It turns out the father of medicine was right about this too and scientists and doctors are finally studying the gut in grave detail in an attempt to understand chronic disease and inflammation.
Do you feel too bloated or uncomfortable after a milkshake or a cold coffee? Do you get allergic rhinitis, a stuffy nose or have trouble with your food allergies? Do some foods make you sicker than others? Well, you aren’t alone. A lot of us aren’t blessed with the strongest and healthiest stomachs and have to deal with issues like bloating, IBD, ulcerative colitis among others.
Your gut is responsible for a lot more than just your digestion. Fortified with millions of tiny organisms (bacteria), the gut works tirelessly to protect your body against invaders and pathogens, improves immune response, helps with digestion and regulates mood. Scientists are beginning to realise that the easiest way to rid your body of lifestyle diseases and boost longevity is to heal and nourish your gut.
New research suggests that a healthy gut can help you lose weight, fight cancer, prevent heart disease, improve blood sugar levels and alleviate and stabilise your mood. Doctors are beginning to embrace the gut brain connection and realise that there are more nerve endings in the gut than we had anticipated- making the ‘gut’ the second brain. The functional way to address depression and anxiety is to re-programme your gut and nourish it with great comforting food. So what are you waiting for? its about time we started to focus on making our gut healthier.
We end up ruining our immune responses with too many rounds of antibiotics and unhealthy food that contains too many preservatives and added sugars. Stay away from too many fruit sugars, anything that is too acidic or difficult to digest if you want to help heal your gut.
Remember your grandmom always told you to eat yoghurt with every meal and drink fermented soups and drinks whenever you had the onset of a cold or flu? It turns out that she was right. You can fortify your gut bacteria, also called your microbiome with healthy fermented foods.
What should you do? The body needs probiotics (good bacteria) and prebiotics (non digestible compounds that help healthy bacteria thrive) Well here are a few foods that you can load up on and incorporate into your daily diet if you want a healthier and stronger gut.
– Yoghurt
– Miso soup
– Soft cheese
– kefir
– sourdough
– Pickles, kimchee, sauerkraut, olives, gherkins
Prebiotics, on the other hand, can be food in foods such as avocados, wheat germ, sprouted grains, bananas, apple cider vinegar with mother, soy and soy products. You can also speak to your physician to see if you need to take a dietary supplement (Acidophilus, Lactobacillus, and the Bifidobacteria, being the most common) to boost your digestion and facilitate healing.
This post was originally published in To Be Healthy. You can view the article here
