Got health concerns? If so, learning more about vagal tone is also incredibly important to your overall health.
In recent years, the benefits of good gut health have become more clear. If your gut is healthy, you are more likely to maintain a healthy weight, sleep well at night, have a strong immune system, and be in a better mood – and that’s just or starters.
So, it’s clear that achieving good gut health should be the aim of anyone who takes their own health and wellness seriously, but how exactly do you do that? Read on to find out…
AVOID THE FOLLOWING
Although you can achieve good gut health on any diet from vegan to paleo, there are a few foods and actions that you should avoid if you want to get your gut as healthy as it can possibly be. They include:
Sugar
Sugar is one of the worst things you can eat if you’re hoping to boost your gut microbiome. Why? Because fungus and bacteria, such as Candida love sugar. If you provide them with a never ending supply, they will chow down and begin to thrive in your body. In fact, sugar is so loved by various gut bacteria that, if you eat a lot of it, it can actually change the composition of your gut microbiome and the way that it functions. This doesn’t mean that you can never eat sugar but make it a once in a while thing rather than a daily part of your diet.
Preservatives
Everyone knows that processed foods are far worse for us that healthy home-cooked whole foods, but did you know that processed foods can negatively affect your gut microbiome? The main reason for this is that processed foods contain preservatives like carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate 80, which are able to alter the composition of your gut’s microbiome. Regular exposure to them will hit your gut health hard, so be sure to check the labels on any packages food you do eat and where possible cook fresh healthy meals for yourself and your family.
Artificial Sweeteners
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to replace your sugar habit with lots of artificial sweeteners because they too are pretty bad for your gut microbiome and can make your belly really unhappy.
Artificial sweeteners can cause your gut’s microbiome to become unbalanced, promoting intolerance to glucose and other metabolic abnormalities which can lead to illnesses like diabetes as well as poor gut function. If you can eliminate them from your diet completely, you would be doing your body a huge favor.
Allergens
More than 50 million people in the USA suffer from at least one allergy each year, but because many of them experience only mild symptoms, a sizable percentage of sufferers do not even realize they have a problem. This is bad news for their guts because, if they ingest an allergen, it could cause painful issues inside the gut. That’s why you should check out these common allergy symptoms and signs, and if you think you could be allergic to a foodstuff, arrange a blood test with your doctor. It could make a huge difference to your wellness levels and give your gut a break.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics are often necessary and if your doctor thinks you need them, you should not avoid taking them, but on those occasions where they are not really necessary, you should perhaps, on the advice of you doctor, give them a miss because they often kill off good bacteria in the same quantities as bad, which can leave your gut in a bad place.
If you do have to take them, consider taking a probiotic supplement once you’ve finished your course of medication as this will help to repopulate your gut with the good bacteria it needs for optimum health.
Smoking
Giving up smoking is one of the best things you can do for your overall health, but not a lot of people know that it is also one of the best things you can do for your gut microbiome. Numerous studies have shown that smokers have gut microbiomes that are similar to people with IBS and obesity – which means they are not in the best shape. Once they quit, providing they eat a gut-healthy diet, they can improve their gut health significantly.
Stress
Did you know that many people refer to the gut as a second brain? Your gut and brain are always communicating with one another through the vagus nerve, and when you are stressed, this can have a negative impact on your gut. That’s why, if you’re experiencing digestive issues, as well as treating the gut, you should maybe try to give your brain a break by taking up meditation or pampering yourself with essential oils and a hot bath to bring your stress levels down. You might be surprised by how well it works.
DO THE FOLLOWING
Spend Time in Nature
In the recent past, humans have tended to migrate from rural locations to city metropolises. As a result, we tend not to have the same kind of connection with nature that we once did. This means we aren’t exposed to quite as many microbes as we once were and this is having a negative impact on our bodies, making us more likely to have allergies and poor immunes systems as well as poor gut health. By getting exploring forests, beaches, and rivers, we can expose ourselves to more microbiomes and increase our wellness levels significantly.
Exercise Regularly
You knew it was coming, right? It seems like exercise can improve your health and wellness in so many ways and your gut is no exception. If you work out regularly, the diversity of your gut’s bacteria will improve and this will help to improve your digestion amongst other things. You don’t even have to exercise particularly hard to see results – a simple walk or hog around the block will help just as much as a long sweaty gym session when it comes to boosting gut health at least.
