Happy Worship Wednesday!
There are many questions about gut health and how the gut affects our body and mind. Recent studies show that the balance or imbalance of bacteria in your digestive system is linked to overall health and disease. A healthy gut contains healthy bacteria and immune cells that ward off infectious agents like bacteria, viruses, and fungi. A healthy gut also communicates with the brain through nerves and hormones, which helps maintain your physical health and mental well-being. Set a goal this month to be intentional with your gut health and see how it affects every part of your health journey!
Gut Health Info and Facts:
Maintaining a healthy balance of good and bad bacteria in the gut is essential. There are many reasons why the delicate balance of a healthy gut is compromised. We eat diets of sugar, processed foods, and alcohol. We consume antibiotics and have too much stress. These areas create an imbalance, causing the harmful bacteria to shift from a single yeast cell into a mycelial fungus, thus causing gut diseases and other problems in our bodies.
Here are FIVE tips to help your GUT HEALTH:
1. Cutting back on sugar, processed foods, antibiotics, steroids, and synthetic hormones.
2. Cut back on stress. Stress is harmful to our health and is actually the second cause of unbalanced gut flora. Take more deep breathes, meditate, try yoga, and use physical exercise to de-stress.
3. Read food labels to decrease added sugar and processed foods.
4. Increase your Fiber intake. Eat whole, live, raw foods.
5. Supplement with a quality probiotic (kombucha, supplement, or fermented foods)
The colon (gut) has at least 500 different kinds of bacteria! Bifidobacteria is an example of one that makes up most of the "good" bacteria in your gut. The intake of probiotics benefits these good bacteria.
Probiotics can help your digestive tract and help take up space in your stomach that could be taken over by a less healthful product or organism. Probiotics can be found in foods that have live and active cultures. A great source of probiotics is found in yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, kombucha, and sauerkraut. Add in one today!
The Benefits of Probiotics
Probiotics can help prevent or treat diarrhea caused by infections or antibiotics.
Probiotics can improve systems of irritable bowel syndrome.
Probiotics can boost the immune system.
Probiotics can reduce inflammation and allergies.
Gut Health Fact:
The number one predictor of a healthy microbiome in your gut is the DIVERSITY of PLANTS in your diet! Start counting the number of unique plants on your plate. When you prioritize 30+ servings of different plants during your week, you’ll notice better digestion, clearer skin, potential weight loss, and overall health improvement. You can also add a prebiotic in the morning to jumpstart your gut healing! I recommend reading Fiber Fueled by Will Bulsiewicz.
Why Add More Fiber:
Women need fiber. Fiber aids in digestion promotes regular bowel movements and helps prevent constipation.
A high-fiber diet can lower the risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer.
Fiber can contribute to weight management by promoting a feeling of fullness, which can help prevent overeating.
