While most people would assume that they would like a healthy gut, it can be difficult to know what having a healthy gut means or what it takes to improve gut health. Improving your gut health can involve many different steps that work to balance the right bacteria and microbes in your digestive tract. If you are actively looking to improve your gut health or are simply trying to find out more about what having a healthy gut means, this guide is here to help.
Why Is Gut Health So Important?
Before outlining the best ways you can improve your gut health, it is first useful to outline some of the reasons why gut health is so important. As bioxcellerator explains, the health of your gut can have a big impact on your overall wellbeing. In fact, having a healthy gut has been found to link to a stronger immune system and improved mental wellbeing, a healthier heart, and a more effective digestive system.
Now that you understand more about why the health of your gut is important, it is time to focus on how you can start improving your gut health today.
- Eat Right
The first and most obvious step that you can take to improve the health of your gut is to improve your diet. When you are looking to improve your diet for gut health, you should focus on eating more fiber. Fiber is a type of plant-based nutrient that reduces the risks that come from metabolic diseases by stimulating the diversity and growth of good bacteria in the gut. Some foods that are high in fiber include sweet potatoes, spinach, carrots, fennel, and whole grains.
When you are looking to improve your diet for your gut health, you should not only focus on eating more fiber but also on foods that are high in probiotics, such as yogurt, kimchi, kombucha, kefir, and sauerkraut. Eating more probiotic-rich foods will help to increase good bacteria in your gut and reduce the chances of incurring digestive issues.
- Reduce Alcohol Intake
Studies have found that high alcohol intake can incise the risks of gastritis, which is an irritation in the gut that can lead to heartburn, chronic discomfort, ulcers, and bacteria infections. Drinking too much alcohol can also lead to intestinal inflammation, which damages the balance of healthy gut bacteria.
- Take Regular Exercise
Taking regular exercise has been found to promote the natural diversity of healthy gut bacteria. The best form of exercise for a healthy gut has been found to be longer workouts on a squat rack with pull up and high-intensity aerobic training.
- Reduce Stress
You might have heard the gut be described as the second brain, and there is a good reason for this. There is a strong connection between the mind and the gut. In fact, gut issues such as IBS have been found to increase the chances that you will experience some form of mental health disorder. This connection between the mind and the gut means that reducing stress levels can help you to maintain optimal gut health.
