Gut Health Part 2: How to improve your own Gut Health

In Part 1 we looked at what can go wrong in the gut, and some of the causes. In Part 2 we'll look at some practical ways to improve your gut health. 
Probiotics and Prebiotics – what are they?
This area of gut health is probably one of the most exciting to arise in recent years, and the research into it is ongoing. There is so much we don’t know about the gut, its microbiota, its link to the brain and the rest of the body, and how it impacts on the rest of our health, but big steps are being taken all of the time to help us to understand this fascinating area more thoroughly.

So, what are probiotics exactly? Well they are actually live micro-organisms. When we consume them as humans, they actually create a health boost to the host, i.e. us! There are many hundreds of different strains of probiotic, but the most common come from fermented dairy products such as yoghurt. You’ll probably have heard of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus as these are the most well-known strains. But the problem with them is that they have a fairly torrid journey to reach where we want them to reach – as well as the production process (whether that’s yoghurt or supplements), they have to pass through the acid of the stomach and via the digestive juices and enzymes of the intestines before reaching the destination of the large intestine. This is why many over the counter products are possibly not going to have too much effect. The good news is that there are companies carrying out extensive research to find ways to ensure that the probiotics reach the gut in good condition, ready to their thing. But whilst it is hard to know the effects of probiotics, anecdotally I have had good successes when using very good quality supplements on myself, my family and clients.

Prebiotics are a slightly different kettle of fish and I believe they are also of utmost importance to gut health because of the effect they have on your own live bacteria. Prebiotics are a specific type of fibre that feed the good bacteria in our colon. They pass undigested through the stomach and small intestine in order to reach the colon in a useable form and once there they feed the microbes and help to stimulate their proliferation. There are a range of different prebiotics that have beneficial effects and these include leeks, onions, un-ripened bananas, asparagus and Jerusalem artichoke, to name a few. A word of caution though – these foods can create excess gas if eaten in too large quantities, so whilst it is well worth increasing them in your diet if they’re not already part of it, having too much can have negative side effects!

How to improve your own gut health?
As I’ve said before, gut health is where I start with pretty much all of my clients. “What, even if they come to you with recurrent infections, thyroid issues, or sleep problems?” I hear you ask. The answer is very simple. Yes.
If you suffer from specific digestive orders that are causing you discomfort on a regular basis, I would always advise you to seek out professional help rather than trying to deal with it yourself as it can take a fair bit of knowledge to unravel what is going on with the gut, and can be fairly overwhelming – but that said, there are some things that everyone can do to improve their overall gut health, and that’s what I’ll share with you now. I wouldn’t advise trying to implement them all in one go, but rather take it step by step, make small but permanent improvements rather than trying to do everything and then giving up.

Ways to improve your gut health:

1. Cut down on processed foods and start to fill your body with foods in a state as close to natural as possible. Processed foods by their nature have been changed from their natural state, with lots of things added to them that the body finds it difficult to recognise. If there are things on the label that you don’t recognise, your body is unlikely to know what it is either! And eliminate foods with high sugar content too.
2. Remove things from your diet that you feel your body is reacting to. We have an innate built in wisdom that, when we listen to it, we usually know what is causing us issues. Unfortunately with our every busier lives we tend to ignore the signals. However, if you do feel you have intolerances, I would recommend speaking to a registered Nutritional Therapist, rather than eliminating a large number of foods for a long period, as you may then be eliminating key nutrients too.
3. Avoid the majority of vegetable oils. I know you were probably told they were healthy, but unfortunately they are not! And don’t cook/fry with them as they have very low heating points and oxidise very easily (causing free radicals which cause harm in our bodies). I recommend only cooking with butter, ghee or coconut butter (and if at a low heat, a little olive oil is ok). For dressings and drizzling I recommend a good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
4. Think about probiotic foods that you can introduce into your diet, as well as prebiotic foods (if you missed my last post on this, do read it as I go into much more detail about probiotic foods). You could also look at introducing a good quality probiotic supplement too. And if you do have to take antibiotics, be mindful that when you have finished the course, it is of utmost importance to try to rebuild the good bacteria that the antibiotics have wiped out (they wipe out all bacteria, not just the bad ones!).
5. Chew your food properly! So many people (including me at times) gulp their food down. Digestion starts in the mouth, with enzymes being released in the saliva, so if we gulp our food without chewing it, we miss out on this really important part of the process. Slow down with your meals, be mindful when eating, avoid eating on the go, and enjoy your meals.
6. Make sure you are eating a diet rich in fibre. Both soluble and insoluble fibre is important for so many reasons for the gut, including feeding the good bacteria, and keeping things moving. This means thinking about eating a wide variety and volume of vegetables and wholegrain foods (again, if you remove processed foods and start to eat more natural state foods, this will happen automatically).
7. Drink more water. Most of us fail to get anywhere close to the minimum most of us need of 2 litres a day. Bearing in mind we reabsorb 1.5 litres a day in our colon, you can see why 2 litres is the requirement – not drinking enough water, and drinking too many stimulants has effects on the whole body and especially on our digestive tract.

I hope you’ve found this gut series useful and it has shed some light on why your gut is so important, and how to keep it healthy.
If you have any individual questions around gut health, or feel that something may not be quite right, do message me.
Vee x