A healthy gut system is essential because it is in charge of absorbing nutrients and removing waste. A healthy digestive system can help balance your total health, including your body, mind, and spirit. Gut health is considered so crucial by some experts that it is referred to as a "second brain." Let’s explore some of the best gut health foods that also add to your holistic development. We will also cover the ins and outs of a proper gut health diet.
The human gut is home to hundreds of billions of bacteria. Many of these are essential for living a healthy life. To maintain the right gut flora, we must include foods that improve gut health. The gut microbiota are communities that colonise the digestive system.
The intestine requires a balanced environment for optimal growth of gut bacteria or microflora. The right composition of gut bacteria is also vital for intestinal health. Additionally, the colon (intestinal portion) requires an optimal pH of 6.7-6.9 for the healthy development of beneficial gut flora. There are many foods good for gut health that assist in sustaining these environments. In this blog, we will explore a plethora of gut health foods, the nutrients they impart, and how exactly they improve gut health.
How to keep your gut healthy
Eat small and frequent meals:
Regular small meals are good for digestion than occasional large meals. Regularly refuelling the system will help to keep everything moving in the proper path.
Including fibre in diet:
Fibre is a neglected nutrient that 80 percent of us consume insufficiently. Fibre absorbs liquids like a sponge, forming a soft, dense mass that moves easily through the digestive tract.
Fluid consumption to be regulated:
To allow the fibre to function, it’s important that you consume plenty of water. Without moisture, fibre remains hard and compacted, perhaps resulting in blockage.
Food for healthy gut bacteria:
The lower digestive tract is teeming with microorganisms that are critical to our health and well-being. What we eat has an impact on their survival and, ultimately, our health.
Gravity and physical activity
both assist in propelling food through the digestive tract.
Digestive Foods Good For Gut Health
The simplest approach to maintaining regular intestinal health is to eat gut-friendly meals such as those having high fibre, protein, and probiotics. Good digestive foods, including fibrous fruits and vegetables, can balance your colon. So, here are some gut health foods you should include in your healthy gut diet plan.
Oats:
Oatmeal and oats in general have numerous health benefits because they are high in beta-glucans, a type of soluble fibre that forms a gel-like substance and moves slowly through the digestive tract, helping keep energy levels stable. Fibre is broken down in the gut by good bacteria to produce health-promoting chemicals such as butyrate (a fatty acid), which can help keep the cells of the intestine wall healthy and limit the growth of cancerous cells. You can make this honey oats porridge at home for a healthy start of the day.
Lentils:
Lentils are a nutrient-dense, multipurpose food high in folate, iron, B vitamins, and gut-healing resistant starches. These make you feel fuller for longer, enhance bowel regularity, and promote heart health in addition to supporting the gut microbiome. Moreover, Indian lentils like moong, arhar, and toor are rich sources of protein, saving them a spot in the list of foods to improve gut health. The majority of research found that protein consumption correlated positively with total microbial diversity.
Yoghurt:
When considering a gut health diet, yoghurt is likely the first thing that comes to mind. The reason is simple; yoghurt is home to a variety of probiotics. Probiotics are defined by the FAO/WHO as "live microorganisms that, when provided in suitable proportions, impart a health benefit on the host" (FAO Report, 2001). Probiotics may also assist in providing some quick relief if you're suffering from gut issues like bloating, constipation, gas or diarrhoea. Don’t forget to try this amazing sweet lassi recipe at home.
Teas:
Varieties of teas, green tea in particular, are amongst the world's most popular beverages. Green tea can influence the gut microbiota by either encouraging the growth of beneficial species or inhibiting the growth of harmful ones. Green tea components can be digested by gut bacteria to form smaller bioactive chemicals.
Black Beans:
From soups to dips to side dishes, black beans are always considered one of the most delicious gut health foods. They are loaded with fibre and protein, and are readily available in all parts of the world. For instance, just about a cup of black beans translates to nearly 15 grams of fibre. Try making this delicious black bean sauce for your kids this Sunday.
Gut Health Diet: Guidelines for Good Digestive Health
- Struggling with poor gut health? We hear you. The above mentioned items are considered great foods to improve gut health, but they alone are not enough. If you want to maintain a well functioning stomach, here are a few tips you must follow while abiding by your healthy gut diet plan:
- Consume plenty of fibre-rich foods such as bran, wholemeal bread, cereals, fruit, green vegetables, potato skins, beans, and dried peas. It will add volume to your stool that can reduce the chances of constipation.
- Maintain a consistent morning routine and give your bowels time to operate. Following a consistent meal timing gives your intestines the much needed time to rest. This, in turn, leads to better bowel function and boosts metabolic performance.
- Reduce your consumption of processed foods like cheese and white bread. These foods lead to an increase in the amount of bad bacteria.
- Drink more water and avoid coffee, alcohol, and fizzy drinks. Increasing your intake of water will soften your stool and make it easier to pass.
- Avoid sitting regularly for long periods, get up and move around. Your digestive system performs better when you take walks every now and then.
Conclusion:
The human digestive tract is occupied by a highly integrated ecosystem comprising billions of bacteria. Each microbe in the stomach encodes unique metabolic processes that form the gut microbiome.
The gut microbiota is a rapidly evolving system, with various exogenous (e.g., nutrition, medicine, infections, environmental conditions) and endogenous (e.g., age, sex, host genetic traits) influencing factors impacting its density and composition. Although all environmental factors have the potential to influence microbiota composition, it has been demonstrated that nutrition, in particular, plays a significant effect in defining the composition and alterations of the gut microbiota.