A healthy gut plays a big part in your overall well-being. When things are out of balance then you will not absorb as many nutrients from your food and become prone to conditions like Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome. They also think that your gut health can have an impact on your mental health, as the gut communicates with our brain. It can cause issues such as depression and anxiety.

The gut is the whole gastrointestinal tract which includes the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine. Depending on your lifestyle choices you might need to improve your gut health. There are a few ways you can do this:

Love Your Microbiome

Research has indicated that having bacteria in the gut is vitally important for gut health. The good bacteria has lots of health benefits, such as reducing inflammation and lowering the chance of obesity. It is all about getting the balance right. A simple way to achieve this is by using supplements as they can restore the balance especially after an illness. If you are planning on getting supplements make sure you check out what savings you can make with a Total Restore Coupon. Supplements can be expensive to buy because of the cost of the ingredients and the innovation behind the formula. Therefore it makes sense to look for offers whenever possible.

Cut Down On Unhealthy Fat

Fat in processed food can have a negative effect on your gut flora. So, try and stick to healthy fats only, by eating foods such as nuts like walnuts and almonds, oily fish and avocado. Olive oil can also encourage the growth of probiotic bacteria and help eliminate bad gut bacteria.

A High Fibre Diet

A diet high in fibre can be very beneficial for our digestive system. Eating lots of wholegrains, vegetables (particularly avocados) and fruits (especially apples) can prevent constipation. People with constipation have more methane producing bacteria, the effect of this is slower transit time in the intestine.   Apparently, Americans fibre intake is 40 to 50 percent less than it should be.

Mindful Eating

How many of us are guilty of bolting down our food to get on to the next activity. Especially my two teens to get back to their consoles! It’s actually better all round to take your time when eating. One way to do this is to count your chews. All the extra chewing can actually help increase blood flow to your gut to it can work more efficiently.

Ease off the Antibiotics

When your ill see if your body can fight off the illness on its own first, don’t go straight to the doctors for antibiotics. Always bare in mind that with viruses antibiotics are ineffective.

Antibiotics will get rid of the good bacteria as well as the bad bacteria in your body. Unfortunately it can actually take your gut a month or two to recover good bacteria after a course of antibiotics. In that case its a great idea to have supplements for gut health to quickly restore the balance as a month or two is a long time to wait!

Drink More Water

Water can help move nutrients around the body. The source of water can also have an influence on the diversity of bacteria in the gut. Bottled water can contain microplastics which can promote inflammation and impact your gut health. Thankfully tap water even with chlorination has been shown not to have a significant impact on the development of gut microbiome. Well water has been proven to increase the diversification of bacteria in the gut but it can also be contaminated with very dangerous bacteria.

Become More Active

Make sure you exercise regularly as “exercising causes important changes that help gut microbes to bloom and convert, and, coinciding with that, we get molecules our bodies can utilize,” Dr. Valentino says.

Spend More Time Outdoors

To get diversity in your good bacteria its important to spend time outdoors in nature. There are a few ways it can help, such as going for walks more rurally means a break from pollution in cities. Children in Finland who spend lots of time outdoors in Forest Schools has led to a healthy diversity of microbes.

Quit Smoking

Smoking reduces bacterial diversity in the gut. Nicotine stimulates the colon which will impact the moving rate of the food material within. Quitting smoking with help all aspects of the gastrointestinal tract. For example, smokers produce less saliva which can make bad bacteria grow in the mouth. In the stomach smokers have an increased production of acid, which can lead to ulcers.

Manage Stress

Stress can impact gut health because your body will carry stress signals through the gut. It’s a good idea to manage your stress levels. Doing some of the above like getting outdoors in nature and exercising will help reduce stress levels. But if you are still struggling talk to a professional. Signs that stress is impacting your gut health are bloating, stomach ulcers and constipation.

How will you know if what you are doing has worked?

You can soon identify if the changes you have made have improved your gut health. You should now have regular bowel movements, plenty of energy and a normal amount of gas.