The Ultimate Guide to Improving Gut Health Naturally
Your gut health is much more important than many initially give it credit for. Not only is vital for good digestion (which can become a luxury as we get older), but it also improves your immune system and even helps you sleep better at night. But what can you really do to impact your gut health naturally? Here, we’re going to look at a few practices that you should begin to incorporate into your own lifestyle.
Avoid The Usual Culprits
There are a few foods that seem to run count to all good health advice, and they apply when it comes to your gut health, as well. In particular, eating excessive amounts of sugary food, drinking soda, and eating highly processed foods can all feed some of the more harmful bacteria in your stomach, and can foster yeast growth, which in turn can be highly disruptive to your gut microbiome. The bloating you feel after lots of sugar is due in part to this.
Probiotics Are The Key
They might sound like a fad given how often they have been recommended but, given the widespread issue of gut problems amongst adults, the call for probiotics is practically a necessity for daily living. Incorporating foods like yogurt and kimchi into your diet can do a lot of good but, for most people, finding the best probiotic drink for gut health tends to be the most convenient way to get your daily fill. There are plenty of options and flavors on the market to find those that work best for you.
What About Prebiotics?
Probiotics are foods that contain beneficial bacteria that help you maintain your gut biome, ensuring that it’s able to digest effectively, pass food through more easily, and help you better break down and absorb the nutrients that you need. Prebiotics, on the other hand, which include foods like bananas and garlic, are foods that fuel probiotics. As such, if you’re eating or drinking probiotics, then it only makes sense to eat a banana before you do, as well. Given the otherwise high nutrition value of most probiotic food, it’s well worth the effort, anyway.
Avoid Habits That Impede Digestion
Gut health can be cyclical. If you have bad gut health, your digestion tends to suffer, but if you do things that worsen your digestion, then your gut health tends to get worse. As such, you should look into habits that improve your digestion overall. Stay hydrated so that your stomach gets the water content necessary to break down and better absorb foods (and to pass waste more easily). You should also practice mindful eating, taking the time to slowly and thoroughly chew your food, so that you feel full faster and avoid overeating, which overpacks your stomach and wreaks havoc on the microbiome.
You might not immediately notice the impacts of making the above changes but give it some time. Any complaints you have about your gut will start to dwindle, you’ll start sleeping better, and you might even find that you don’t get sick as often.
