How to Improve Your Gut Health Naturally

Are you experiencing bloating, diarrhoea, or stomach aches frequently? Do you feel tired more often than usual? If you nodded along positively with concern, it could be due to poor gut health. The gastrointestinal tract is a crucial organ of our body that supplies us with essential nutrients, boosts our immunity, and houses good intestinal microbiota. The dietary requirements of the GI tract vary in various phases of life right from newborn baby, through infancy, childhood, adulthood, and elderly individuals. When your digestive health deteriorates due to bad gut bacteria, you suffer from a loss of appetite, nausea, bloating, abdominal pain, uncomfortable feeling of fullness after eating, malnutrition, diarrhoea, and unintentional weight loss. So, it is necessary to improve gut health and maintain it to live a healthy life.

For this purpose, World Gastroenterology Organization celebrates World Digestive Health Day on the 29th of May every year to raise awareness about a range of digestive ailments and conditions and the significance of caring for your digestive health daily. This year, World Digestive Health Day will be celebrated on 29th May 2023. The theme of this crucial global health awareness day is “Your Digestive Health: A Healthy Gut From the Start.” It focuses on the need of adopting healthy dietary measures to promote good gut microbiome health and optimal gastrointestinal function. It aims to help a greater number of people adopt healthy diets and lifestyles and improve their understanding of the significance of a healthy gastrointestinal tract. So, you might be wondering what dietary practices can help improve your gut health naturally, aren’t you? Learn all about gut health diet by reading this post below.

 

8 Simple yet Effective Dietary Practices to Improve Gut Health:

  1. Eat Plenty of Fruits, Legumes, and Vegetables:

Fresh fruits and vegetables are rich sources of nutrients that help you have a healthy gut microbiome. Although your body can’t digest the high fibre content in these foods, certain bacteria present in your gut can digest fibre that promotes their growth. Some fibre-rich foods good for gut health include raspberries, green peas, chickpeas, broccoli, whole grains, lentils, beans, and bananas. Eating a diet having ample fruits and vegetables also helps prevent the growth of some disease-causing bacteria. Apples, almonds, artichokes, pistachios, and blueberries help increase good bacteria, prevent inflammation of the intestine, and improve gut health.

  1. Choose Fermented Foods:

In the process of fermentation, bacteria or yeast break down the sugar in the foods. The fermented foods contain high levels of lactobacilli which is beneficial for gut health. So, plain yoghurt, fermented soy milk, kimchi, kefir, kombucha, and sauerkraut are some fermented foods that you can add to your diet. Yoghurt also contains less Enterobacteriaceae content, the bacteria associated with intestinal inflammation and chronic conditions. Yoghurt also helps reduce lactose intolerance symptoms, enhances the composition and function of the gut microbiome, and improves intestinal bacteria. So, plain yoghurt is one of the best foods for gut health.

  1. Enrich Your Diet with Whole Grains:

Whole grains are rich in non-digestible carbohydrates, such as beta-glucan, and fibre. Our small intestine can’t absorb these carbohydrates; so, they move to the large intestine where they promote the growth of good bacteria. The intake of whole grains increases satiety levels, reduces inflammation, and lowers the risk factors for cardiac disease. However, celiac disease patients and gluten-sensitive individuals should avoid whole grains containing gluten, such as wheat, rye, and barley.

  1. Prefer Plant-Based Diet:

Vegetarian or plant-based diets are beneficial for the gut microbiome. It can be due to the high fibre content in plant-based foods. Vegetarian diets may help lower the levels of disease-causing bacteria in obese individuals. It also helps reduce cholesterol levels, body weight, and inflammation. Plant-based foods are excellent sources of nutrients that can boost the levels of good bacteria, minimize the harmful strains of bacteria, and improve gut health. So, incorporate gut-healthy foods, such as fresh fruits, legumes, vegetables, seeds, and nuts, in your diet.

  1. Savour Foods Rich in Polyphenols:

Polyphenols are plant compounds that provide you with several health benefits. They help lower inflammation, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and oxidative stress. As our body can’t absorb polyphenols efficiently, we can’t digest them. So, most polyphenols move to the colon, where gut bacteria digest them. This helps increase good gut bacteria, minimizes the levels of bad gut bacteria, and improves your gut health. So, add cocoa, dark chocolate, almonds, blueberries, grape skins, red wine, broccoli, and onions to your diet. What’s more, they also help reduce triglyceride levels and C-reactive protein which is an indicator of inflammation.

  1. Flavour Your Culinary Delights with Spices:

Coriander seeds, garlic, ginger, fennel seeds, turmeric, and other spices not only add flavour to your cooking preparations but also are foods to improve gut health. They help you eliminate harmful bacteria in the gut without hampering the good bacteria. Coriander seeds soothe stomach disturbances, prevent or eliminate gases in the gut, protect you from some allergies, and maintain good gut health. They provide you relief from bloating, diarrhoea, gas pains, and ulcers. Cinnamon is an ideal option when you are down with gut infections. It helps support good gut bacteria growth.

Fennel seeds are good solutions for stomach cramps, gas, indigestion, and bloating. They soothe the muscles of the gastrointestinal system, provide you with anti-inflammatory benefits, and prevent the risk of bowel diseases. Including freshly grated ginger in your diet can help minimize nausea, increase bile production and saliva, ease stomach pain, reduce bloating and gas, and offer relief from motion sickness.

  1. Limit or Avoid Artificial Sweeteners:

Artificial sweeteners impact the gut microbiome negatively. They not increase blood sugar levels but also alter human microbiomes in a way that can modify blood glucose levels. The pathogenic ability of gut bacteria increases due to the consumption of sweeteners. Medical studies found them to get attached to, invade, and kill gut epithelial cells that line the intestinal wall. So, artificial sweeteners can be one of the worst foods for gut health.

  1. Go for Prebiotic Foods and Probiotics:

The intake of prebiotics promotes the growth of good gut bacteria. These foods are prominently complex carbs or fibre that human cells can’t digest. Some bacteria species break them down and utilize them as fuel. Whole grains, several fruits, and vegetables contain prebiotics. Some prebiotics also helps lower triglyceride, insulin, and cholesterol levels in obese individuals which helps prevent cardiovascular conditions and type 2 diabetes.

Also, increase your intake of probiotics which help improve your gut microbiome. Simply, by adding more yoghurt to your diet, you can improve your gut health.

While you eat these various gut-healthy foods, you need to avoid consuming certain foods that can hamper your digestive health. Fried foods, red meat, heavily processed foods, alcohol, and an excess of soda and coffee are some of the worst foods for gut health.

Now that you know which dietary practices can help improve your gut health, incorporate them into your daily diet. Let’s spread the word about these beneficial diet tips to improve digestive health naturally this World Digestive Health Day so that a maximum number of people can benefit from it. The guidance of certified nutritionists, such as health experts at Health Total, can help you have a customised gut health diet plan for the best positive outcomes. Our diet plan not only helps improve your gut health but also meets all your nutritional requirements, boosts immunity, manages weight, and prevents or lowers potential health risks. We also offer integrated treatment with diet, homeopathy, and Ayurvedic solutions to improve your digestive health naturally. So, hurry up, reach out to us at Health Total and enjoy improved gut health and immunity with our personalized gut health diet plan.

Sign up for a FREE consultation with Health Total experts to get more tips for improving your digestive health with diet or managing any other health condition. Call toll-free at 1-800-833-171709 and Book Free Consultation!

June 8, 2023