How important is Gut Health?
Our gut plays a major role in achieving optimal health, from our immune system to our mood. Sharing some helpful tips I found to keep our gut in tip-top shape:
Eat right: The foods you eat can feed the helpful bacteria and starve the less desirable bacteria. To make sure you are feeding only the helpful bacteria, eat things like plants, fruits, seeds and nuts. To starve the less desirable bacteria, minimize your consumption of processed foods, breads and pastas.
Fill up on prebiotic foods: Prebiotics are natural, non-digestible food components that promote the growth of helpful bacteria in your gut. To include more prebiotics in your diet, eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains such as bananas, onions, garlic, asparagus, wheat, oats and ancient grains like quinoa, millet or chia.
Avoid overusing antibiotics: Because antibiotics kill off all bacteria, it’s important that you only take them when necessary. If you do you have to take them, consider taking a probiotic supplement to promote the growth of the healthy bacteria.
Eat fermented foods: Fermented foods contain a healthy dose of probiotics—the good-for-you bacteria. These foods include: tempeh, miso, sauerkraut, yogurt, kefir, kombucha and kimchi.
Take probiotic supplements: Like fermented foods, probiotic supplements contain the “good” bacteria that help maintain a healthy ecosystem of bacteria in your gut.
Manage everyday stress: Reducing your everyday stress can help maintain the balance of beneficial bacteria in your gut. To promote a healthy balance, finding ways to manage stress is important. Things that have been shown to help reduce everyday stress include meditation, yoga, spending time with friends and family, adequate sleep, and aromatherapy.
For optimal health, make gut health a top priority. Specifically, work to maintain balance in your gut microbiome as it plays a role in many important body functions. Maintain balance by engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviors, and consider giving your gut a little extra TLC (e.g., take a probiotic) in addition to engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviors to help maintain the balance that is so critical for optimized health.