Simple Ways to Improve Your Gut Health & Digestion
Gut health is a hot topic these days, and rightfully so. A lot of health, weight and chronic issues are largely influenced by the health of your gut and how well your microbiome and digestion work. Want to lose weight? Optimize your gut health. Want to feel more energized and less fatigued? Check your gut health. Feeling bloated, gassy and having digestive problems? Work on your gut health.
You get it :).
And since what you really care about is HOW to improve and optimize your gut health and therefore your digestion, weight, energy, focus, etc., below is a list of my TOP tips I share with clients and use for myself to help my gut health stay up to par and working like a gem:
SLOW DOWN + CHEW YOUR FOOD
How we eat our food makes a huge difference in how we digest, process, absorb and eliminate our food, nutrients and waste. Digestion starts as soon as we start to salivate from our food, and since our stomachs don’t have teeth to break it all down, it’s so important to optimize your digestion by slowing down and chewing your food thoroughly. The smaller you mush it down the better, because you body will have less work to do, and therefore more energy and less bloating and indigestion.
DRINK WATER THROUGHOUT THE DAY- BUT MINIMALLY DURING MEALS.
Think of your digestive system as a fire, so when you’re gulping down a bottle of water with your salad or burger, you’re dampening the digestive fire, making it less efficient, which can leaven food sitting, which leads to poor digestion, bloating, gas and discomfort.
INCORPORATE FERMENTED FOODS INTO YOUR DIET
Our microbiome, the colony in our guts that contains trillions of bacteria, is a key player in gut and digestion health, and it feeds off of fermented foods. To help to maintain a healthy balance, we need to consistently boost the good bacteria and probiotics in our guts. Fermented, pro-biotic-rich foods include low-sugar yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, tempeh, kombucha… but these foods help to feed and support the healthy bacteria in your gut.
TAKE A PROBIOTIC SUPPLEMENT
To me, this one is a no brainer, because it’s the best way to ensure you get the right quality and amount of pre and probiotic strains, which can definitely be tricky when just relying on food. A synbiotic is the ideal option, because it is a combination of pre and probiotics, and the prebiotics feed the probiotics, which in turn feed and support the micorbiome. THIS is the one I personally take and swear by, and you can get 15% off your first order with code: MELISSAH. Regardless of what you take, just make sure it’s a reputable brand that does not have other fillers and ingredients it doesn’t need.
LIMIT HIGH SUGAR + HIGHLY PROCESSED FOODS
As opposed to the good-for-your-gut foods listed above, there are certain foods, like highly processed snacks and foods that contain added sugar, refined oils and genetically modified ingredients that actually feed the bad bacteria and can lead to a major imbalance in the gut and ultimately all those issues we previously discussed.
It does not have to be difficult or overwhelming to optimize your gut health and digestion, but its require you to be more mindful and aware of what you’re choosing to put into your body. And with the help of probiotic supplements, you can boost your health in a much easier, simpler and even more effective way.
Remember, if you’re interested in trying Seed: make sure you take advantage of the discount here with code MELISSAH. I do get an affiliate kickback, but you also get a nice deal :).
