Your gut has trillions of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and yeast, collectively known as the microbiome, or ‘gut flora.’ By increasing the number of friendly microorganisms while reducing the bad bacteria, you can have a stronger immune system and better overall health.
Here Are A Few Easy Steps To Restoring The Health Of Your Gut
Start With A Healthy Diet
The health of your gut largely depends on what you eat. The key is fiber, hence, consuming a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables is a must and reducing refined processed foods is also crucial.
When strategizing a healthy diet, many people tend to cut out carbohydrates. However, the key here is moderation. While excessive consumption of carbohydrates can be harmful to your health, there are some nutrients your body needs from these foods in small portions.
Eliminate Food Allergens
An unhealthy gut can be caused by certain foods that are generally okay to eat but do not suit that person’s particular constitution. Start with an elimination diet that excludes common allergens like gluten, dairy, corn, and soy and see if that makes a difference.
Then, reintroduce the eliminated foods one by one to see which of them is not suitable for you. This strategy is recommended by doctors across a variety of specialized fields, as it’s a practical, tangible way to identify the exact cause of your sickness.
Consume Prebiotics & Probiotics
Prebiotics are made of fiber that acts as food for the microbiome, thus incorporate prebiotic-rich foods like garlic, onions, bananas, asparagus, oats, apples, and flaxseeds. Your body is always working to maintain a healthy status-quo, but illness disrupts this.
Prebiotics and probiotics work to restore and sustain your body in a healthy state of homeostasis.
Probiotics are the good bacteria that already resides in your gut and to increase the amount of good gut flora consume probiotics in the form of supplements or as fermented foods such as yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, or kefir.
Beyond maintaining the wellness of your gut, probiotics are noted as having other health benefits, too. Many people experience increased energy and glowing skin as a result.
Exercise & Sleep Well
Exercise and sleep have both been proven to have a significant impact on both the quality and the quantity of the good bacteria in the gut. You don’t need to be a pro-athlete to have a healthy gut, but some form of daily physical exercise is recommended alongside a diet rich in fiber.
Lack of sufficient sleep is another factor that contributes to an imbalanced gut flora. Because of this, it’s important to limit late nights and instead adopt proper sleep hygiene.
Minimize Antibiotics
While antibiotics kill the harmful infection-causing bacteria, they also wipe out a large number of the good bacteria that protects the gut. Prolonged use of antibiotics can cause irreparable damage to your microbiome.
When antibiotics are needed, ask your doctor to also recommend a probiotic supplement that can replenish the bacteria that gets destroyed by the antibiotics. Again, the goal is getting your body to a consistent, healthy status-quo. As antibiotics destroy some of the bacteria you need, it’s necessary to respond with a supplement.
Reduce Stress
Managing stress levels is another important component to the health of your gut. There are all kinds of circumstantial stressors that we encounter throughout life. “Stressors” are the stimulants that prompt the sensation of stress, and can be things like relational issues, financial concerns, or an overwhelming workload.
Stress effects your health in a number of ways, and one manifestation is the suffering of your intestines. Minimizing stress can be difficult and isn’t always a clear-cut path. It might require you to have hard conversations, simplify your life, or cut out toxic environments. Still, your gut can’t be truly happy and healthy if you’re harboring undo stress.
A “Gut Feeling”
Maintaining a healthy gut is one of the essential steps to sustaining good health. The best strategy to strengthen your gut is to adopt a healthy lifestyle. There is no quick fix to instantly arrive at a healthier version of yourself.
Instead, health is holistic, and requires careful consideration and discipline across multiple facets of life. A “gut feeling” is literally the right feeling when it comes to the growth of your microbiome because a healthy gut translates into a healthier you.
You can find much more information on living a holistic lifestyle in these free magazines and on our YouTube channel.
Erika Long loves corgis, curry and comedy. Always searching for the next great snuggle, flavor or laugh, she inspires people to live their best life now. When not writing, Erika can be found at her local brewery dominating Harry Potter trivia night.
