How to Restore Gut Health Naturally?

Your gut health is a key indicator of overall wellness. If it’s out of balance, you may suffer from weight gain, brain fog or even cancer.

Small changes in your diet and lifestyle can help restore gut health. For example, cutting back on sugar and incorporating prebiotic foods like fermented veggies can keep your good bacteria happy and balanced.

Diet

Your diet plays a big role in determining your gut health. It’s important to eat a wide variety of fresh, whole foods and to consume enough fiber.

A high-fat, low-fiber diet contributes to an unhealthy gut microbiome. This is because fats feed bad bacteria and yeast that can disrupt the balance of good bacteria in your digestive tract.

Eating a wide range of fruits, vegetables, legumes, beans, and whole grains promotes bacterial diversity in your gut and maintains a healthy microbiome. You can also consume drink that heals the gut which provides your body with the nutrients it needs to function and thrive.

It’s not surprising then that a healthy diet and exercise can help restore your gut health. Recent research has found that moderate exercise can improve the number and diversity of your gut bacteria, which is essential for healthy digestion.

Exercise

You may know that exercise can boost your energy, but did you know it could also improve your gut health? A growing body of research suggests that exercise promotes the growth of certain bacteria in your intestines.

For example, a study published in Nature Medicine observed elite runners and found that they had higher levels of a type of bacteria that eats lactic acid (lactic acid is the burning sensation you feel in your muscles when you work out). These bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids that improve your performance and boost your overall strength.

But, just like any other habit, exercise takes consistency. If you quit exercising for a few weeks, your gut microbiome will lose out on the good bacteria it was producing, Cook says.

Stress

Stress has been shown to impact the gut microbiome, and it can also alter your body’s hormonal responses. That includes your body’s natural sleep patterns and your ability to digest food.

In addition, stress can make you more hungry or lose your appetite by affecting two hormones produced by your gut that control your feelings of hunger and fullness. These hormones are ghrelin and leptin.

Adding prebiotics and probiotics to your diet, along with getting plenty of sleep and exercise, can help restore gut health by improving the balance of your microbiome. Fermented foods, like kefir, yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut and tempeh, are all great sources of these gut-friendly bacteria.

Sleep

Sleep is a vital part of our health. It helps regulate our hormones, immune system and metabolism. When you don’t get enough sleep, your risk of diabetes and other health problems rises.

It also boosts our mood and mental state of being. That’s why it’s a good idea to try and make sleep a priority every night.

The first step is to get into a consistent bedtime and wake time. If you’re always rushing around in the morning, or sleeping in on weekends, that can throw off your sleep schedule and your gut health.

The microbiome produces sleep-inducing hormones like dopamine, serotonin, and melatonin. When your microbiome isn’t balanced, those hormones aren’t produced. This can lead to a restless night’s sleep, which keeps you from getting adequate REM sleep and the deep stages of sleep that are essential for healing and regeneration.