How to Maintain Good Gut Health

Keeping Belly Bacteria Balanced Is Key

Your gut is house to trillions of bacterial cells, many of which perform vital functions to keep your body functioning and your health in great condition. These bacteria, alongside fungis and infections, comprise your gut microbiome. A healthy microbiome is a balanced microbiome. A lot of bad or opportunistic microorganisms and you’re at an increased threat of inflammation and illness.

Our basic tips will help you develop a better gut. Check your gut health status with the Atlas Microbiome Test.

These foods and supplements contain live bacteria that can benefit our health. The bacteria in your gut make up an extremely essential ecosystem, and if this ends up being upset, it can cause irregularities in its composition and diversity. There are many things in life which can have negative consequences on your gut bacteria and digestive health.

Gut Health – Latest News

Live fermented foods are great sources of natural probiotics that you can eat and drink. Researchers think these traditional foods may play an important role in human health. Probiotic foods Probiotic food ingredients Cheese, yoghurt Dairy products including milk and cream Sourdough bread Flour and water Lacto-fermented pickles Saltwater brine (not vinegar) and vegetables like cucumbers Sauerkraut Cabbage and salt A good gut diet requires lots of dietary fibres, called prebiotics.

However, the Western diet is low in foods that promote healthy gut flora, but high in fat, meat, and refined sugar. Ultimately, this affects our health by reducing healthy gut bacteria and increasing our risk of weight gain, metabolic problems, chronic inflammation, and disease. Fortunately, it’s an easy problem to solve because your gut bacteria love edible plants. Alsana has been helping patients in St. Louis to achieve better health through their eating habits.

Basically, a high-fibre diet is key to a healthy microbiome. Who knew that getting the heart pumping and the sweat pouring was good for the diversity of your microbiome? Well it is, and here’s why. Research has shown that individuals who lead a sedentary lifestyle have a less diverse microbiome.

5 Simple Habits That Boost Gut Health

How the food you eat affects your gut – Shilpa Ravella for Ted Ed But don’t despair, there are simple things you can do about it. Athletes, for example, have a more diverse gut than nonathletes. But you don’t need to be an Olympian to make a difference. Walking, jogging, and dancing all count, just aim for 150 minutes each week alongside some strength exercises.

Stress negatively impacts many aspects of our health including physical, mental, and even gut health. Your microbiome doesn’t just affect your intestines, it influences other organs, including your brain. If you’re feeling stressed out, your microbes can feel it too. It can even decrease the abundance of important probiotic bacteria like Lactobacillus.

That’s because your gut microbes influence stress levels and mood hormones. Alleviate your stress by avoiding unnecessarily demanding situations, and try some techniques like breathing exercises and meditation. Sugar is everywhere, even when you can’t taste it. Sadly, refined sugar can upset the balance in your gut and your metabolism.

Eat This For: Optimal Gut Health

Soft drinks, processed foods, takeaways, and restaurant food can contain high levels of sugar because it helps balance flavour and cover up poor quality ingredients. But don’t get these sugars confused with complex carbs (in edible plants) that your gut bacteria need to thrive and survive. Sugar-free alternatives have been branded as a better option than sugar, but when it comes to your intestinal health, this isn’t strictly true.

Some studies have shown that they can actually increase blood sugar and increase the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Some fruit a downright attractive (and delicious too) It’s easy to reach for a non-sugar sweetener, but if you’re trying to lower your sugar intake, it’s worth considering reaching for a piece of fruit, some dark chocolate, or simply forgoing the syrup in your latte.

A lack of sleep often partners well with a poor diet, increased alcohol consumption, and weight gain. Research has shown that individuals who get a good forty winks have a more diverse microbiome. It also shows that sleep deprivation is bad for your brain. And when your brain isn’t happy, your whole body can feel it.

Signs Of A Healthy Gut

In fact, some beneficial bacteria, like Akkermansia muciniphila, actually enjoy a nice fast, and help strengthen the gut lining when they aren’t being fed by your food intake. There’s no need to be radical here, though, just lay off the midnight snacks and when you do eat, make sure you cram in wholesome plant-based carbs! Getting merry too often can have implications for your intestinal health, not just your head and your wallet.

It contains polyphenols, antioxidants that help protect you from inflammation and disease, and increase the abundance of beneficial bacteria. If you get red and blotchy when you drink, you might have alcohol intolerance. Check it with the Atlas DNA Test. We all love a good munch on something delicious, but snacking for the sake of it may not be promoting a healthy gut.

This is normal, but if you eat all the time, you’re actually prolonging this inflammatory state, increasing your calorie intake, and promoting weight gain. Luckily, there are a few simple hacks to solve the snacking. Non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory are painkillers that can alter the gut microbiome and lead to an upset stomach.

Why High Fiber Guts Are Good For Gut Health – Benefiber

They are used to treat pain by targeting inflammation, and are especially popular because they help relieve menstrual pain. However, even though they can produce short-term relief, chronic use can damage your gut lining and make your gut microbes sad. They irritate your intestinal lining, causing inflammation and even bleeding too – both of which are detrimental to this organ and your microbiome.

Feeling clogged up? Wait before you reach for a laxative. It might relieve the pressure, but it can also disturb your gut’s natural rhythm. Chronic constipation is bothersome, and poor dietary habits can mean you’re not as regular as you should be. However, long-term use of laxatives can leave you dependent on them and may also deplete your gut flora.

What causes constipation? – Heba Shaheed for Ted Ed If you’re experiencing constipation frequently and it’s not caused by an underlying medical condition, making changes to your lifestyle will help. Add more fibre to your diet, start exercising regularly, and try to maintain a daily toilet routine to stay regular.

How To Improve Your Gut Microbiome In A Day

Greasy, processed food goes hand-in-hand with a boozy night out. Put them together and you have a recipe for digestive mayhem. We’ve all been there and eaten something which just didn’t agree with our gut. Bacteria is a common cause of food poisoning with symptoms like vomiting, diarrhoea, and incapacitating stomach cramps.

That’s why proper food handling and hygiene in restaurants is critical. But is it though? When in doubt, trust your gut (not your hungry brain) So it’s worth considering the possibility that your dodgy Saturday night takeaway may be a culprit in temporary digestive discomfort. When pathogens invade, they rapidly multiply and produce toxins.