8 simple tips to improve your gut health

No doubt we have all started to hear about gut health and its impact on all areas of our health and well-being!

SO WHAT AFFECTS GUT HEALTH AND WHAT CAN WE DO TO IMPROVE IT?

Diet plays a significant role in our gut microbiome and ensuring you are getting enough fibre and variety in your daily diet is essential for a healthy balanced gut.

There is a lot of misinformation around and many people believe a ketogenic diet is detrimental for gut health due to potential low fibre from grains and legumes to a thought that a high fat consumption affects out microbiome.

SO LETS LOOK AT OUR GUT!

Our GIT (gastrointestinal tract) is basically a long tube from mouth to your back end. There are lots of processes going on throughout this tract and it houses what is recently being recognised as an organ in itself, out gut microbiome. The gut plays a significant role in mental health, supporting detox pathways, it houses a huge portion of our immune system and is basically one of the most important systems in our bodies! So, it only makes sense to support a healthy GIT which you can most definitely do on a Ketogenic Diet if done well!

SO WHAT ARE SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT HOW TO KEEP YOUR GUT HAPPY WHEN VENTURING DOWN THE KETOGENIC PATHWAY?

-Ensuring you are getting a good amount of fibre in your diet such as Vegetables, Berries, Nuts and Seeds, Chia Seeds and Linseeds

-Include bone broth into your diet. Bone broth is rich in gelatin as well as numerous vitamins and minerals which support tissue integrity and repair.

-Include fermented vegetables into your diet such as Kimchi and Sauerkraut as these wholefoods are loaded with good bacteria that may help support balance of your microbiome.

-Taking a probiotic, if required, can help support and balance gut health. It is important to not just take any strain of probiotic and speak to a healthcare practitioner about which strain would be suitable for you.

-Drink filtered, chlorine-free water. Chlorine is an antibacterial chemical added to our water supply to kill bugs so it wouldn't make sense to drink water that is potentially negatively impacting our gut health.

-Including supplements such as Zinc (extremely important for gut health), B Vitamins and Glutamine to your daily regime can be highly beneficial. It is important to note not all supplements are the same and it is important to access good quality products.

-Eat real food! We live in a world now where we are bombarded with food like products loaded with preservatives and additives. The best thing you could do is focus on a wholefood diet incorporating organic produce where possible.

-Include prebiotic food in your diet such as almonds, Onions and Garlic, Leeks, Dandelion Greens, Jerusalem Artichokes, Asparagus and Konjac Root

In a nut shell, make sure you have a good variety to your diet! Eat wholefood, decrease stress or manage it, drink filtered water and if in doubt have a chat to a qualified Naturopath or Nutritionist to make sure you are on track.

 xx

Abbie