creating a healthy environment for your gut bacteria.
A huge part of caring for your gut is ensuring your gut environment provides a healthy living area for ‘good’ bacteria to thrive. Good bacteria in the gut helps digest your food and also helps to control bad bacteria. Too much of a certain kind of bacteria can lead to issues like Crohn’s disease, IBS and ulcerative colitis.
Suggestions to create a healthy environment for your gut microbiota.
Eat to reduce inflammation. Identify and avoid allergens /intolerances. Food allergies and intolerances can cause inflammation in your gut which can kill good bacteria and harbor bad bacteria. Inflammation in the gut can also lead to leaky gut and IBS.
Eat to control carbs and blood sugar. This is important because finding the appropriate carb intake for your body helps to enhance healthy gut microbiota. A diet too high or too low in carbs can cause an imbalance or good and bad bacteria. A stable blood sugar also helps with controlling weight, metabolism and the stress hormone cortisol.
Eat fresh, unprocessed, Whole Foods. Organic when possible. Eating Whole Foods means eating foods in their original form. For example eating a grape is better than drinking grape juice with added sugars and preservatives. Certain food additives and preservatives negatively affect your gut microbiota and can also lead to leaky gut. It might not be possible to eat only Whole Foods, but don’t get overwhelmed, start by paying more attention to food labels (the less additives the better) and try to order a healthier option when eating out.
Melissa xxoo