6 Top Tips for Nourishing your Gut Health
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How To Nourish Your Gut
Gut health has been a major focus in the health and wellness world recently.
Why would you want to nourish your gut in the first place? Because it influences how every single body system works, from your hormones to your nervous system and even your skin. So no matter what your health and fitness goals, taking care of your digestive health is critical.
Eat a diverse diet
When people talk about improving their diet, the focus is often on adding specific foods and cutting others out. But one of the easiest ways to nourish your gut is to add a greater variety of foods into your diet.
One of the indicators of gut health is gut microbiome diversity – in simple terms, how many different types of microbes live in your gut. If you have fewer types of microbes, you’re at a higher risk of developing chronic health conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.
But the greater the variety of foods that you eat, the more diverse the microbes in your digestive tract become. A good goal to start with is to aim for 30 different types of food every day.
Looking for simple ways to eat a greater variety of foods?
Start off with a plant-packed breakfast option like a veggie frittata or overnight oats
Use different herbs and spices with your meals and snacks
Add a new recipe to your repertoire each week
Pick up a new ingredient to try out – you never know if you’re about to discover your new favourite!
Up your fibre intake
When it comes to your gut health, the amount of fibre you consume can make a world of difference. Some fibre adds bulk to stools and supports healthy bowel movements. But one specific type of fibre known as prebiotic fibre can help to encourage a balanced healthy gut.
Prebiotic fibres can act as fuel for the microbes in your digestive tract. When you eat prebiotics, the bacteria in the gut produce short-chain fatty acids that help to reduce inflammation and repair the gut lining.
You can find prebiotics in foods such as garlic, onion, green bananas, apples, pears, berries, beans and oats.
Add some good bacteria
A healthy balance of good microbes in the digestive tract is essential for your gut health. One way you can encourage this balance is by including fermented foods in your diet.
Fermented foods are a natural source of microbes that can support a healthy gut. Consuming them regularly can reduce the level of bad microbes that can induce inflammation and chronic disease.
Some common fermented foods include:
Sauerkraut
Kimchi
Kombucha
Milk kefir and water kefir
Yoghurt and cheese that contains live cultures
Miso, tempeh and natto
Pickled vegetables
You can read more about fermented foods here.
Include antioxidant-rich foods
You’ve probably heard of antioxidants in terms of combating inflammation and oxidative stress. But antioxidants can also directly impact on the health of your digestive tract.
Antioxidants can nourish your gut by improving the balance of microbes in the gut, protecting the gut lining, acting as prebiotics and even improving the absorption of nutrients.
An easy way to consume more antioxidant-rich foods is to reach for the brightly coloured plant foods. Berries, green leafy vegetables, herbs, spices, beans, nuts and seeds are all rich in antioxidants. When it comes to antioxidant-rich foods, you want to include as many different colours as possible, as the colours can indicate different kinds of antioxidants.
Prioritise stress management
Stress isn’t all in your head – it can have very real physical effects, particularly on the gut. This is because of a link known as the gut-brain axis, where the health of your digestive tract can influence your nervous system and vice versa.
Stress can alter the balance of microbes in the gut, reducing beneficial species and increasing species associated with inflammation. Unfortunately, we can’t avoid all sources of stress, but we can find ways to manage it.
One option for stress management to consider is meditation and mindfulness. Studies have found that practising mindfulness can reduce gut inflammation. But if you prefer, you can also include habits such as journaling, gardening, yoga, tai chi or spending time in nature.
Get a good night of rest
Do you find yourself struggling to fall asleep, waking regularly, or feeling exhausted when morning rolls around? Your sleep may be impacting on your gut health.
Sleep is the time when the body’s system get to reset and repair any damage from throughout the day. So if you don’t get enough sleep, your gut may not get the time it needs to reboot. Studies show that people who have high-quality sleep have a greater diversity of microbes in the gut compared to those who sleep poorly.
Remember, when it comes to sleep, quality is just as important as quantity. For 5 simple ways to improve your sleep, give this article a read.
Looking for more ideas for easy
health hacks to help you feel better?
While we make every effort to make sure the information in this website is accurate and informative, the information does not take the place of professional or medical advice.