotics can also be taken in the form of a supplement, if you want to learn more about supplements that can help support gut health, click here to read our blog about gut health supplements!
2. Eat More Fibre
You may already know that fibre is important in supporting digestion, not only can it provide bulk to stools, but fibre also acts as food for our healthy gut bacteria! Microorganisms in our guts feed on dietary fibre, so although it is important to include probiotics, we also need to consume a high fibre diet to ensure that our gut microbiome can thrive! Fibre rich foods include plants such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains.
3. Eat A Varied Diet
Variety is key in promoting a healthy gut microbiome! A variety of different plants can provide fibre, as well as different nutrients and beneficial compounds. Research has shown that individuals who consume a wider variety of plants have more diverse gut microbiomes. So although eating any plants is a good start, make sure to not stick to the same fruits and vegetables on rotation, get as many different types of plants in, this also includes nuts, seeds, beans and legumes!
4. Reduce Your Intake Of Harmful Foods
Some foods and drinks such as those containing refined sugars and alcohol can be detrimental to gut health - not only can they impair the growth of healthy gut bacteria, but they can also promote the growth of harmful bacteria. It is recommended to limit your intakes of ultra processed foods as these are often stripped of a lot of their nutritional value and oftentimes contain artificial sweeteners and other additives that can be detrimental to gut health.
5. Other Lifestyle Factors
It’s not just diet that affects our gut health - other lifestyle factors such as our exercise routines, sleep schedules and our surrounding environment play a role. Even psychological stressors and mental health disorders can negatively impact gut health! Even if you have the perfect diet, it is important to have healthy habits to further support optimal gut health!
The bottom line
It is important to note that everybody is different, and there is no one size fits all approach to improving gut health. Consistently including foods that contain probiotics and fibre, and keeping a balanced and varied diet that limits ultra processed and refined food ingredients can help us maintain a healthy gut and a regular digestive system. However, it is also important to promote an overall healthy lifestyle to further support a healthy gut microbiome!
