This page goes over the basics of what gut health means, why it is important, and what you can do to improve your gut health.
Why Gut Health is Important
How to Heal Your Gut Naturally With Functional Nutrition by Dr. Jaime Cloyd ND
- “As science has turned more attention to the power of a healthy gut and microbiome, it becomes clearer that many diseases are fueled by intestinal inflammation, poor digestion, and imbalances in the gut microbiome.”
What does a Holistic Approach Mean?
“ Holistic medicine and health practices go beyond treating only the physical symptoms of a problem. A holistic approach addresses the whole person, including the body, mind, emotional health, nutrition, and lifestyle practices. Although it varies, a holistic approach may use both conventional and alternative modalities to promote health. Rather than just treating the symptoms, a holistic gut health approach aims to solve the core, underlying issues behind those symptoms. In gut health specifically, dysbiosis is sometimes the cause of digestive issues. A holistic gut health approach involves examining how lifestyle impacts the gut microbiome.”1
Signs and Symptom
1. 10 Holistic Ways To Improve Gut Health – Vanessa Jane Menge – ZYCH
- There are several signs that may indicate the presence of an unhealthy gut or gut imbalance. A few indicators of an unhealthy gut include:
Digestion issues, such as upset stomach, bloating, stomach pain, gas, diarrhea, and constipation, can be signs of an unhealthy gut
Unintentional weight loss may indicate poor nutrient absorption potentially related to digestive conditions or a gut imbalance.
Mood issues can present when you have a gut imbalance. Your mood can be directly affected by an imbalance in your gut microbiome, which in turn affects your gut-brain axis. - Food intolerances may indicate a gut imbalance and may be a sign of digestive conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
Causes
How to Heal Your Gut Naturally With Functional Nutrition
- Diet
- Stress
- Dysbiosis
- Medications
- Environmental toxins
What You Can Do About It
10 Holistic Ways To Improve Gut Health
Supplements
- Vitamin D – Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased intestinal permeability. Supplementation and optimization of serum vitamin D levels regulate intestinal mucosal homeostasis by maintaining the integrity of the epithelial barrier and suppressing pro-inflammatory immune responses.
Adjust your diet
- The food you eat can directly affect your gut microbiome, and can actually change the make-up of your gut bacteria instantly. Increasing the diversity of your gut bacteria can positively impact not just your gut health, but overall health as well.
Here are a few ways to change your diet to improve gut health:- Increase your intake of plant-based whole foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes, nuts, and seeds
- Eat more prebiotics such as artichokes, bananas, asparagus, apples, leeks
- Try probiotic-rich fermented foods such as kefir, sauerkraut, and kimchi
- Reduce your intake of refined sugars
- Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids, such as fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines)
Take probiotics
- If you’re wondering how to increase good bacteria in your gut naturally, probiotics may be your answer. Probiotics contain live bacteria, often referred to as “good bacteria,” that have a positive effect on the microbiome, gut health, and digestion. Probiotics are present in certain foods, especially in fermented foods, such as
- Kefir
- Yogurt
- Kimchi
- Sauerkraut
- Kombucha
- Miso
Manage stress
- Managing stress is one of the most effective methods for how to improve gut health. Your brain communicates with your gut due to the gut-brain axis, especially when you are stressed. This is why certain digestive conditions, like IBS, can be triggered when a person is significantly stressed or anxious. Stress can worsen feelings of abdominal pain, bloating, and nausea. Stress can also affect your bowel habits, and may even lead to either constipation or diarrhea.
Stress management is an essential holistic gut health approach. - Possible ways to reduce stress include:
- At-home yoga
- Meditation
- Breathing exercises
- Getting adequate sleep
- Regular exercise
- Self-care practices, such as reading a book, taking a bath, and relaxing
Hydrate your body
- Dehydration has a negative impact on your gut health and may cause constipation, nausea, bloating, stomach ulcers, and acid reflux. These are just a few reasons why proper hydration is a holistic gut health approach. While the most obvious piece of advice to stay hydrated is to drink water, you can also hydrate your body by:
Eating hydrating foods, such as watermelon, cucumbers, and strawberries
Avoiding or limiting your intake of alcohol and caffeine
Infusing water with fresh fruit or herbs to make it more flavorful and hopefully help you drink more of it.
Decrease inflammation
- Inflammation is a natural response from your body to respond accordingly to injury or infection. However, chronic inflammation is when inflammation lasts for a long time – usually measured in months or years. Chronic inflammation can be caused by a poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, and other lifestyle factors and stressors. Conditions related to chronic inflammation include heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and digestive conditions like celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and IBS.
- A holistic gut health dietary pattern can help mitigate inflammation:
- Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, mackerel, walnuts, chia seeds).
- Reduce omega-6 fatty acid intake (soybean oil, corn oil).
- Manage blood sugars by replacing refined grains and sugars with high-fiber whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
- Eat foods that support a healthy immune system.
- Consume foods high in antioxidants, such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, oranges, leafy greens, artichokes, beets, dark chocolate, and walnuts.
Reduce or eliminate alcohol intake
- Tips for how to improve gut health wouldn’t be complete without advising you to reduce or eliminate alcohol intake. Excessive alcohol consumption can prevent your body from producing digestive enzymes that help your body break down and digest the nutrients in food properly. Excessive and chronic alcohol intake can also promote gut inflammation and dysbiosis, or an imbalance in the gut microbiome.
Get plenty of exercise
- Regular exercise is a holistic gut health approach and a helpful method for how to increase good bacteria in your gut naturally. Exercising has a slew of health benefits, including heart disease and cancer risk reduction, blood sugar and insulin regulation, improved mood and mental health, better sleep, stronger bones and muscles, and better gut health. Studies have shown that exercise can modify the gut microbiota and increase the diversity of bacteria in the gut, which has numerous health benefits for the entire body.
Stop smoking
- An essential tip for how to improve gut health is to stop smoking if you currently smoke. Smoking has a detrimental effect on the digestive system in various ways. Smoking increases the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), specifically Crohn’s disease. Smoking increases the likelihood of having heartburn or developing peptic ulcers and makes it more difficult to treat both of these conditions. Smoking is also a risk factor for digestive system-related cancers, such as esophagus, stomach, pancreas, and colon cancer.
Chew food completely
- The digestive process begins as soon as you start chewing. Chewing food breaks large particles down into smaller particles, and the more you chew, the more the food particles are broken down, making them easier to digest. Chewing also releases saliva, which contains digestive enzymes that help break down food even more, aiding the process of digestion.
Get plenty of sleep
- If you’re wondering how to increase good bacteria in your gut naturally, aim for 7-8 hours of sleep nightly. A 2019 study found that those who slept more had a more diverse gut microbiome. Why is this important? Having a diverse microbiome has a positive effect on overall health.
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