Improve Gut Bacteria
There seems to be more and more issues with digestive health these days. Yet most people don’t realize that the majority of the issues are correctable through a healthier lifestyle. You have heard the saying “You Are What You Eat”. Well, it is true that what you eat can affect your gut bacteria. It can Improve Gut Bacteria, or it can decrease gut bacteria and make your digestion worse. So you do become what you eat. When you have major changes in your gut bacteria or microbiome this can cause weight gain.
Studies have found that nutritional lifestyles that are high in saturated and trans fats can adversely affect gut flora. When gut flora is negatively affected it promotes inflammatory issues throughout the body and weight gain. Studies have also found that people who consume high levels of unhealthy fat and have decreased gut flora have more symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well and other major health problems due to increased inflammation.
Interestingly these studies also found that when that those who consumed well rounded healthy nutrition with healthy fats could reverse these and other health problems, promote healthier gut flora, lower inflammation levels, aid in weight loss, and create optimal health.
Improve Gut Bacteria
Digestive and Gut health has become a big focus in today’s society. This shift in focus comes after years of society continuing on the Standardized American Diet which is filled with highly processed, high sugar, and artificial foods. The consumption of these foods continues to feed the bad critters in the gut and killing off the good ones. Through countless recent studies this issue has been linked to numerous health problems including autism, obesity, diabetes, allergies, autoimmunity, depression, cancer, heart disease, fibromyalgia, eczema, inflammatory issues, and asthma. The links between chronic illness and an imbalanced microbiome (or gut bacteria) increases every day.
Science has always referred to the gut as our second brain. Having a healthy gut is more than being annoyed by a little bloating or heartburn. The gut is the central location for health and is connected to everything that happens in the body. This is why it is important to have good gut bacteria, and if you have chronic health problems you just may want to start with looking to Improve Gut Bacteria.
The importance of gut health starts with an understanding of the gut. There are over 500 species and three pounds of bacteria in your gut. Which means that there are trillions of bacteria, and collectively they contain at least 100 times as many genes as you do. This means that the bacterial DNA in your gut outnumbers your actual body DNA by 100 times. Seriously… You have 20,000 genes, but gut bacteria have 2,000,000 genes!
This makes your gut is a huge chemical factory that helps to digest food, produce vitamins, regulate hormones, excrete toxins, produce healing compounds and keep your gut healthy.
Your Intestinal health defines whether or not you have optimal digestion, absorption, and assimilation of food and nutrients. Therefore, you must have a healthy good balance throughout your digestive system. Too many of the wrong ones (like parasites, yeasts or bad bacteria) or not enough of the good ones (like Lactobacillus or Bifidobacteria), can lead to serious health issues.
Optimal gut balance begins with your nutrition. What you eat directly effects the ecosystem and balance of your gut. Back to you are what you eat! If your nutrition contains lots of fiber, healthy proteins, and healthy fats including omega 3 fats and monounsaturated fats, such as extra-virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocados or almonds you be healthier. If your nutrition is full of inflammatory nutrition, like sugar, omega 6 vegetable oils, processed foods, artificial foods and chemicals this will promote the growth of bad bugs that cause weight gain, healthy issues, and disease.
One other important piece to consider when looking at Gut Bacteria is lack of sleep and chronic stress. Both of these can also contribute to gut imbalance. In fact, gut flora listens to and becomes influenced by your thoughts and feelings. Getting 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep and remember to practice and participate in stress reduction activities daily can help with maintaining a balance in the gut.
Improve Gut Bacteria
The best way to improve and maintain a healthy inner garden begins with your nutrition. Here are a few ways to build healthy gut bacteria through nutrition.
1. Eat Whole, Unprocessed, Unrefined foods. One of the best ways to maintain gut health involves cutting out the sugar and refined carbs and increasing gut health fiber. If you make 75% of your plate be vegetables and plant-based foods, your gut bugs will love you.
2. Eat Good Fats and Remove Inflammatory Fats. Eat omega-3 fats and monounsaturated fats, from foods like extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil, plus avocados, almonds and other good fat foods. These foods will aid in decreasing inflammation, and giving healthy gut bugs a chance to flourish. Studies have found that adding more coconut oil to your daily nutrition has been very beneficial as an anti-inflammatory and aiding in weight loss. Plus, the removal of bad, inflammatory omega-6 rich fats like vegetable oils will help feed our healthy bacteria and improve absorption and assimilation of nutrients.
3. Supplement Smartly. You should definitely supplement with an essential fatty acids formula, if you’re not regularly eating wild-caught fatty fish. Taking a good pre and probiotic supplement as well as digestive enzymes will also help reduce gut inflammation while cultivating health and the growth of good bacteria. Keep in mind that not all supplements are created equal and it is best if they are plant based. Shakeology is a product that provides all these supplements and more, and has been known to be one of the best products to Improve Gut Bacteria.
4. Add Fermented Foods. Sauerkraut, kimchi, tempeh, and miso are some of the best fermented foods that contain good amounts of probiotics. Adding these foods to your nutrition can really help improve the healthy gut bugs and help them multiply.
Of course these recommendations are not miracle cures, but they are actions that can lead to normalized gut function and bacteria. When the body is provided healthy nutrition, increased fiber, and daily pre and probiotic supplementation it will begin to better utilize the nutrients it is given thus improving the health of your gut lining and reducing the bad bugs which is what it takes to Improve Gut Bacteria.
