The health of your gut plays a vital role in your overall health and wellbeing. It can affect your mood, how well you sleep, your energy levels and even how your skin looks.
Recent studies have uncovered just how important the role of the gut is in our bodies, likening our gut to being our second brain. The microbes in your gut may have the ability to influence the brain, affecting things like mood or anxiety levels.
Serotonin, the feel good hormone, is produced in the gut, so keeping your gut happy and healthy can help boost your overall mood.
To nourish your gut health, you want to be taking care of what’s known as your gut microbiome. We’ve previously written about how your skin health and gut microbiome are directly linked on our blog here, but that isn’t the only part of the body that is directly influenced by the gut.
There is evidence to suggest that the gut-brain axis, gut-liver axis and the gut-skin axis all exist, which means that the health of your gut is directly impacting other crucial functions of your body.
As well as your gut health directly impacting your mood, liver function and skin, we know that a healthy gut microbiome can also cause increased immune health (which we all definitely want to look after during the pandemic!).
But how do you know if your gut is healthy and your microbiome is happy and flourishing? There are a few key things to look out for when determining the health of your gut. Signs and consequences of an unhealthy gut microbiome may include:
- Feeling bloated or uncomfortable throughout the day after meals
- Too loose or too hard stools
- Getting sick often
- Feeling low on energy
- Poor sleep quality
- Brain fog
- Fatigue
- Low mood and feelings of anxiety
What you eat and your lifestyle directly impacts the health of your gut. To improve your gut health, you should:
- Eat a large variety of fruits and vegetables
- Eat plenty of fibre
- Drink plenty of water
- Avoid excessive alcohol consumption
- Eat plenty of prebiotic and probiotic foods, to help boost the population and diversity of good bacteria
- Exercise regularly
- Limit the amount of sugar and artificial sweeteners you consume
- Avoid processed foods and ‘junk’ foods
- Eat seasonally to promote a variation in the microbial species in your gut
This month in store, we are focusing specifically on gut health and have picked out some of our favourite vitamins, powders and even teas to help you maintain a happy and healthy gut.
Fusion Health Gutbiotic SB+ and Probiotic 8
Probiotics can support your digestive system and function and help maintain friendly gut flora. Fusion Health’s fridge-free probiotic formulas are suitable for those wanting to boost the health of their gut or help restore their good bacteria in their gut after antibiotic use.
Hilde Hemmes’ Herbals
Brewing up a batch of these teabags can help ease gut-related discomfort such as bloating and constipation.
Supercharged Food Love Your Gut Powder
Taken daily, this diatomaceous earth powder has the ability to sweep clear forms of unfriendly bacteria out of your system. Love Your Gut is available in both powder and capsule form and is 100% vegan friendly.
Morlife Certified Organic Inulin
Inulin is a convenient solution to increase your prebiotic soluble fibre intake. Morlife’s Inulin is derived from Jerusalem Artichoke, a natural food source of this prebiotic soluble fibre.
Aloe Vera of Australia
Aloe vera has digestive benefits such as anti-inflammatory and laxative components. It can also help soothe discomfort from stomach ulcers and inflammatory bowel disease.
# Always read the label. Follow the directions for use. This medicine may not be right for you, read the label before purchase. If symptoms persist, talk to your health professional. *Nutritional supplements may only be of assistance if dietary intake is inadequate.
Featured image via Morlife.