Gut health has been a hot topic recently. When you think of gut health, you might just think of how your body digests food, but it goes so much deeper than this. I thought at first that gut health was only how your body digests food and ways to feel less bloated. I didn’t pay a lot of attention to gut health simply because I wasn’t having any digestive issues. Sure I was bloated from time to time but only when I would eat processed foods.
I came across an article linking gut health to mental health and I was intrigued. Turns out, your gut health is linked to so much more than just how your body is digesting food. Your gut microbiome is made up of hundreds of different types of bacteria. Your gut should contain different types of good bacteria. Good bacteria have been linked to better moods/mental health, better immune health, weight loss, and decrease in certain disorders.
Since I have a history with depression, I was very interested to learn about this link with gut health. The only problem, I didn’t know how to tell if I had gut health issues or if my gut was fine. So, I did some digging! Here are a couple of things that might indicate your gut needs some help:
- Digestive issues
- Weight fluctuations
- Sleeping issues
- Constantly tired
- Skin issues
- Weak immune system
- Food intolerances
- Depressed feelings
As you can see, your gut is connected to so many different things than just an upset digestive tract. I definitely have some sleeping issues, constantly feel tired, and I do deal with depression. I want to clarify that healing your gut will not by any means make depression go away. When your gut is healthy, the correct amount of serotonin is produced and keeps your mood stabilized.
Since I have a few of these symptoms that might mean my gut needs some work, I have decided to get very intentional with healing my gut. But how do you heal your gut?
Clean Up Your Diet
This one might seem very obvious. The more sugar and processed foods you are eating, the worst it is for your gut. Eating a diet with lean protein and plenty of vegetables is recommended. While I try to cook all our meals and stay away from as many processed foods as I can, it doesn’t always happen. My life is hectic so some meals are going to contain processed foods. I try to limit them and I try to stay away from fast food! Some other foods that are amazing for your gut are:
- High fiber
- Garlic
- Onion
- Fermented foods
- Collagen rich foods
Reduce Stress
I think to live just a healthier life in general, stress should be reduced as much as possible. It is such an easy thing to say but such a hard thing to put into place. Stress is something that affects everyone. Finding ways to reduce stress can not only help your gut, but just your overall quality of life.
Get Enough Sleep
Everyone should be sleeping between 7 – 8 hours of sleep a night. Once again, getting adequate sleeps helps not only your gut, but your overall quality of life. It can be hard to get eight hours of sleep a night, at least it is for me! But I can say that when I get a full eight hours of sleep, I feel so much better!
Probiotic/ Prebiotic
Taking a good quality probiotic and prebiotic can really help your gut! A probiotic provides good bacteria for your gut while a prebiotic is food for the bacteria. Be careful when choosing a probiotic. For a probiotic to be effective, it needs to be able to bypass your stomach acid and make it to your intestines. I plan on purchasing a probiotic very soon once I finish up some research on them. There are a lot of good brands out there and I will make sure to share those! Also, a good probiotic sometimes includes a prebiotic in it!
For me, healing my gut comes with everything I am trying to encompass this year. Eating healthier and non-toxic food is my big focus for myself this year. Plus, I had already had a probiotic on my radar. Also, this year I am trying to take better care of myself through self-care which involves getting enough sleep and reducing my stress levels.
If you are wanting to heal your gut I would suggest starting with something simple, like getting eight hours of sleep. That is something you can do with no help and it’s straight forward. I would also suggest reducing stress anywhere you can because that is another thing you need no help with.
When it comes to food, some things can be tricky. It’s easy to start with eating more lean meats and high fiber foods, but you might need to talk to a health care professional about food intolerance or irritations you may have.
While this is a bit of an overview of gut health, this will definitely be an area I will be discussion further as I move along my journey!