You might have heard about how gut health is affecting your overall well-being and you as a person and how to improve gut health. Gut health is the coordination of the microorganisms inside your body.
Yes, the microorganisms live on your skin, tongue, throat, colon, and other organs of your body. It is the chemical reactions made by these little creatures that define how you and your body function.
There are several ways of determining your poor gut health, the primary being the nature of your stool. If you feel frequent changes in your stool, there is a high chance that your gut health has gone for a toss.
Gut health and proper balance of the microflora play an important role in a person’s overall health and keep him or her away from diseases especially autoimmune diseases.
How to improve your gut health?
You have analyzed your situation and are pretty much sure that your gut health has gone for a toss. Examples include poor digestion, constipation or loose stools, bloated/belching belly, autoimmune conditions such as Hashimotos, alopecia, and many more.
In this article, I will help you understand how you can improve your gut health as well as the effect of certain foods on your microflora.
Check your fiber intake
Modern lifestyles and diets have affected the food we are consuming and the majority of people are lacking in many nutrients. One of them is Fibre.
Fiber is a carbohydrate and it has tremendous benefits. It does not affect insulin, it helps in lowering cholesterol, it helps in smooth functioning of the intestines, and many more.
Fiber is food for gut bacteria and plays an important role in multiplying the good bacteria and slowing down the growth of the bad bacteria.
Best sources of fibre include fruits and vegetables, salads, nuts and seeds, and psyllium husk (supplement)
Stay away from processed foods as much as possible
Human evolution has advanced so much from our primitive counterparts. They didn’t have microwave ovens, storage appliances such as refrigerators, etc. They had to hunt for food on a daily basis.
The benefits of this include regular physical activity, eating fresh food every time, and the psychological benefit of winning something each day (in this case it’s food), and this all led to good sleep.
Modern lifestyle introduced refrigerators for storing food for days making it a convenient option for the Millenials. There are numerous benefits but I strongly advise only storing the food that is meant to be refrigerated and still trying to eat freshly cooked meals all the time.
Coming to processed foods, ready-to-cook meals, high sugar foods, and foods with a high level of preservatives and other chemicals do more harm to the body than any good, so avoid them at all costs.
Get enough sleep
If you have read or your grandma had told you to sleep 8 hours a day at least, then you can relate to this point.
I would suggest keeping a sleeping routine on a daily basis is more beneficial and of course, sleeping 7 to 8 hours is icing the cake. For the sleeping routine, try to go to bed at the same time at night and wake up at the same time during the morning every day to maintain a healthy sleep cycle.
Millennials today are very ambitious and they are almost working late nights or the youth today indulged in consuming too much social media content that they are not able to keep a track of their sleep.
It’s tempting to dive into Instagram reels or Youtube shorts and videos but if it goes out of control, then it’s a cause of concern.
Your body heals itself while you sleep and it happens during the time of deep sleep (REM sleep). That’s why it’s said that you break your body during the day in the gym and your body is built while you are asleep.
Getting enough sleep is essential in lowering your stress levels, repairing your body, and also helpful in protecting the microflora in your gut improving gut health simultaneously.
Avoid smoking, alcohol, and excessive sugar intake
This one is similar to the 2nd point above. Alcohol and sugar are both processed and can make your gut bacteria go out of whack, making you sick in the long run.
If you can avoid taking these, I would recommend not taking them at all but if you take them already, stick to low quantity and also low frequency if possible.
If you drink too much alcohol or consume too much sugar, it can lead to gut inflammation, resulting in gut bacteria imbalance.
Keep stress at bay
Easier said than done, stress is the most dreadful of all. A little bit of stress is healthy and is needed by the body and the mind to perform, but as it becomes chronic the story changes.
Our bodies were not designed to take chronic stress as today’s generation is taking. Stress comes with a variety of side effects and you would have observed that once you are under stress, the very first thing that is affected is your digestive system.
Stress also gives room for inflammation, causing your microbiota imbalance, and hampering your gut health.
I would recommend taking out at least one hour of your time daily to do some physical activity that you like, listen to your favorite music or do anything that you love to do (if in case you are stressed out from your office work)
Have an exercise routine
Like a sleeping routine, it is also needed to have an exercise routine in place. A physical workout is needed to maintain the balance of the gut bacteria.
Physical exercise lowers your stress and inflammation thereby increasing your circulation, strengthening your heart and muscles, and helping you sleep better.
Conclusion
I believe with so many benefits, you must make a note of doing physical exercise daily to keep your gut health intact.
Summarizing the above, it’s best to eat freshly cooked food and increase your fiber intake to make sure that your gut is healthy.
Next, the best thing is to have a sleep and exercise routine in place to keep your metabolism under check and keeping your stress levels under control.
If you are having any issues related to your gut health, feel free to reach me via my email for a consultation. I am a certified diet and nutrition coach and have helped more than 50 people with several conditions including Hypothyroidism, Hair loss, Diabetes, and many other health concerns.
Disclaimer – The tips given in this article are for informational purposes only. It does not intend to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult your dietitian and medical health practitioner before making any changes to your diet or before taking any supplements/medications.
Note – Storizen does not endorse any products recommended in this article. The view expressed is solely the author’s opinion about the subject.
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Read more stories in Storizen Magazine July 2022 featuring Vish Dhamija Now!
