The 6 Best Ways to Improve Your Gut Health

(Photo : Andrew Apperley, Burst)

Everyone, especially the working and busy adults, probably had experiencess relating  to stomach issues at some point in their lives. Bloated stomach, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, and acid reflux are few to name. 

Although most of these are rarely (if not never) fatal, it might disrupt your steady work pace and affects your performance.

If you experience them a lot, you probably have unhealthy digestive system. Aside from consulting your doctor, here are what else you can do:

1. Improve your diet 

Many people are guilty of consuming highly-processed foods that contains a lot of refined carbs and trans fats. According to a study, it increases the risk of developing digestive disorder, like gut inflammation. Trans fat is especially dangerous as study has proved that it also posed a great danger to our heart.

Instead of dining out, go for whole foods instead as much as possible, as the scientists already proved that its nutrients can make your gut health better. Plant-based diets are amazing as it contains a lot of fibers which can both improve your stool quality and act like a brush that cleans your digestive tract as it leaves your body. 

You should also not skip healthy fats. Aside from it helps you feel fuller, it improves nutrient absorption too. Some healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acid has an anti-inflammatory property, which can prevent inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis. Combining ColonBroom with a healthy gut diet will improve your overall health, increase your energy levels and may reduce symptoms of bloating. 

2. Stay hydrated

It is common knowledge that we need to drink water to be healthier. The same is true with your gut. Insufficient fluid intake often lead to constipation.

An average person should drink at least two liters of water per day, but people who live in warmer areas or are active needs to drink more. 

If you hate water, you can drink non-caffeinated and non-sweetened beverages such as herbal teas and lemon-mint water. You can also hydrate yourself by eating watery fruits and vegetables like cucumber and cantaloupe. 

3. Improve your stress management

Studies have suggested that gut and brain are directly linked -- whatever happened to your brain will also have an impact on your digestion. 

We all have different stress management, but meditating, deep belly breathing, acupuncture and yoga have been proven to be effective on lower stress hormones. Try to experiment and see which works on you.

4. Improve your eating habit

Although there is still no hard evidence to support that it will take at least 20 minutes before your brain realizes you're full, it does take time before the "stop signal" from the stomach reaches the brain.

Additionally, not chewing food enough often cause bloating and poor nutrient absorption. It is especially worse on people who "stress eat". 

So take your time when eating to prevent common digestive problems. 

Skip late-night eating too, especially when you lie down to sleep immediately, as it can cause heartburn and indigestion.

5. Exercise regularly

Regular workout also benefits your stomach because it will increase gut transit time -- or the rate for the food to travel through your digestive system. 

Another study also suggests that exercise lowers inflammation, including the symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases. 

6. Skip smoking and drinking alcohol

Smoking does not just worsen acid reflux but it can also cause ulcer and gastrointestinal cancer. 

Alcohol, on the other hand, increases acid production in your stomach which may lead to heartburn, inflammation and bleeding on more severe cases. 

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