8 Tips to Improve Your Gut Health

We all know by now that having a healthy gut-biome is important for both physical and mental health. What most people don't know are the essential top tips to improving your gut health. Below are 8 recommendations which include some little known tips:

1. Eat less sugar - This is a no-brainer. Some bacteria love sugar, so they multiply — but this can throw off the delicate balance in your microbiome. Cutting out sugar not only means eliminating sweets and biscuits. It also means less fruit (high in a natural sugar called fructose), low-nutrient carbs like white bread, and high sugar alcohols like sweet wines, port, and high alcohol beers.
2. Get Enough Sleep - Your gut bacteria have a circadian rhythm, just like the rest of your body. They get stressed out when you don’t sleep, and they pump out toxins called lipopolysaccharides. These toxins cause brain fog, fatigue, autoimmunity, leaky gut, and even cancer. just two nights of short sleep (4.25 hours or less) causes noticeable changes to your gut microbiome. The ratio of two bacterial gut species, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes increases with poor sleep. Prior studies have found that an increase in this ratio is associated with obesity.
3. Incorporate Probiotic Foods in Your Diet - Experiment with fermented foods that are rich in probiotic bacteria, such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, kefir and yogurt. When you eat these foods you’re supplementing the same bacteria found in your gut. NOTE - Pay attention to how you feel after eating these foods — fermented foods don’t work for everyone.
4. Add more Fibre to Your Diet: Fibre ferments in your gut and becomes food for your gut bacteria. Prebiotic fibre (raw garlic, leeks, artichoke) and resistant starch (green bananas, cold pre-boiled potatoes) feed beneficial gut bacteria, giving them the fuel to thrive. Also when fibre ferments in your gut, it’s broken down into short-chain fatty acids that fight inflammation and help maintain the health of your gut lining.
5. Take Deglycyrrhized Liquorice Root Extract - Licorice root has beneficial effects on gut health when it has been treated to remove glycyrrhizic acid (AKA Deglycyrrhized), a substance that is thought to cause high blood-pressure and low potassium levels. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study found licorice root provided reduced pain and nausea, as well as faster healing in patients with ulcers (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3123991).
6. Take Zinc Carnosine - This compound form of zinc and carnosine is pretty amazing for gut health. Preliminary studies show that it improves your stomach’s ability to maintain a strong gut lining (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1856764/)
7. Take L-Glutamine - L-Glutamine is an amino acid that helps repair injuries in the intestinal wall to keep it strong, and studies show it can also improve nutrition absorption (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27749689/)
8. Drink Bone Broth Regularly: Nothing soothes the gut like a cup of warm bone broth. Look for broth from 100% grass-fed beef or free-range chicken for a savoury, satisfying snack. Collagen-rich bone broth delivers the essential amino acids your body needs to fortify and rebuild your gut and tissues. You can make your own by boiling bones for 24-48 hours or buy our Bone Broth Powder by clicking here.