10 Ways To Keep Your Gut Healthy

10 Ways To Keep Your Gut Healthy

Guys! Have you heard of gut feel, before?

Did you know that our digestive system – our gut, has a nervous system of its own and is capable of sending emotional signals to our brain?

No wonder, what we eat effects our moods and choices.

If you don’t eat right, your brain is unable to attain its optimal state of functionality and can affect your physical and mental wellbeing.

So, here are 10 ways to keep your gut healthy, for a fit body and a robust mind.

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10 Ways How You Should Look After Your Gut

When someone wants my advice over healthy eating, I do not straight away, tell them to focus on vegetables and organic foods.

Instead, I always insist them to work on their digestive health, as the primary step.

Our gut contains a wide variety of microorganisms, which help us with:

  • Normal functioning of the digestive system.
  • Absorption of nutrients from the food, which we eat.

A poor gut can cause serious ailments like:

  • Food intolerance (lactose or gluten)
  • Gas
  • Bloating
  • Diarrhea
  • Constipation
  • Leaky Gut Syndrome
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Nutrient deficiency

Now that you know, why you should be looking after your gut, let’s find out how you should do it.

10 Ways How You Should Look After Your Gut

When someone wants my advice over healthy eating, I do not straight away, tell them to focus on vegetables and organic foods.

Instead, I always insist them to work on their digestive health, as the primary step.

Our gut contains a wide variety of microorganisms, which help us with:

  • Normal functioning of the digestive system.
  • Absorption of nutrients from the food, which we eat.

A poor gut can cause serious ailments like:

  • Food intolerance (lactose or gluten)
  • Gas
  • Bloating
  • Diarrhea
  • Constipation
  • Leaky Gut Syndrome
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Nutrient deficiency

Now that you know, why you should be looking after your gut, let’s find out how you should do it.

  1. Include Probiotics In Your Diet
  • Our bowels depend upon the balance between the good and the bad bacteria in the gut.
  • The good bacteria build-up gut immunity and help to eliminate toxins from our body.
  • Since, probiotics are live forms of these good bacteria, they aid in the food digestion cycle and make our system sturdy.
  • By incorporating a diet rich in natural probiotic supplements, we tend to increase the quality and quantity of the good microorganisms.
  • They soon, outnumber the bad guys, later on stopping their invasion in an effective manner.
  • Some natural probiotics are fermented foods like:
  • Tempeh
  • Yogurt
  • Sauerkraut
  • Kimchi
  • Kefir
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  1. Bring Down Your Stress Level
  • The walls of the intestine are lined by millions of brain cells.
  • This makes the brain and the gut to be very closely associated.
  • For this reason, mental or physical stress can hamper the way, your gut works.
  • Some of the tactics, which can prove beneficial for reducing stress and bump-up your gut health can be: 
  • Meditation
  • Essential Oil Therapy
  • Workout routines
  • Consuming stress-relieving foods
  • Laughter
  1. Eat Enough Magnesium
  • Magnesium helps in activating many digestive enzymes.
  • If the enzymes remain inactive, it becomes difficult for our body to digest our food, completely.
  • Deficiency of magnesium can cause digestive issues such as constipation and abdominal spasms.
  • You can go for magnesium supplements or naturally available magnesium-rich foods like: 
  • Whole grains
  • Beans and nuts
  • Green leafy vegetables

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  1. Beware Of Too Much Antibiotics
  • It’s easy for a physician to hand out an antibiotic prescription in common conditions such as bronchitis, cold and flu.
  • What we don’t know is that, these drugs kill the good bacteria of the gut along with the bad bacteria.
  • This imbalance in the fauna of the gut may easily affect your health.
  • Try taking up alternative forms of antibiotics, when sick.
  • It is necessary to build a strong immunity system to keep these drugs at bay.
  1. Keep Out Sugar
  • In the gut, sugar can facilitate harmful Candida albicans to cause problems like leaky gut syndrome as these organisms feed on the sugar in your body.
  • Avoid consuming processed foods and soda drinks as they spike the sugar level in your blood.
  • Try using alternative natural or organic sweeteners such as jaggery, honey or maple syrup, whenever possible.

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  1. Switch To A High-Fiber Diet
  • A high-fiber diet can be obtained from whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits.
  • When the fiber reaches your gut, it helps in promoting a good bowel movement.
  • It lowers the chance of constipation, hemorrhoids and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). 
  1. Detox Your Gut Regularly
  • This is an important step to cleanse your digestive system, so that any toxin clogged inside can be easily thrown away.
  • Some foods are natural detoxifiers. These can be: 
  • Green leafy vegetables like spinach, cabbage, kale, broccoli and mint
  • Turmeric powder
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Psyllium husk
  • Fresh ginger
  • Fermented foods
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  1. Eat Only Healthy Fats
  • Healthy fats are necessary for a smooth bowel movement and easy functioning of the digestive system.
  • Try not to consume vegetable oils or other processed fats as they may contain components that can hamper your health.
  • You can obtain healthy fats from:
  • Coconut oil
  • Olive oil
  • Fermented Cod liver oil

(TIP: These fats should never be heated or used in cooking.)

  1. Drink A Lot Of Water
  • The quantity of fluids in your body is a critical factor for determining the quality of the digestion process.
  • Drinking lots of water dissolves fats and soluble fibers and leads to a healthy and obstruction-free gut.
  • Try to keep yourself hydrated by following a timely schedule and not just having your sip when you feel thirsty.

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  1. Keep A Tab On Your Weight
  • Obesity can damage the spectrum of gut bacteria.
  • Skip bad habits like too much smoking or consuming alcohol.
  • Make a workout plan which fits in your daily schedule.
  • This can eliminate constipation easily.

The Takeaway

It might sound crazy, but the invisible ecosystem thriving in your gut effects the way it works.

So, follow these 10 strategies for a healthy and strong gut.

Remember, whatever we eat will reflect on the health of our digestive system!