Why Your Gut Needs More Than Just Probiotics
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If you’ve been doing any thinking on or research into gut health in the past few years, likely you’ve heard about the importance of probiotics. In fact, chances are you’ve heard of it even if you’ve done nothing more than watch a recent yoghurt commercial! Probiotics are all the rage in trendy gut health but, while they are important, they’re definitely not the only key to a healthy digestive tract. Here’s why your gut needs more than just probiotics.
The Gut Is Super Complex
Probiotics aren’t the only thing living happily in a healthy gut. The microbiome of the digestive system is made up not only of healthy bacteria, but also fungi, yeasts, and viruses. All these organisms need to be working together in harmony in order for you to have a healthy gut. That’s why taking probiotics might not necessarily be the solution to your digestive problems. It’s possible that your health issues are stemming from a whole other aspect of the microbiome altogether such as an overgrowth of yeast or an imbalanced fungal composition.
Your Gut Is Unique
While it’s tempting to think that there’s a universal ideal balance of organisms in the microbiome that we can all strive to achieve, the truth is that everyone’s gut is unique. What magically improved the gut health of your best friend might not work at all for you. Some people naturally have more probiotics in their gut than most, while others have more diversity in the organisms in their digestive tract. Many things can influence the uniqueness of your gut including your genetics, diet, and lifestyle. This means that not only does your gut need more than just probiotics because of its complexity, it likely needs its own unique cocktail of healthy flora and bacteria in order to achieve the optimal health and balance for your one-of-a-kind body.
So What Do You Really Need?
Now that we know why we need more than just probiotics, we can talk a bit about what we need. Remember, that this is general advice and that every body is different so it might take some time for you to find the perfect balance for yourself.
Fermented Foods
Fermented foods are an amazing and natural way of replenishing the health of your gut. Not only do they contain healthy probiotics, they are also packed full of healthy yeasts, vitamins, minerals, and bacteria. In addition, fermented foods help the body produce healthy acids to aid digestion. Fermented foods can include things like kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut and — yes! — yoghurt.
Fiber
Fiber is important not only because it feeds the gut’s healthy bacteria, but also because it provides essential vitamins and nutrients along with much-needed energy. Fiber also includes short-chain fatty acids which help reduce inflammation and boost the immune system. There are two kinds of fiber: soluble and insoluble. While soluble fiber is great for lowering blood sugar and cholesterol, insoluble fiber is what really helps clean out your gut.
Prebiotics
While the gut needs healthy bacteria, it also needs the right nutrients to feed that bacteria. That’s where prebiotics come in. As the team at hyperbiotics.com puts it, “Prebiotics are to probiotics what fertilizer is to a garden.” Thinking of it that way, you really can’t have healthy probiotics without prebiotics. The good news is that prebiotics are readily available in all kinds of foods. To increase your intake, eats lots of whole grains and seeds like oats, millet, quinoa, and buckwheat. The less refined, the better!
It’s Not Just About The Food
Something that a lot of people don’t realize is that a healthy gut isn’t just about what you eat or don’t eat. In addition to all the diet-related elements we’ve talked about above, lifestyle habits also play a significant role in maintaining a healthy gut. Here are some lifestyle changes you can make to boost your digestive health.
Exercise
Studies have shown that cardiovascular exercise can increase the diversity of the microbes in our digestive systems. Cardio does this by increasing the levels of butyrate in the gut which is an important component of healthy digestion.
Avoid Anti-Bacterial Soaps and Hand Sanitizers
Many traditional soaps and hand sanitizers go overboard with their bacteria-killing powers and end up ridding your skin of the good bacteria along with the bad. Nowadays there are plenty of more natural cleansers on the market that will keep you clean without killing of your body’s healthy bacteria.
Reduce Stress
Stress can take a serious toll on every aspect of your health, including the health of your gut! In order to allow your natural systems to function as they should, practice stress management techniques to keep your mind and body focused on wellness. Start a daily meditation practice, set aside time for self-care, or go for an evening stroll.
As you can see, the gut is a pretty complex system that needs a lot of different elements to come together in harmony in order to be healthy and happy. Although the system is complex, the solutions are simple! With a few diet and lifestyle changes that incorporate more than just probiotics, you’ll soon find yourself feeling better than ever before.
