Why You Should Care About Your Gut Health
Why gut health matters
Did you know that your gut health doesn’t just affect your digestive system? In fact, it can have a significant impact on your immune system – and even on your central nervous system.
This is all down to the make-up of your microbiome, the collection of living micro-organisms that colonise the human body. Your microbiome is something you’re born with, but you’re able to modify it with dietary adjustments and a healthy lifestyle.
Gut health: understanding the microbiome
The microbiome is the name given to the live bacteria, fungi and other micro-organisms that reside in our body. Live bacteria in your gut contributes to health and wellbeing by providing diversity to our microbiomes and helps to support the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. They keep a healthy balance of bacteria and may support nutrient absorption.
Your microbiome is one of the most important parts of your body, as it’s the location of many of the cells responsible for producing antibodies when you’re ill. It also spends a lot of time communicating with the rest of your body, especially your immune system.
This means that your microbiome could influence everything from your cholesterol to the health of your kidneys, and even your emotions by way of your central nervous system. The microbiome helps you to break your food down into different nutrients as well, before putting them to work around your body, so it’s essential to keep yours diverse and healthy as possible.
Getting to know your gut
Stay in tune with your gut health, looking out for any signs that it’s not completely happy. These signs could include regular bloating, constipation or diarrhea, feeling constantly fatigued, and even irritated skin. Eating a diet that’s very high in sugar could make some of these symptoms worse, so see if reducing your intake has an impact.
How to Improve Gut Health
There are several other ways you can try to improve your gut health, including:
- Lowering your stress levels: Because your gut health is so closely linked with your brain, heightened emotions can affect your stomach. Keep stress at bay by incorporating yoga into your exercise routine, practicing breathing exercises to manage anxiety, and maintaining a balanced diet to ensure your body stays motivated and energized.
- Eat more fibre or fermented foods: Fibre-rich foods and fermented foods such as kimchi, kefir and sauerkraut are great sources of beneficial bacteria for your gut, and could help to keep your microbiome diverse and healthy.
- Stay hydrated: Drinking plenty of water is just as important for keeping your gut healthy as eating the right foods.
- Check if you have a food intolerance: If the health of your gut is getting in the way of your day-to-day life, it’s a good idea to find out if there’s something else going on with your digestive system.