Today we will talk about gut health. But before that, I was curious, how many of you remember me? I’m your favorite health blogger. Away from some action for a while, but back for good. 👋

Anyway, when we say gut health, what does it mean? Gut health includes your mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and colon.

Whatever we eat and do it affects our gut health. Imagine, even a small candy can affect your health. So we need to take care of our gut health.

In this post, I will share 6 easy things that can ensure good health.

What makes a healthy gut?

Before I talk about those 6 things, I wanted to share what a healthy gut actually means.

A healthy gut means:

• Your food is easily digested.
• You are getting the required nutrients from the food.
• Your body is showing positive results from the food.
• You have a balanced microbiome.
• Your immunity is proper.
• Your bowel movements are proper.
• Your energy levels are high or considerable.
• You are able to sleep well.
• You are able to perform tasks well.
• You don’t have stress due to stomach issues or uneasiness.

There are more points to this, but right now we need to focus of 6 things that can improve your digestive health

1: Probiotics for gut health

In super simple words, probiotics are the microorganisms or good bacteria that live in our gut. These support digestion, reduce IBS, and boost immunity. Probiotics can even help with weight loss, as they ensure good digestion.

There are millions of microorganisms in our gut, and our food and lifestyle choices determine how these organisms affect us. Certain foods, stress, and even lack of sleep can reduce the good bacteria, which may cause gut issues.

However, the good news is we can get probiotics through food. The best examples are fermented foods like curd, buttermilk, kaanji, pickles, kimchi, kefir, etc. Such foods increase good bacteria and, therefore, improve digestion.

Heating food may destroy the good bacteria in food, hence Idli, dosa, dhokla may not have that much good bacteria as simple curd and buttermilk may have. You can try steamed food.

2: Prebiotic for gut health

If probiotics are the good bacteria, prebiotics are their food. Prebiotics are fibers that are not digested by our body but pass through the small intestine undigested. In the large intestine, they are fermented by beneficial bacteria into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).

SCFAs improve gut health, reduce inflammation, enhance nutrient absorption, and prevent bloating and diarrhea.

You might have read or heard that when we have indigestion, fiber is suggested. Fiber ensures bulk to the stool, manages cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and promotes proper bowel movements.

You can find them in whole grains, nuts, vegetables, fruits (not juices), etc.

Fruit juices are low in fibers. Whole fruit is best option.

3: Add diverse variety

Your digestive health may need a wide variety of nutrients, which can be obtained from complex carbs, protein, and healthy fats. Foods like whole grains, fruits, veggies, seeds, and nuts provide a diverse range of macro and micronutrients that are essential for gut bacteria to flourish. 🍅🍎🍊🌽🍇🥦

A diverse variety of natural foods also prevents the growth of bad bacteria. It can also help protect us from nutritional deficiencies.

Our gut may also need specific nutrients like vitamin D, zinc, omega-3, etc., for various functions, which is possible with a diverse diet.

4: Plant based diet and polyphenols

A plant-based diet is higher in fiber, reduces inflammation, and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even certain cancers.

It contains polyphenols—plant compounds that promote the growth of healthy bacteria and decrease disease-causing bacteria like E.coli.

Other important roles of polyphenols include slowing the aging of the skin, promoting brain function, and lowering insulin resistance.

Foods that are high in polyphenols include seeds, nuts, extra virgin olive oil, dark chocolate, berries, green tea, and grains like barley. 🥬️ 🍵

It is suggested to eat a colorful diet to get the best of nearly 500 types of polyphenols. ( However not all are needed).

Speaking of colorful diets, the next entries are something you need to limit.

5: Limit Ultra processed food and sugar diet.

Guys, seriously, this is like the 100th time I’m mentioning UPFs and SSBs (sugar-sweetened beverages). They can harm gut bacteria and destroy gut health in countless ways.

Anyway, let’s list them again. UPFs and SSBs can not only harm gut bacteria but can also disrupt gut hormones, increase bad bacteria, and lead to imbalances. These foods are typically difficult to digest and can even cause insulin spikes. 🍟🍔🍩

They contain tons of chemicals, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, more chemicals, colors, unknown flavors, and even more chemicals. 😱

Can you expect your gut health to be good after all those chemicals and artificial flavors? These foods are artificially enhanced to suit your liking and may lead to negative results.

Hey, if you have bloating due to UPFs, are you going to take antibiotics for that? Read the last point before you do.

6: Avoid unnecessary antibiotics

I don’t know about other countries, but in India, everyone tries to be a doctor. Whatever happens to them, they try to fix it with antibiotics. 💊

Sometimes I think people eat more pills than actual food. Well, antibiotics are causing more harm to your gut than you can imagine.

When we think we have an issue, we try to temporarily fix it with medicines, but gut issues—or anything else—should be treated by addressing the root cause.

Unnecessary medication can harm gut bacteria and even lead to IBS, weakened immunity, or bacteria that are resistant to medicine.

Antibiotics should be taken only under a doctor’s prescription.

Conclusion

These 6 things can improve your gut health. If you don’t believe me, try them for a week. Focus on more “real food” like fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, etc., and limit UPFs, SSBs, and even unnecessary antibiotics.

Your gut can be kept healthy with simple, visible, and sustainable habits. You can live limitlessly if you find the balance that works for you.

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Sorry everyone for not being able to interact much this whole month. I’ve been writing a lot, but not just for WP. I’m also ghostwriting for different people on a wide variety of topics.

I hate to neglect my blog and won’t do that in the future. I need a good balance. I’ll spam your comment section soon—consider that a spoiler. 😉

Not wanna brag or something, but years later you can’t replace a health blogger who talk like human on WP. 😛

Keep smiling! 😁