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Your gut is known as your second brain for a reason, home to a diverse array of microbes that play a vital role in our metabolism and overall health. Did you know that 70% of your immune system resides in your gut? Helpful bacteria feed on dietary fiber which helps with the production of vitamin B and K and the breaking down of fiber. It also helps with the release of a beneficial anti-inflammatory fatty acids that are vital for energy sources for our bodies.
Most of the time when your immune system is weak, it can be traced back to what is happening in your gut. Just knowing that allows you to change what you are putting into your body so you can enhance your immune health. For optimal immunity, detoxification and nourishment, your gut must be in balance. It’s that simple.
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Here are our Top 10 Tips on how to love your gut:
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| 1. Take a good probiotic daily before breakfast or before going to bed. We recommend you get advice from you GP on a good brand and as a general guide look for 50 – 100 billion CFU (colony forming units) and 20 strains of bacteria. |
| 2. Up your prebiotic food sources. What are these and why do you need them? To put it into simple words, prebiotics act as food for probiotics. They are a type of fibre. A few of these foods include asparagus, onion, garlic, bananas and apples. |
| 3. Fasting a few hours before going to sleep may be beneficial for your gastrointestinal tract, as your gut produces fewer substances to break down food overnight allowing your gut to function at its optimum internal rhythm. Intermittent fasting can improve gut motility, which is the contraction of the muscles in the gastrointestinal tract that allow food to move through the digestive tract. Allowing around 3 hours between meals allows full digestion of foods before re-starting the process. |
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4. Drink an adequate amount of fluid - approximately 2 litres a day, and this doesn’t just have to be water; milk, tea and coffee, among others can count too.
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5. Eat a diet rich in fibre – this can help prevent constipation. We need at least 30 g a day. Try switching to wholegrains, add in pulses, beans and nuts as well as at least five portions of fruit and vegetables each day. Limit your fruit intake to the first half of the day otherwise it can trigger sugar cravings later in the evening.
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5. Eat a diet rich in fibre – this can help prevent constipation. We need at least 30 g a day. Try switching to wholegrains, add in pulses, beans and nuts as well as at least five portions of fruit and vegetables each day. Limit your fruit intake to the first half of the day otherwise it can trigger sugar cravings later in the evening.
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6. Get your body moving – even low intensity exercises, such as walking, and swimming can help to get your digestive track flowing.
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7. Eat more fermented foods. The process of fermenting usually involves bacteria or yeasts converting the sugars in food to organic acids or alcohol. Examples include plain yogurt, sauerkraut and kombucha.
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8. Add a portion of good fats to your meal each day. These include avocados, olive oil and nuts and seeds.
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9. Reduce your junk food intake. We can’t stress this point enough. This would also include anything that’s highly processed or has a large amount of refined sugar.
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10. Drink 20 minutes before and after meals, not during. Liquids can dilute digestive juices, making your system work harder than it needs to.
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Taking a good health supplement that includes minerals and vitamins like turmeric or limiting reducing your stress levels as this is where Serotonin, (the happy hormone) is made will also aid the health of your gut. Take a look at our articles on both included in this month’s newsletter. If you incorporate these slight changes to your diet and lifestyle it will have long term positive effects on your overall immune system and health, there is simply no reason not to.
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