Ironically, we’ve found that some of the info out there about gut health can be a little hard to digest. And that’s just not right. Your gut and how well it’s doing its job can have a knock on effect in many other parts of your body. After all, it’s where all the nutrients from the food and drink you consume are absorbed so it’s definitely something that’s worth taking care of. Here’s our top tips for making sure your gut has got the best chance to do what it does best.
Up Your Fibre Intake
Making sure you’re getting enough fibre is a great way to improve your gut health. Fibre is the part of the food we eat that can’t be absorbed by our gut – but it has the important job of keeping food moving through our digestive tract. Foods like whole grains, vegetables, legumes, and fruits are all great sources of fibre. Did you know that there’s two different types of fibre? Soluble and insoluble fibre both help keep your gut healthy in different ways. A healthy balance of both means more consistent stools (sorry, had to go there) and can help you avoid diverticulosis, hemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome. They can even help you keep a healthy weight. Oats are a great source of both kinds of fibre – and contain a special type of fibre called beta glucans which can even help you reduce cholesterol. If only there was a reliable provider of high quality, delicious, natural oat products available in all good supermarkets… Hmmm.
Avoid the baddies
The fact that the following things aren’t good for your gut will probably come as no surprise! Fatty foods are terrible for slowing down the digestive process and making you feel blocked up. Healthy fats are an integral part of a balanced diet, but be sure to combine it with healthy fibre to keep it moving through your digestive system Smoking, alcohol and caffeine can really mess with your gut too and are often the culprits of heartburn or ulcers.
Stay hydrated and eat regularly
Arguably the simplest habit you can practice every day that will do wonders for good gut health is to drink plenty of water. All that fibre we mentioned earlier? The soluble stuff pulls in water through the colon in order to help it do its thing. Keeping a regular meal schedule can help too. Eating and snacking at irregular times can cause your stomach to overwork leaving you with that bloated feeling of indigestion. Eating breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same time each day can help regulate your stomach into knowing when it’s time to digest your food.
Don’t Stress
So far we’ve focussed mainly on things that you eat and drink which affect your gut, but what about your emotions? Yep, there’s a strong link between gut and brain and believe it or not, stress can seriously affect our gut health. Whether its at work or at home, stress can be both a symptom and a cause of bad gut health. Stress can cause us to overeat or reach for the ‘easy’ high-fat, high-sugar options which in turn affect our digestive system in the negative ways we’ve already discussed. Conversely when our gut is struggling (for other reasons) it can cause us to feel anxious, stressed or even take a dip in our mood.
Have you got any tips of your own? Life hacks, quick wins, superfoods that have changed your life… we want to hear them. Get in touch with us via our social channels to let us know your personal advice for getting a good gut feeling.
