7 New Gut Health Hacks to Try: Easy Tips for a Happy Gut

Taking care of your gut offers many health benefits.

Not everyone is naturally born with a strong digestive system, but there are ways to combat bad gut health. Promoting good bacteria through fiber-rich foods can positively impact both your brain and gut. But what are the health hacks for achieving this?

From drinking more water before meals to chewing foods slowly, you’re bound to find something that encourages balanced gut health. One way is to develop a proper mindset when changing eating habits.

How does a strong gut affect your physical well-being? Can introducing good gut bacteria lead to a healthier lifestyle? We’re here to answer everything about improving your health.

In this article, you’ll discover the best gut health hacks and how you can use them.

How to Improve Gut Health

There are many ways you can strengthen your gut health. Eating nutritious foods is the first step you can take when fueling the gut with minerals. Fruit and vegetables like raspberries, green peas, broccoli, bananas, apples, and chickpeas all have fiber to regulate bowel movements.

Consuming a range of foods will feed your gut with the right bacteria. Try fermented foods that contain lactobacilli – a type of bacteria that helps your body fight off bad organisms. Yogurt, cheese, kimchi, sourdough bread, sauerkraut, and kombucha are good fermented products.

Whole grains are another type of food that strengthens bacteria in your large intestine. Eat brown rice, oatmeal, whole-wheat crackers, and quinoa. These whole grains have plenty of protein and antioxidants to reduce inflammation and improve the bifidobacteria in your gut.

Consuming ginger tea has been known to relieve gas and bloating. You can drink this before going to sleep or have a cup in the morning before breakfast. Ginger works to stimulate digestive acids that break down foods and absorb nutrients into your body.

Why Is the Gut Microbiome So Important?

The gut microbiome is important because it controls digestion and balances microbes in your intestines. If you don’t have a healthy balance, you might experience weight gain, high blood sugar levels, autoimmune conditions, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Everyone has a gut microbiome that controls key functions like your immune system, metabolism, and protection against infections. You need to maintain the health of your gut microbiome to prevent constipation symptoms or bloating associated with gas.

There are physical signs to suggest that you might have bad gut bacteria. Some might be stomach pain, food cravings, trouble sleeping, diarrhea, and sluggishness that doesn’t go away. If you experience any of these, try eating nutritious foods that battle those microorganisms.

A balanced gut microbiome may also maintain colon function and prevent serious problems like colon cancer. Heavy smoking and frequent alcohol consumption can disrupt your gut microbiome. Poor diets containing processed food will further increase the risk of colon cancer.

7 Gut Health Hacks: Try Them All and Feel the Difference

Feeling confident about your health is the best way to achieve personal fitness goals. Everyone is different and might benefit from certain methods more than others, so do what feels right.

Let’s take a look at the 7 gut health hacks:

#1 Drink water 30 minutes before food

You should drink one glass of water before a meal to help with digestion. Water breaks down food and encourages the body to absorb nutrients. This can soften your stool and prevent constipation. Also, try drinking water 30 minutes after food to flush out harmful toxins.

To maintain your overall health, drink more water throughout the day. Men need at least 12 cups of water a day, and women need 9 cups. Regularly cleaning your digestive tract ensures bacteria doesn’t build up and cause small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).

#2 Eat fiber-rich foods

Foods containing fiber can reduce the amount of time waste sits in your intestines. You won’t experience difficulty going to the toilet or bloating after meals. Certain foods that regulate bowel movements are dried fruits, berries, nuts, bran cereal, oats, popcorn, and beans.

#3 Avoid eating junk food

Junk food containing saturated fat, sugar, and salts will harm your gut microbiome and lead to problems like high blood pressure, digestive issues, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and weight gain. This is because processed foods destroy and replace bacteria in your intestines.

#4 Eat fermented foods

Fermented foods might not sound appealing to begin with, but they’re super healthy for your gut. Cultured yogurt, apple cider vinegar, kombucha, and cheese are just a few things to eat. You can simply mix these products with regular meals like salads and lunch wraps.

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Any type of fermented food has probiotic qualities that restore the natural balance of gut organisms. This can alleviate digestive issues you might regularly face. Fermented products also maintain strong lactic acid bacteria – a probiotic organism that supports lactose digestion.

#5 Chew more slowly

Chewing your food for longer ensures it’s properly broken down before entering your stomach. This also gives the gut time to start the digestion process, preventing bloating after meals. It might sound like a common thing to do, but people often forget to spend more time eating.

#6 Try drinking ACV

Apple cider vinegar has many health benefits that lead to a happy gut and immune system. It may help raise stomach acid levels that support digestion responses. This antimicrobial substance will kill bad bacteria in your intestines and reduce inflammation in the colon.

To drink apple cider vinegar, mix 0.5fl oz with 16fl oz of water. Always dilute ACV and never drink it straight. You can have this solution once in the morning and once in the evening before your last meal. Just make sure not to exceed this amount in 24 hours.

#7 Ditch artificial sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners can replace helpful bacteria with harmful ones that lead to liver damage and leaky gut syndrome – two conditions that trigger uncomfortable symptoms. They might be sugar-free and appear healthy to weight loss users, but it’s not worth damaging your gut.

Gut Health FAQs

A Word From Our Dietitian

Conclusion

A balanced gut should be full of strong and natural bacteria. Hack your gut health by avoiding junk food that will urge you to make frequent visits to the toilet.

You need to balance your gut microbiome if you want to stop experiencing constipation-like symptoms. It might not be a quick fix for some, but start your health journey by eating clean foods. Fiber and water can support good bacteria and cleanse your gut properly.