Why you should pay attention your gut microbiome
You may or may not have heard the term, 'your stomach is your second brain'. According to my.clevlandclinic.com, this is "because the
Our digestive system contains what is called a "gut microbiome", housing may different microorganisms, aka microbes, that flourish in our system(mainly in our gut) that can help us stay healthy. It helps our bodies digest certain foods, helps breakdown fiber, can effect our nervous system, and even helps the way our bodies fight infections, therefore playing a very important role in our overall health!
Like anything in life, if our gut microbiome is out of balance, things can get out of whack and you start feeling unwell and depending on how off balance you are, it can lead to disease. The following are a few ways you can keep your gut in check!
1. Diversify your diet: Incorporating a large variety of fruits and vegetables high in fiber along with nutrient rich foods can help diversify your microbiome, leading to a healthier gut!
2. Chew your food- With how busy our lives have gotten in society, many are guilty of eating too quickly causing your body to work much harder on digesting your food! Take the time to really enjoy your food and chew as much as possible. This in turn will ease your bodies ability to digest and properly absorb the nutrients it needs.
3. Eat more fermented foods- Foods that contain active cultures, Lactobacilli, like yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut are beneficial to your gut and can fight off disease causing bacteria from flourishing.
4. Eat minimally processed foods - Processed foods can contain nasty chemicals that can kill off our healthy gut microbiome! You do not have to cut it out altogether but minimising your intake can improve your guy immensely.
5. Take pre and probiotics- prebiotics and probiotics are very beneficial to a healthy gut as it restores healthy bacteria.
6.Take antibiotics only when absolutely necessary- Antibiotics are important when it comes to fighting off infection but sometimes it isn't always the answer. Antibiotics are known to greatly disrupt our gut microbiome. If and when you do take antibiotics make sure you take the precautions and take the steps you need to restore your guy microbiome.
The bottom line is our gut health is very important when it comes to our overall health and it is just as important that we take the time and steps to focus and invest in our nutritional health so we don't get sick as often! Make sure you talk to your doctor and nutritionist if you are concerned about your gut health.
references:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/improve-gut-bacteria#TOC_TITLE_HDR_10
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/gut-microbiome-and-health#TOC_TITLE_HDR_9
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/how-to-improve-gut-health