How to Improve your Gut Health
A happy tummy leads to a happy life, and you need a happy gut to have a happy tummy.
The gut is incredibly fascinating and powerful; that’s why it’s considered the second brain.
The gut does so much more than break down our food. It plays a vital role in sleep, training, body composition, hormone production, etc. If your gut isn’t functioning correctly, these aspects won’t function correctly either.
That’s why today, I, Coach Ashlyn, am going to give you a basic lesson on gut health and how to improve yours!
How to Improve Your Gut Health
There are five key areas to optimal gut health that you should address and monitor to ensure that your body functions optimally. While these areas aren’t the only determinants of a healthy gut, they’re a great place to start.
Maximize Your Digestion
You need to slow down when you’re eating.
Chew each bite thoroughly, put down your fork between bites, and set aside 15–20 minutes to eat without distractions.
You can also add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to your water 10 minutes before your meal.
Also, consider adding in a quality enzyme supplement. Digestive enzymes help your body process food better and absorb nutrients.
Another way to improve your digestion is to supplement with HCL. When taken with pepsin, HCL can increase your stomach acidity to improve digestion.
NOTE: HCL use should be monitored by a healthcare professional as supplementing with HCL for someone who has/had H. pylori could make things worse.
Liver and Gallbladder Function
Have you ever noticed that you have trouble digesting higher fat meals? Or do you sometimes see a “greasy” film in your bowel movement?
Either of these could be a sign that your gallbladder is a little slow.
There are a couple of ways you can address this issue. First, you can try to add 1-2 teaspoons of Swedish Bitters to your water 10 min before meals to help stimulate bile production.
Another option is to eat more bitter foods, such as dandelion root, ginger, artichokes, apple cider vinegar, and brussel sprouts.
Balance your Gut
Reduce inflammation and rebalance the bacteria in your gut to keep digestion happy and healthy. Don’t worry, it’s easier than you might think.
Make sure to eat a diet that’s high in micronutrients and fiber. Focus on eating a variety of protein and fat sources, such as chicken, fish, nuts, and avocado.
Also, eat eight to ten shades of reds and greens each day. The more variety you have, the more diverse your stomach bacteria will be. The variety will also keep you from getting bored with your meals.
You can also supplement with botanicals and antimicrobials to flush out the bad guys from your gut.
NOTE: supplementation should be monitored by a healthcare provider.
Bowel Regularity
Do you have one to three bowel movements a day? Because you should.
Do you experience alternating constipation and diarrhea? That you shouldn’t.
Getting this under control is imperative to proper detoxification and colon health.
To achieve bowel regularity, add to your diet fibrous foods, healthy fats, pre/pro-biotics, bitter foods, and flax seeds.
Another option is to supplement with binders, which bind toxins and remove them through your digestive tract, so your body doesn’t reabsorb them.
Strong Motility
Motility is the act of moving food through the digestive tract. If food isn’t efficiently pushed through the body, problems such as dysbiosis, infections, and SIBO can start to show up.
To improve your motility, you can experiment with fasting. Try time-restricted fasting with a 10-12 hour feeding window.
Additionally, you can try incorporating prokinetics, including ginger, chamomile, peppermint, artichoke, and 5-HTP.
Why you Should Improve your Gut Health
Hopefully, by seeing all the ways to improve your gut health, you realize how important your gut health is.
Of course, your gut health is an essential part of digestion, but by improving your gut health, you also boost your immune system, heart health, and brain health.
Once you improve your gut health, you’ll also likely see an improvement in your mood and sleep quality.
Help with your Gut Health
I know it can be challenging to tackle something as big and vital as your gut health, but we have a stellar team of coaches at KJO Coaching who are ready and excited to help you optimize your health.
Apply HERE to work with us!
Check out my original post HERE.
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IG: @muscle_munchkin @kjocoaching
