5 Tips For A Healthy Gut
5 Tips For A Healthy Gut
I recently read a great article about how to improve gut health and I wanted to share some of the highlights with you. You can read the entire article HERE
Or, for those of you who just want the bullet points, here you go!
Maintaining a healthy gut has been linked to a wide variety of physical and mental health benefits, from improved digestion to reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety. But reaping those benefits isn’t quite as complicated as we make it... In fact, it just takes a few major everyday habits to keep your gut in tip-top shape.
Just taking supplements and not changing your diet and lifestyle is not the answer. I tried that. I also tried making a few changes and hoping the supplements would do the rest. They didn’t. At one point, I was taking over 30 supplements at EVERY meal. I was still sick. It really does take work. You have to be willing and ready to change. It is a commitment.
Here are some basic tips to get you started.
1. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Start your morning with 2 glasses of water. You have been all night with no hydration. Your system needs the water to get things moving properly. Try warm water with a slice of lemon to start off. Continue to drink purified water all day long. The goal should be for your urine to run clear!
2. Enjoy coffee
Surprised?? You can actually have your coffee and your healthy gut, too. In fact, coffee can benefit your gut with healthy acids, like chlorogenic acid, and polyphenols, antioxidant compounds that have prebiotic properties (meaning that they feed the good bacteria in your gut). The issue with coffee is not the coffee, it’s what we add to it, so black coffee is the way to go in order to reap the gut-boosting rewards.
3. Make a killer lunch salad
Diet is the main determinant of your gut microbiome. Our gut microbes want fiber. It’s scientifically proven that the single greatest predictor of a healthy gut is a diversity of plants in one’s diet. So when you build your daily food routine around a salad for lunch, you have an opportunity to really build the foundation of a healthy gut on a daily basis. You should fill your bowl with as many plants as possible, particularly leafy green vegetables (think spinach, lettuce, kale, collard greens, and Swiss chard). Greens have virtually no calories and tons of nutrition.
I had a very difficult time digesting salads and raw veggies when my gut was really bad. I found a great way to get those phytonutrients and antioxidants on a daily basis through whole plant concentrates (ASK ME) which really helped me heal my gut so I could eat more salads!
4. Break a sweat
I’m not going to tell you HOW to break a sweat, just know that you need to sweat. Exercise has been found to help IBS symptoms, and research shows that athletes who optimize their diets for digestive health performed better. I don’t understand the science behind it, but research does show that changes occur in the gut microbiome as a result of exercise which leads to you getting more beneficial health-promoting nutrients from your food. So, find a way that works for you to get some exercise that will cause you to sweat. Sweating also helps eliminate toxins through your skin, so break a sweat in whatever way works for you!
5. Fasting
Follow an eating schedule that aligns with the rise and fall of the sun. Our gut microbes follow a circadian rhythm. Our gut needs to rest, and it does that naturally once the sun goes down. So, to support that, simply cut out late-night snacks and beverages. No food or drinks other than water after dinner and dinner should be around 6 pm. Then, nothing else until morning.
I actually do a **10-day cleanse**every month to help rid my body of toxins, and to reset healthy eating and lifestyle habits.
You can learn more about the microbiome and the importance of having a healthy gut here.
If you have any questions or just want to know more, please reach out. I am here to help! I will personally answer your email or you can set up a free consultation call.
Here’s to a happy, healthy gut!!
