Similarly to the rest of our body, the health of our gut relies on living a healthy lifestyle including a nutritious diet, taking care of our mental health, and exercising regularly. Unfortunately, maintaining a nutritious diet can seem overwhelming at times, but a great place to start is identifying the foods that could be potentially harming your gut and overall health. The food we consume fuels the bacteria that lives within our gut. Below, we are going to highlight some foods and how they could be impacting the bacteria that lives inside of your gut.
Potentially Harmful Substances and How They Are Hurting Your Gut Health
Artificial Sweeteners
Many people tend to turn to foods or drinks that contain artificial sweeteners when they are trying to avoid the added calories that come with regular sweeteners, but it could be damaging to one’s health more than being beneficial. Artificial sweeteners pass through our body unscathed, meaning that it does not get broken down by the body. While many see this as a benefit of artificial sweeteners, because it does not get broken down, it ends up interacting with your gut microbiome. Due to this interaction, artificial sweeteners can actually cause more harm than good. When your gut microbiome is damaged it leads to a variety of different issues such as digestive problems, mental health decline, and/or sleep quality.
Dairy
While many people are impacted by dairy due to their intolerance to lactose, others might find it hard to consume due to a protein called casein that is found in dairy. Casein triggers the production of an amino acid called BCM-7 which is known to cause inflammation, and due to this interaction it causes inflammation in the gut specifically. Inflammation in your gut can cause issues such as constipation. While it might be hard to navigate what is specifically causing your digestive issues, a great place to begin is to see how minimizing your dairy intake might affect your health.
Junk Food
While it is no secret that highly-processed foods such as junk foods are harmful to your health, what most people do not realize is that they are specifically damaging to your gut health. When consuming foods high in processed fats and sugars, you are contributing to creating more unhealthy bacteria in your gut. Unhealthy bacteria in your gut can overwhelm your digestive process and lead to a host of issues. Be sure to consume junk food sparingly to avoid causing health concerns.
Foods That Can Be Beneficial For Your Gut Health
While there are a number of different foods and drinks that can be damaging to your health, luckily there are also many foods and drinks that can be beneficial to your gut health. Creating a diet focused on fruits, vegetables, proteins, and healthy fats is much more efficient in increasing the amount of healthy bacteria in your gut. Specifically, fermented foods have live bacteria in them which acts as probiotics to your body. Probiotics help to keep any bad bacteria at bay, and helps to strengthen the lining of your gut in order to avoid any potentially harmful substances from entering your gut.
Bananas are especially helpful in creating a healthy gut due to an ingredient called inulin that can be found in bananas. Inulin helps to promote the growth of healthy bacteria, and combined with the high levels of fiber that bananas contain, it makes bananas a staple food to include if you are struggling with your digestive health.
Artichokes also contain inulin making it another beneficial food to include in your diet. Although, due to their high fiber levels, be sure to avoid overeating artichokes as too much fiber can cause adverse effects such as diarrhea.
Polyphenols are a plant compound that has been found to be quite beneficial for your digestive health. Polyphenols have similar effects as probiotics in that it promotes the growth of healthy bacteria and minimizes unhealthy bacteria. Some of the substances that are well-known for containing polyphenols include red wine and green tea, but it actually can be found in several different foods, especially fruits. While it might be tempting to reach for red wine or dark chocolate to increase your intake of polyphenols, it might be more beneficial for your health to get these compounds from fruits such as blackberries, blueberries, or grapes.
Supplements That Can Further Support Your Gut Health
In addition to the foods that are mentioned above, you can protect your gut’s health by taking your supplements for bloating and other digestive issues. Probiotics can not only be found in food, but also can be ingested in the form of a vitamin. Our probiotic named Probiotic Renu is a great way to protect the healthy bacteria in your gut and minimize any potentially harmful substances from interfering.
Zinc has also been known to protect one’s gut lining making it another potentially beneficial supplement to add into your routine. The benefit of supplements in comparison is their convenience. We understand how busy one’s life can get, and trying to fit all the vitamins one needs in our meals can sometimes be a challenge that is impossible to overcome. Supplements help to ensure you are taking care of your health while still allowing you time to focus on all your responsibilities.
Collagen peptides is another supplement we recommend adding into your routine. Collagen can be found in our body’s tissues, and when taken as a supplement can increase your body’s protection from harm. It is important to ensure that you are taking collagen peptides and not simply just collagen, because whole collagen is harder on the body to properly digest while collagen peptides are broken down pieces making it easier for your body to take on.
The supplements that help with bloating you choose to incorporate in your routine, mixed with a healthy diet is a great place to begin when you are looking for a way to protect the health of your gut.