In this blog, I’m going to talk about how to restore gut health naturally.
Many things can impact your gut health.
When I was a kid, and first diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 6, I began taking penicillin. I took it every single day until I was 21 years old.
Not only did I take an antibiotic for many years, but I also had several stomach surgeries. And during one of these surgeries, they removed a piece of my intestines.
As you can imagine, the cancer treatments, surgeries, and antibiotics all impacted my gut health in a bad way.
Restore Gut Health Naturally with These 9 Tips
1. Determine What is Bad for Your Gut Health?
This one is pretty big. And it’s especially important if you are trying to restore your gut health.
Because if you are making what you think are all of the right choices to have a healthy gut, but eating those foods that are causing stomach issues such as abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, and acid reflux, you’re just spinning your wheels.
So if you are experiencing any stomach issues already, try to identify what foods might be causing those problems.
Foods that are known for causing stomach issues include dairy, gluten, sulfites, and caffeine.
I can’t imagine having to live a life without my coffee. However, for some people, caffeine is known to cause stomach issues and should be avoided.
2. Take Digestive Supplements to Restore Gut Health
Restoring my gut health was a bit of a project. Not just in determining what all was wrong, but in being patient enough to get to a good place—a place where my stomach no longer gave me issues.
First, I did a colon cleanse.
Next, I cleaned up my diet.
I had to stop drinking milk as I was lactose-intolerant. I stopped eating processed foods, cut out sugar, practically stopped drinking alcohol, and began eating clean.
Okay, I had a cheat meal here and there.
Along with these things, I added digestive enzymes that I take with each meal, a probiotic supplement for my overall gut health, and a fiber supplement.
3. Stop Smoking, It Hurts Your Stomach
As you probably already know, smoking is just horrible for you.
The CDC reports that smoking cigarettes are responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States.
Not only is smoking responsible for causing cancer, heart problems, and lung issues, but it’s also terrible for gut health.
The US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health Search (NCBI) conducted a study that found smoking interferes with healthy gut flora.
In short, smoking can create an environment in the intestines that allows for harmful microorganisms to exist. While at the same time decreasing good bacteria.
This can lead to chronic inflammatory conditions such as IBS.
So, if you smoke, stopping could greatly impact the health of your digestion system in a good way.
4. Eat Prebiotic Fiber for Gut Health
Prebiotics are natural foods that the body can’t digest.
They help with promoting the growth of the good bacteria (probiotics) in the gut.
Prebiotics are found in foods like onions, asparagus, and one of my favorites, bananas.
Eating prebiotic fiber is a great way to both maintain and restore gut health.
5. Take Antibiotics Only If You Must
As I stated earlier, I took antibiotics for years.
Every single day from the age of six to 21, I took penicillin.
Without a doubt, it impacted my gut health in the worst way.
As mentioned above, with diet and supplementation, such as digestion enzymes and probiotics, I’ve been able to restore my gut health.
For some people, taking antibiotics just can’t be avoided. However, when possible, antibiotics should be avoided.
I try to take a proactive approach to avoid having to take antibiotics.
Throughout the year, especially during the cold and flu season, I make it a habit to wash my hands, eat right, and get enough rest so that I can lessen my chances of getting sick.
6. Be Sure to Get Enough Sleep
A bad gut can impact overall health. It can impact sleep which then sets off a whole set of chain reactions.
Not sleeping, or insomnia can lead to chronic fatigue. This can impact a hormone known as serotonin. You know, the “feel good” hormone.
This hormone affects a person’s mood and sleep, and it’s produced in the gut.
So as you can see, an unhealthy gut can affect your sleep but at the same time, not sleeping can impact your gut.
7. Cut Back on Sugars and Artificial Sweeteners
Most of us all like a little sugar in our lives from time to time.
However, sugary foods simply aren’t good for the body.
Diets high in sugars can impact the good bacteria in your gut.
Basically, diets high in sugar decrease the number of good bacteria living in the gut. This can lead to inflammation within the body. So, do your best to limit your sugar intake.
8. Stay Hydrated to Improve Gut Health
Not enough can be said about all of the benefits that come from drinking water and why our body needs it.
Water is good for the kidneys, joints, and helps deliver oxygen throughout the body.
It also regulates body temperature, rids the body of waste, and aids in weight loss. Yes, drinking water can actually help your stomach become flatter.
And let’s not forget, if you have a crazy night and one too many drinks, drinking water along with your alcoholic beverages can help you fight a hangover.
But did you also know that drinking water is critical for digestion and a healthy gut?
Without water, people can experience constipation and an overly acidic stomach.
Water helps support the mucosal lining of the intestines and also helps maintain the good bacteria in the intestines.
9. Manage Stress Levels
This one can be hard, as we all know.
With work, kids, bills, the unexpected, and the nightly news alone, stress levels can soar.
But, not only can they soar, they can cause stomach issues.
Stress can disrupt the healthy bacteria in the gut. So it’s important to keep stress in check.
As a child, stress from being sick, and radiation treatments impacted my gut health directly. I developed terrible acid reflux disease.
I’ve since cured this issue by watching what I eat, supplementation and doing my best to manage stress.
I manage stress with exercise, getting good rest, and having downtime.
Wrap Up
In this blog, we discussed several ways to both maintain and restore gut health naturally.
Often times, people’s gut health may be impacted by things like food allergies, smoking cigarettes, and antibiotics.
Food allergies can also wreak havoc on the body and damage the lining of the intestines.
Supporting the gut with prebiotic fiber, probiotics, and hydration can greatly improve digestion and overall gut health.
It’s clear, making healthy choices with both diet and lifestyle can impact gut health for the better.
What else do you think can help with having a healthy belly?
