A healthy gut is a major key to your overall health and wellness. One of the best things you can do for your health is to eat and drink in a way to support the health of your gut. A healthy gut will properly absorb nutrients from our food, giving us the energy we need to feel great. The majority of our immune system resides in our gut as well as billions of bacteria that hold a connection with our brain and have the ability to influence our personalities.
Here are five things you can do to help your gut health.
Eat vegetables or fruit with every meal
Vegetables and fruit are extremely important for digestive health and many of us are not eating enough of them. They contain many properties that support bowel motility and feed the colonies of friendly bacteria. Vegetables and fruit contain soluble and insoluble fibre which help move things along comfortably. Soluble fibre is the soft gummy fibre which helps to create soft formed bowel motions. Insoluble crude fibre helps to create bulk and stimulate motility. Fibre and the colourful antioxidants in vegetables and fruit are also important for feeding healthy bacteria. These friendly colonies play many roles in protecting us from various diseases. Feed your friendly gut bugs with bright colourful plant matter to keep them healthy and happy.
Drink plenty of pure water throughout the day
Water is an essential nutrient needed in the body daily for normal function. It’s also absolutely essential for efficient digestion and the processing of food.
When we’re dehydrated, the colon will squeeze additional fluid out of the digestive tract to supplement fluid needs for normal daily functions. Mild dehydration can lead to hard stool that is difficult to pass, which can disrupt regular bowel motions as well as create bloating and flatulence.
As a guide, aim to drink approximately 30mls of water per kilogram of body weight of water throughout the to support adequate hydration to encourage healthy regular bowel motions. This is just a guide so listen to your bodies thirst signals and drink when it’s telling you to and adjust upwards if you’re engaging in physical activity.
Reduce added sugar
Everyone can benefit from eating less sugar. Added sugar refers to what’s added in processed and packaged food as well as sauces, dressings, confectionery, and sugar in tea or coffee. These refined sugars have no regular place in a healthy diet and are damaging to human health.
Added sugar from the diet feeds nasty bacteria and yeasts in the gut and can lead to the imbalance of friendly versus unfriendly microbial species. Bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine is a known to cause of multiple food intolerances. Particularly, bloating soon after eating in the middle region can be a sign of intestinal bacteria imbalances.
Reducing sugar supports good digestive health by aiding in restoring the balance of friendly bacteria. leading to better digestion.
Regular movement, especially gentle movement first thing in the morning, can help to stimulate regular motility and support efficient digestive processes.
The digestive system has its internal “brain” which is referred to the Migrating Motor Complex (MMC). This is the neural wiring which helps the digestive system to coordinate its movements with each meal. Daily movement also helps to stimulate the MMC and coordinate digestive motions.
If you struggle with regularity, try implementing movements such as stretching, walking, or tai chi into your morning routine.
Limit raw nuts, hard seeds, and pits
If you have sluggish digestion and are prone to bloating. Hard seeds, raw nuts, skins, and pits may be too much work for your system to handle. While these plant foods can be highly nutritious, without being able to chew and break them down well enough, they’re limited in their healthfulness.
If you’re prone to hard stools or have been diagnosed with diverticular disease, limit hard nuts and seeds to no more than one palm full per day. If you’re finding whole seeds and gains coming straining through your system, make some swaps at home. Raw nuts can be soaked to soften or pulverised into nut butters for better nutritional value. Hard grainy bread can be replaced for sourdough or cooked rice.
Dr Ron Goedeke
Dr Ron has been a member of the American Academy of Anti-Ageing Medicine since 1999. He has vast experience in anti-ageing, alternative medicine, and is at the forefront of this new field of medicine.
He has extensive experience treating patients with a holistic approach, combining nutritional medicine with bio-identical hormone replacement to help turn back the clock.
Dr Ron heads the Appearance Medicine and Wellness Clinic as well Biosphere Nutrition. https://www.biospherenutrition.co.nz