Beth A happy and healthy gut is SO important to your body’s wellbeing. Your gut is not just in charge of your metabolism but also your immune system. Everything is interlinked.
Here’s why a healthy gut is so important
A healthy gut bacteria improves the absorption of nutrients from the food you are eating (sounds like a good thing.) It also helps boost your metabolism. Alongside this, a healthy gut improves your body’s ability to fight off infections.
Each person’s gut microbiome is unique. It has been influenced by your genetics, the environment you live in, any medications that you take (like anti-biotics, contraceptives, ibuprofen), and your diet.
There isn’t much we can do about your genetics, however, we can look at factors that you can control.
How you nourish your body is something that’s within your control. If it can make a difference it’s worth a shot, right?
More about the impact of diet
It’s not much of a surprise that highly processed foods that are high in sugar and laden with man-made chemicals, damage your gut microbiome. They cause inflammation in your system which in turn impacts the effectiveness of your immune system and your body’s ability to prevent chronic diseases.
It’s certainly in your best interests to look after your gut!
How do we keep our gut healthy?
We often hear the word probiotic thrown around, your doctor normally recommends you take some probiotic capsules whilst on a course of antibiotics. This is because when you take antibiotics, the medicine doesn’t pick and choose which bacteria are killed in your body. As a result, it kills many of the good bacteria that your body relies on to thrive.
Probiotics are foods that naturally contain live, active bacteria that replenishes the good bacteria in your gut.
It’s important to include these probiotic-rich foods in your diet. It will only help you keep you and your gut happy.
Probiotic rich foods that you can include in to your healthy lifestyle include:
- Yogurt
- Kefir
- Kombucha tea
- Kimchi
- Miso
- Sauerkraut
Now have you heard of prebiotics?
Prebiotics are a source of food for the good bacteria in your system.
You have foods that are rich in prebiotics. These foods all contain something called soluble fiber. This is a type of fiber that doesn’t get digested in your small intestine (where most of your food is digested.) Instead, it makes its way into your large intestine where it gets fermented, this provides food for your healthy bacteria.
Prebiotic rich foods that you can include in to your healthy lifestyle include:
- Apples
- Garlic
- Onions
- Leeks
- Banana’s
- Spinach
- Strawberries
- Olives and olive oil
Important to note: if these foods are not a normal part of your diet a sudden increase in these foods can cause a bit of gas (due to the fermentation that happens in your large intestine), so introduce these foods in small amounts first. As your tummy gets used to the nourishment you can increase the intake.
It’s our job to nourish the good bacteria in our systems with whole foods that are high in nutrients and don’t contain any artificial ingredients!
References:
Shreiner, Kao, Young. 2016. The gut microbiome in health and in disease. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4290017/
The Nutrition Source, 2020. The <Microbiome. Found at: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/microbiome/
Dr Hyman, M, 2018. How to feed your gut. Found at: https://drhyman.com/blog/2018/04/13/how-to-feed-your-gut/
Slavin J, 2013. Fiber and Prebiotics: Mechanisms and Health Benefits. Found at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3705355/
Zinocker, Lidseth. 2018. The Western Diet–Microbiome-Host Interaction and Its Role in Metabolic Disease. Found at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5872783/
