Why do we care so much about Gut Health anyway?
We have trillions of bacteria, good and bad, living in and on us. Collectively they are called our microbiome. From the discovery and research of these little gut bugs, we have learned that what we eat influences which bacteria grow and multiply. Each different bacteria exhibits a different influence on our health. The more variety of different bacteria we have in our gut, the healthier we are. That is why it is important to eat a variety of different foods! The two main things we are trying to do when looking at improving gut health is increasing variety of bacteria and maintaining integrity of our digestive tract.
I have recently created a blog that goes more in-depth on this topic. I will link it below for you to read.
Top Ten Tips to Improve Gut Health
If you are brand new to the topic of gut health, here are a few signs and symptoms that your gut may need a little TLC:
- Constantly tired
- Brain fog
- Your digestion isn’t the greatest (constipation OR diarrhea)
- You’re always bloated, no matter what you eat
- You have strange rashes that wont go away
- Acne, eczema, psoriasis
- You get migraines
- Bad period symptoms
- Poor sleep, insomnia, interrupted sleep
- Mood swings
- Depression
- Anxiety
Gut health shows up in plenty of different ways because it is connected to every body system. Please note that it doesn’t matter what assault you’ve done to your body and your gut up to this point. It takes as little as 3 days to drastically change the make up of your gut microbiome. Today is your day 1. You body wants to heal. We just need to give our bodies what it needs to do this.
What are PRObiotics?
Probiotics are the good gut bacteria that we want in our digestive tract. You probably recognize the word from supplements that you see in the store. While I do love a good probiotic supplement, (my fave is linked here) incorporating fermented foods in your diet everyday, will help increase the variety of the bacteria in your gut. Incorporating fermented foods into your diet can be more beneficial for your gut health than a supplement alone.
What are PREbiotics?
Prebiotics are the food that the PRObiotic bacteria love to eat. In short, prebiotic foods contain fiber that pass through your digestive tract and make it all the way to your distal colon for these bacteria to feast on. This is what we want. The bacteria then create byproducts called short chain fatty acids which have all kinds of health promoting benefits.
What influences the health of our gut is what we eat, drink, think AND do! That can be a lot to take in, but the first place we always start is nutrition.
Top SIX Gut Healing Foods to Eat Everyday
- Mushrooms – any and all kinds button, morel, lions main, oyster, crimini. Mushrooms are a super food. Each variety of mushroom will influence a different kind of bacteria in your gut, but the important thing to know is that they affect the bacteria robustly! Here is a study looking at how mushrooms influence gut health:
The Interaction between Mushroom Polysaccharides and Gut Microbiota and Their Effect on Human Health
- Sauerkraut – Fermented food is the powerhouse for good gut health. Fermented food contain a live culture of bacteria. You will always find these foods refrigerated. Heat will kill the bacteria. Other examples of fermented foods are yogurt, cottage cheese, kefir, kimchi, miso, and kombucha.
Fermented Foods, Health and the Gut Microbiome
- Asparagus – Contains inulin fiber. A prebiotic fiber. The kind that your good gut bacteria love to eat. This will help keep levels of the good probiotics thriving in your gut. Inulin is a soluble fiber that draws water into your bowel and will make it easier to have bowel movements.
- Oats – Oats also contain a prebiotic fiber that nourishes and restores healthy gut bacteria. It is important to get whole, rolled or steel cut oats since these ones contain the outer layer of the grain, which is where all the nutrients and fiber are found. A great addition to your breakfast. Either cooked or added to a smoothy.
- Flax seeds (linseeds) – any kind of seed really. Sunflower, chia, pumpkin, etc. Seeds contain fiber and healthy fats that our gut bacteria love. Fiber is a theme here. With flax seeds, it is important to ground them first before eating otherwise, they’ll pass right through you undigested and you wont get the benefit of the fiber or the omega 3 fat.
- Green bananas – The greener the banana, the more resistant it is to digestion. That means it will make it to our good gut bacteria in our distal colon undigested for our bacteria to feast on. Our bacteria love this. Don’t let anyone ever tell you not to eat a banana because of its high sugar content. Just go for the greener side.
What you eat will directly influence your gut health. Focus on incorporating more whole foods, fermented foods and prebiotic fiber, and you will notice a difference in as little as 3 days. Need help with this? Reach out on the socials or shoot me an email to connect. I’d love to help you improve the health of your gut and your overall health.