What Are 7 Things You Can Do To Improve Gut Health?

It is crucial to ensure that our entire digestive system is functioning correctly, and that also includes maintaining a healthy gut as you risk triggering several health conditions if you do not take proper care of your gut health. Now, making sure that you look after your gut health is simpler than you may think; which is what we aim to cover in today's blog post. We will be providing our top tips on the 7 things you can do to improve your overall gut health, as well as how to know if your gut bacteria need attention. 

Here is a list of the 7 things you can do to improve your gut health: 

•  Stay hydrated and drink plenty of water to help increase ‘good’ bacteria as well as prevent constipation 

•  Eat slowly so your digestive system can process food more efficiently, and reduce digestive pain

•  Check for food intolerances as these may trigger issues in your digestive and gut health

•  Get enough quality sleep as not enough can cause a serious impact on your overall gut health

•  Reduce stress levels to ensure your stomach is ‘happy’ and not prompting pain or discomfort

•  Diet changes may be essential if the foods you are consuming are causing a build-up of bad bacteria

•  Probiotic supplements/prebiotics can improve gut health by encouraging healthy bacteria growth

Now you may be asking, which solution out of those 7 can improve my gut health the fastest; here is what we believe can work the quickest to help improve your gut health… 

What is the fastest way to improve gut health?

If you are working towards improving or rebuilding your entire microbiome long-term then this will not happen quickly; even if you implement a high-fibre diet, get good quality sleep and take daily probiotics, this can still take up to 6 months for you to notice a considerable change in your gut health. That being said, high-quality probiotics (along with diet, sleep & stress management) can help speed up your gut's recovery’ as probiotic bacteria can reach the intended bacteria source inside the body relatively quickly. A suitable probiotic could begin to help with gut flora imbalances in as little as 14 days but for long-term support to the gut; that will take time. 

The same can be said if you decided to change your diet to include more high-fibre foods and add both natural probiotics and prebiotic food and drinks. These foods can also take time to improve gut health in the long run but you are likely to experience symptoms of an unhealthy gut to improve noticeably when your diet is supporting the body and boosting it with more ‘healthy’ bacteria than ‘unfriendly’ bacteria. 

What foods can repair your gut? 

It’s not just high-fibre foods that can repair gut health as probiotic bacteria can be found in several food and drinks that can also restore your gut health. The same goes for prebiotic foods, which can also aid gut health. Foods like: 

• Yoghurt
• Cottage Cheese
• Sourdough
• Garlic
• Sauerkraut
• Beans / Lentils
• Dried food 

This is just a small list of foods that can, over time, help repair your overall gut health and digestive system. A combination of high-fibre foods, prebiotics and probiotics in your diet can be added quickly so to begin helping rebalance vital bacterial levels in the gut instantly. They can also improve your digestive system, allowing good food (containing healthy bacteria) to pass through the body easier, thus allowing the ‘good’ bacteria to go where it is needed to neutralize any ‘bad’ bacteria causing your gut issues. 

The list of “good” foods for gut health is long, but there are still foods to consider staying away from!

What foods should be avoided for gut health?

Whilst some foods can help improve gut health as they can replenish and provide a source of ‘good’ bacteria that is vital for the body, several foods and drinks can aggravate your gut. Plus these types of food and drinks can contain a lot of ‘bad’ bacteria that, if over-consumed, can trigger gut issues like constipation, discomfort, irregular bowels and even affect your sleep. 

Here are the food and drinks that you may want to consider cutting down on if not avoid completely:

• Processed food
• Sugary drinks 
• Refined oils
• Artificial sweeteners
• Saturated fats 

Limiting or cutting out these types of food and drinks can help the digestive system process food properly without obstructions, improve our natural defence against toxins and allow the ‘good’ bacteria to get to the areas inside the body it is needed (like our month, gut and intimate area). Although, it’s not just the foods you consume that can help increase ‘good’ bacteria in the body… 

How can I add good bacteria to my gut?

A high-quality probiotic supplement is highly advised for those looking to improve their overall microbiome and improve symptoms of an unhealthy gut. Probiotics can offer a live and potent source of ‘good’ bacteria that are vital for gut health as probiotics can improve your overall gut flora as well as intimate flora for women. Probiotic bacteria, if unobstructed, can work their way through the body right to the source of natural bacteria that may need neutralising; as an imbalance could be what’s causing symptoms of an unhealthy gut. 

How do you know your gut is unhealthy? 

If you are constantly suffering from stomach pains, discomfort, bowel obstruction or even having trouble sleeping, these are all unhealthy gut symptoms! What's more, if you are regularly passing gas or have regular heartburn then those are additional signs that the gut requires help. We have been able to provide you, in today's post, with a list of things that can help improve your gut, as well as explore foods/diet and probiotics as some of the quickest ways to support a healthy gut. Although, if you do still find yourself wondering what you can do for your gut health or would like to understand probiotics further, then feel free to browse through our Health Insiders Blog which has several posts relating to gut health. You can also drop us a DM over on our Instagram if you have any queries or further questions.