5 Foods to Improve Gut Health
Supporting your Gut Health: leads to boosting your immune system, supporting your digestion and improving your emotional health.
Keeping your gastrointestinal system healthy and your gut bacteria balanced is essential for good health. Eating nutritious, gut-healing foods is the best way to support digestive integrity and protect your immune system and body. Here are my top five foods to boost your immune system and of course your gut health.
What we want to eliminate is a diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, processed foods and trans fats, and one that is low in fibre. These are all very harmful for your gastrointestinal system, especially your gut bacteria balance. These types of foods, especially high-sugar foods, create an environment in which candida (yeasts), parasites and undesirable bacteria can grow and reproduce rapidly, causing havoc in the body and potentially leading to bloating, constipation, allergies, recurring infections and skin conditions and emotional states.
If your gut bacteria doesn’t get enough ‘gut focused food’, (high fibre, non-digestible) they feed on the mucus lining of the gut which can lead to irritable bowl! So the biggest influence you can have on the state of your gut lining, is having a healthy microbiome which is your DIET - this you can control!
Eating a healthy diet full of nutritious, organic vegetables and fruit, good quality proteins (nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, peas, legumes, eggs) and healthy fats (olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds) is pivotal - here are my top 5 gut healing foods:
Fermented foods in all sorts: Sauerkraut, Kombucha, Miso, Tempeh, Kimch, Sourdough Bread are excellent for gut health AS they are great sources of probiotics (microbes beneficial for the gut), nutrients and fibre so they make an IMPORTANT healthy addition to your diet.
OMEGA 3’s (Chia, hemp + Flax seeds, walnuts) Omega 3 all come from plants!!! Remember that Salmon does not produce Omega 3 they only consume these Omega-3s found in their diet are based on the algae and plankton they consume.
Aromatics (Leeks, Garlic, Ginger, shallots - these are unique Phytochemicals which are compounds that are produced by plants! They are fantastic for our gut microbes and they also reduce our risk of cancer + heart disease.
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and kale. These are pivotal as they contain the fibre we need and also are packed full of antioxidants which are important for gut health, helping to prevent constipation and improve bowel motions and nutrient absorption.
Seaweed - is another one of my favorites for gut health as it offers unique nutrients that our body requires. It’s also fantastic form of fibre.
Remember health starts in the gut!
The best way to keep your gut healthy and your gut bacteria balanced is to adopt a healthy, nutritious diet and eat plenty of gut healing foods such as fermented foods + Aromatics. Avoid high-sugar foods, refined carbohydrates, limit coffee and pasteurised dairy products as these foods can aggravate the gut and lead to inflammation and acidity!
Give it a go and if you are still struggling with your health remember I have an amazing 2 week summer detox program that is ideal to reset your gut - alternatively, we can work 1;1 and lets ensure we get your gut back on track.
Anna