Heal Your Gut Naturally: 5 ways to restore gut health fast
Did you know your gut is home to trillions of bacteria? Those bacteria impact many aspects of your health including your mood, skin, and ability to fight infection. New research shows the massive connection gut health has to many body systems, making it a vital and often underlooked aspect of general wellness.
Symptoms of an unhealthy gut
Bloating
Gas
Constipation
Diarrhea
But what about the signs that aren’t so obvious? Many health concerns correlate to your gut microbiome. Sometimes an unhealthy gut is sneaky and you aren’t even aware of it.
Lesser-known symptoms of an unhealthy gut:
Mood disorders: There is strong evidence supporting gut health and brain function, including the body’s ability to manage mood and stress-related disorders like anxiety and depression with better gut health.
Poor concentration: Your gut produces hormone and neurotransmitters that directly correlate to your mood and cognitive abilities, including concentration. Your gut health is so important it can even impact your memory and learning ability.
Sugar cravings
Acne and Inflammation
Chronic fatigue
Weight gain
Having a healthy gut is essential, not only for relieving unwanted symptoms, but also to decrease inflammation, improve mood, and have more energy throughout the day.
What causes an unhealthy gut?
There are many factors that play a role in gut health. One of the biggest contenders is nutrition. If you aren’t eating a healthy, varied diet, your gut health will begin to deteriorate. The good bacteria in your gut love nutrients from whole foods, while sugar and processed foods fuel the bad bacteria residing your tummy. Other causes of an unhealthy gut can include:
Stress
Certain medications (antibiotics can be especially triggering to the GI tract)
Alcohol
Lack of sleep
Food sensitivities
How to get a healthy gut
Since gut health has such a widespread effect on your overall health, a healthy gut is an important step to take to improve your health. There are many ways to heal your gut naturally and heal gut inflammation. Not only will these practices heal your gut lining, but they don’t require a prescription and can be done right now with no waiting time. By focusing on the health of your gut, you can bring your body and GI tract back into balance with a little upkeep.
5 ways to improve gut health
Eat a healthy diet
Easily the most important aspect of gut health, a healthy diet builds up the good bacteria in your gut and limits the bad. With fiber and nutrients from whole foods, your body can fight off inflammation and keep you healthy. Focus on eating more fiber and vegetables, adding in healthy fats, and eating lean protein.
Exercise
An overlooked aspect of gut health is movement. Exercise supports the body in detoxification and decreases stress, which is a major factor in gut health. Exercise has even been shown to increase the numbers of good bacteria in the gut. By getting regular exercise, you are supporting your gut in returning to a state of balance.
Manage stress
Stress is detrimental to all aspects of health. Work to include stress relief activities into your day, even if it’s only for a few minutes. Meditation, taking a bath, getting enough sleep, journaling, and practicing yoga can all help decrease your stress levels if done consistently. Pick something that feels good for you and commit to doing it.
Identify your food triggers
What may trigger some people and cause GI symptoms, may not be an issue for other people. While these food triggers may not be inherently bad for your gut health, they may throw you into a spiral of GI symptoms, like gas, bloating, and changes to your bowel movements. This is where an elimination diet may be helpful. In an elimination diet, you eliminate any suspect foods for at least 4 weeks, then reintroduce them one-at-a-time, to see if the symptoms return. With an elimination diet, you begin to see what foods trigger you.
Some common triggers for people include dairy, processed foods, gluten, and soy.
Eat mindfully
Eating slowly and with mindfulness helps reduce stress and calm an upset stomach. Often overlooked in our fast-paced society, slowing down and learning to enjoy your food can be a great way to heal your gut faster.
Best foods for gut health: Your gut healing diet plan
Now that you know some daily actions you can take to improve your gut health, let’s talk about the best foods for gut health. These foods support healing within the intestinal tract and promote balance within the body. Eating a variety of these foods will help soothe your stomach lining and decrease any unwanted symptoms.
Yogurt
Kefir
Kimchi
Almonds
Olive oil
Garlic
Ginger
Brussel sprouts
Kombucha, a fermented tea drink
Bananas
Some of the worst foods for gut health include added sugars, processed foods, and artificial sweeteners.
Gut healing supplements
If you want to boost your gut’s self-healing ability and ramp up the number of good bacteria you have, try adding in one of these supplements for support.
Collagen powder
Probiotics
L-glutamine
Marshmallow root
Licorice
However you look at it, gut health is imperative to wellness. There are many ways to improve the health of your gut. Adding in certain foods and avoiding others can do wonders. By understanding the signs and symptoms of an unhealthy gut, both the obvious and the less obvious, you will start to see how to treat your symptoms and improve your gut health. Improving your diet is the first line of defense when working to heal your gut, but there are many other ways to increase the good bacteria and minimize the bad, including getting regular exercise, managing stress levels, and identifying food triggers.
Sources:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28767318/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5794698/
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-1-4939-0897-4_16