Your gut has a huge impact on your overall health. That’s why it’s so important to restore gut health!
Although most of us know by now that our gut health is important, we don’t fully understand why. But our gut health affects almost every area of our health and wellness (both physically and mentally). You need to focus on taking steps to restore gut health if you want to feel better and improve your overall health.
Why It’s So Important To Restore Gut Health
You have a uniquely composed set of good bacteria in your gut called your microbiome. Everyone’s microbiome is different and unique to the individual.
But many people are facing gut health issues. In fact, an estimated 70,000,000 individuals are facing gut health issues and diseases. Understanding what’s going on inside your gut is the foundation of being able to restore gut health.
Your gut’s microbiome is influenced by a number of different factors, like our diet, exercise, stress, medications, habits, and aging, to name a few. Our moods, digestion, metabolism, and sleep habits all can change the makeup of our microbiome.
In turn, our gut health impacts our health in a number of ways. Physically, our gut health can make us feel uncomfortable, deal with gastrointestinal issues, and face chronic pain and lifelong issues. But mentally, your gut health can cause anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions to appear or worsen.
When your microbiome becomes imbalanced, it’s time to restore gut health….but how do you actually know when it’s the right time to focus on this?
How Do You Know If It’s Time For You To Restore Your Gut Health?
Your gut health is incredibly important. But it can be tricky to recognize the signs that something’s wrong inside your gut! Especially since our gut health is extremely complex (and extremely individual), how do you know if your gut is healthy?
Here are the most common signs and symptoms of gut health issues:
- Abdominal Pain
- Bloating
- Diarrhea
- Surgery
- Frequent Use of Antibiotics
- Kidney Stones
If you’re experiencing any of those symptoms, it’s probably time to restore gut health.
How To Restore Gut Health And Experience Overall Health Benefits
The steps you should take to restore gut health really does depend on your unique biological makeup and gut microbiome. You’ll want to consult with your doctor or a specialist to determine how to move forward.
But generally speaking, there are three things important for anyone to restore gut health! They are prebiotics, probiotics, and polyphenols.
Prebiotics are a type of fiber that help increase the amount of healthy bacteria in your gut. Eat lots of fruits, veggies, and grains to get the most prebiotic power.
Similarly, probiotics benefit the bacteria inside your gut. Take advantage of these powerful living organisms by eating fermented foods. This includes things like yogurt, miso, kombucha, kimchi, pickles, and even some cheeses.
Related: How to Improve Your Gut Health with Probiotic Foods
Finally, polyphenols are metabolites, which help boost metabolism and prevent conditions like heart disease! Add lots of colorful fruits and vegetables to your diet. But for a quick win, add some dark chocolate or red wine to your weekly routine—they contain polyphenols too!
If you want to restore gut health, you should also focus on a few other key lifestyle factors. Implement stress management techniques, exercise, and a solid nighttime routine to help you sleep better.
6 Health Benefits You’ll Experience When You Focus On Improving Your Gut Health
When you start to restore your gut health, you’re going to experience a whole host of overall health benefits.
First, you’re going to avoid dealing with painful gut health issues, like Chrohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and ulcerative colitis. By re-balancing the bacteria in your gut, you can hopefully avoid these types of illnesses!
Next, know that when you restore gut health, you protect your heart health, too.
Research has consistently linked gut bacteria and heart disease. Certain bacteria from your gut contributes to cholesterol build-up, which can lead to heart disease. Restoring your gut’s microbiome will help you balance the bacteria so it doesn’t produce that damaging extra cholesterol.
Similarly, gut bacteria can actually produce chemicals that lead to chronic kidney disease. When your microbiome is imbalanced, you produce an excess of a chemical called TMAO, which triggers kidney disease. Restoring gut health helps you avoid kidney disease.
We’ve already mentioned that your gut influences your mental health. But it’s true—when you restore gut health, you alleviate the risk of depression, anxiety, and chronic pain.
Another huge benefit of restoring gut health is reducing obesity. An unhealthy gut microbiome can lead you to never feel full, which leads to overeating and obesity.
Now that you understand why it’s so important to restore gut health, you need to take small steps. You don’t have to totally switch up your diet or lifestyle. But gradual shifts make a huge difference in alleviating gut health issues!