Relationships June 20, 2018
Take care of yourself from the inside.
Are you questioning what’s up with your stomach and its relationship with discomfort? Maybe you’re just gassy? Or maybe you shouldn’t have eaten that third bag of Hot Cheetos? If you ever find yourself wondering what’s going on in your innards, it’s time to think about gut health.
Many common gut issues include constipation, bloating, gassiness and general discomfort. These typically result when unwanted bacteria overpower the good bacteria in your stomach. This imbalance can seem like complicated issue to deal with, but there are some easy ways to start to address these problems and up your gut health.
To put it simply, to fix that bacteria imbalance you should start by increasing the good bacteria and decreasing the bad. Here are 5 simple ways to do just that!
Fiber is a big time player in gut health. According to Consumer Reports, it regulates the speed at which your food is digested. In order to help keep the food break-down pace steady, up your fiber intake by incorporating more fiber foods into your meals.
Some easy fiber foods to adopt are blackberries, raspberries, lentils, chickpeas and barley.
Next time you’re deciding on a dessert, opt for a bowl of berries instead!
Other important elements of good gut health are probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotics are good microbes that live in fermented food. These help balance bacteria levels in the stomach. Prebiotics are food for these little workers. According to Consumer Report, both of probiotics and prebiotics have been linked to constipation regulation and the overall improvement of immune functions.
Yogurt is a really easy probiotic-rich food to add to your diet! If you’re lactose intolerant, the popular Korean dish kimchi is a great dairy-free alternative. Add some prebiotic foods like garlic, bananas and soybeans to your diet to feed your new probiotic friends!
Apple cider vinegar is a popular seemingly do-all remedy for everything from shinier hair to softer skin. Celebrities such as Megan Fox and Hillary Duff swear by it and have incorporated it into their daily routines.
More than a miracle tool, it has actually been linked to the improvement of gut health. Studies show apple cider vinegar mildly lowers the growth of bad bacteria in addition to having anti-fungal and yeast benefits. Overall, it serves as a great cleaning agent for your stomach and is an inexpensive way to boost your gut health. So drop a tablespoon or two into some water and drink up.
If you just can’t stomach the vinegar, another gentler alternative is squeezing some lemon into your water.
Processed sugar actually feeds harmful bacteria in your stomach and can be a huge factor in your struggling digestive system. Reduce your intake of foods and drinks like candy bars, soda and alcohol to lower the amount of bad bacteria in your stomach.
I know it doesn’t sound easy, but even just adding a little less sugar to your coffee is a start towards better gut health.
Exercise is healthy for your body, and even just a minor amount of activity has been proven to speed up the rate at which your food is digested. A quick walk in the park can restore balance to your stomach and help cure your tummy woes.
Next time you have a big meal, instead of letting yourself slip into that tempting nap, take a nice walk!
