Five Ways to Good Gut Health
A healthy gut can improve your health in five ways - mood, sleep, nutrient absorption, immunity and weight management (check out this link for details). Here are the five key things you can do to keep abundant friendly bacteria in your gut.
Focus on wellness
The first way is via behaviours that promote general wellness. A healthy lifestyle contributes to a healthy gut, and in an upwards spiral a healthy gut then rewards you with further good health. Physical activity brings blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria. A healthy gut is better able to regulate melatonin and cortisol, assisting with sleep and stress management which then promote beneficial bacteria.
Eat a wide variety of whole foods
The second way to promote good bacteria is by eating a wide variety of whole foods. Most people are aware of the relationship between dietary fibre and good digestive health but the benefits of a plant-based diet are much greater than just keeping regular. The foods you eat help good bacteria grow and a diverse gut flora is a healthy one. The greater the variety of plant-based foods you eat, the greater the variety of types of bacteria you can promote.
Reduce processed foods
The third way to promote good gut health is by reducing processed foods. While whole foods promote diverse variety of good bacteria, fake foods destroy good bacteria and feed bad bacteria. If you want to keep your equilibrium it’s important to choose foods as close to their natural state as possible, avoiding additives, preservatives, unhealthy fats and sugars. When choosing packaged products look for a short ingredients list without too many numbers and words you can’t spell.
Increase probiotic foods
The forth way to promote good bacteria is to increase your intake of probiotics. We usually only think of adding probiotics when the doctor suggests a pill to counter the effect of antibiotics. Taking a supplement is certainly an option, but why would you do that when you can eat nutrient-dense foods that can benefit your health in so many other ways and maybe even stop you getting sick in the first place. Focus on unpasteurised fermented foods such as kefir, kimchi, kombucha, miso, saurkraut, tempeh and yoghurt.
Increase prebiotic foods
The fifth way to promote good bacteria is to increase your intake of prebiotics. Prebiotics are a type of fibre that act as food for the probiotic bacteria, they are fertilizer for the gut. Examples of prebiotic foods are apples (particularly apple cider vinegar), bananas, asparagus, beans, chickpeas, garlic, jerusalem artichokes, leeks, lentils, nuts and tofu.
Different sorts of probiotic and prebiotic-rich foods contain different strains of probiotic so it’s important to consume a variety of them across the week. I recommend you eat three different types probiotic and prebiotic foods each day, and six different types of each across the week. A wide mix of plant-based gut-health promoters will optimize your energy, vitality and health.
Focus on wellness
The first way is via behaviours that promote general wellness. A healthy lifestyle contributes to a healthy gut, and in an upwards spiral a healthy gut then rewards you with further good health. Physical activity brings blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria. A healthy gut is better able to regulate melatonin and cortisol, assisting with sleep and stress management which then promote beneficial bacteria.
Eat a wide variety of whole foods
The second way to promote good bacteria is by eating a wide variety of whole foods. Most people are aware of the relationship between dietary fibre and good digestive health but the benefits of a plant-based diet are much greater than just keeping regular. The foods you eat help good bacteria grow and a diverse gut flora is a healthy one. The greater the variety of plant-based foods you eat, the greater the variety of types of bacteria you can promote.
Reduce processed foods
The third way to promote good gut health is by reducing processed foods. While whole foods promote diverse variety of good bacteria, fake foods destroy good bacteria and feed bad bacteria. If you want to keep your equilibrium it’s important to choose foods as close to their natural state as possible, avoiding additives, preservatives, unhealthy fats and sugars. When choosing packaged products look for a short ingredients list without too many numbers and words you can’t spell.
Increase probiotic foods
The forth way to promote good bacteria is to increase your intake of probiotics. We usually only think of adding probiotics when the doctor suggests a pill to counter the effect of antibiotics. Taking a supplement is certainly an option, but why would you do that when you can eat nutrient-dense foods that can benefit your health in so many other ways and maybe even stop you getting sick in the first place. Focus on unpasteurised fermented foods such as kefir, kimchi, kombucha, miso, saurkraut, tempeh and yoghurt.
Increase prebiotic foods
The fifth way to promote good bacteria is to increase your intake of prebiotics. Prebiotics are a type of fibre that act as food for the probiotic bacteria, they are fertilizer for the gut. Examples of prebiotic foods are apples (particularly apple cider vinegar), bananas, asparagus, beans, chickpeas, garlic, jerusalem artichokes, leeks, lentils, nuts and tofu.
Different sorts of probiotic and prebiotic-rich foods contain different strains of probiotic so it’s important to consume a variety of them across the week. I recommend you eat three different types probiotic and prebiotic foods each day, and six different types of each across the week. A wide mix of plant-based gut-health promoters will optimize your energy, vitality and health.