13 Ways to Improve Gut Health?
Recently gut health has become a hot topic where many people are realizing their digestive patterns are not normal and usually highly uncomfortable. After going so long with regularly painful stomach issues, constipation, nausea etc, it is important to dig deeper and figure out what is the root cause. The gut generally refers to the entire gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, but specifically, here the gut will refer to the intestines. The gut is a lot more important than most would expect. The gut relates to digestion, but also hormone balance, immunity, and mental health. This is why gut health is important and we should strive to improve our gut. Here we will discuss how to improve gut health.
Here are 10 ways to improve gut health:
1. Eat enough fiber
Eating enough fiber is one of the methods for how to improve gut health. Men require about 35 grams per day of fiber and women require about 25 grams per day. Fiber is an indigestible form of carbohydrate that aids in fecal bulk and regularity. It is gut healthy but also heart-healthy too. Eating enough fiber aids in reducing constipation, which is when you have fewer than 3 bowel movements per week, difficult stool to pass, dry and hard stool, or feeling that not enough stool came out after a movement. Though fiber is beneficial for gut health, it is important not to eat over the recommended amount. The dietary fiber content and how this translates in the gut can be compared to cars on a highway. On a nonbusy day, cars free flow down the highway with no issues or need to slow down, but during rush hour there are too many cars going the same way at once and traffic is slowed down. In this analogy, the cars are the fiber and the highway is our gut.
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2. Probiotics
Eating probiotics is another strategy to improve gut health. Probiotics are foods that contain microorganisms that can aid our existing healthy gut microbiome. Gut bacteria diversity and amount are extremely important factors in determining the health status of your gut. We need a variety of different types of bacteria in the gut, but we also need the right amount of bacteria too. The bacteria from these probiotics line the digestive tract and act as a defense against pathogens from passing through. Probiotics can help to reduce bloating, gas, and diarrhea by improving the bacteria balance in the intestines.
3. Hydration
Hydration is also important when you learn how to improve gut health. Everyone needs a drink amount of hydration each day dependent on body size and activity level, but the key is to avoid feeling thirsty. Feeling thirsty is one of the first signs of being dehydrated, so to prevent this, carry around a water bottle with you everywhere so you get used to hydrating regularly. Hydration is important to improve gut health because it helps to pass bowel movements with ease, it can improve the absorption of nutrients, and it can improve digestion in general.
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4. L-GLUTAMINE
L-glutamine is a conditionally essential amino acid that can improve gut health. Conditionally essential means that the body can produce enough of it on its own, but in times of stress or some other dysfunctional state, it needs to be consumed through food. Lots of data support that L-glutamine can protect the gut against atrophy and injury induced by external stress, especially in athletes. The amino acid was found to increase the lifespan of enterocytes which are the cells that line the inner wall of the small intestine. Increasing the lifespan and health of these cells is important for protecting against intestinal permeability, which is when toxins are able to ‘slide’ through the intestinal wall and cause damage to the rest of the body.
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5. ZINC CARNOSINE
Zinc Carnosine (ZnC) is a supplement product that is an artificially produced substance of 1:1 ratio of zinc to carnosine. Zinc is an essential mineral that aids in many of our necessary chemical reactions in the body, and carnosine is a dipeptide molecule composed of beta-alanine and histidine both are amino acids. Carnosine is highly concentrated in the brain and muscle tissues. Research has found that ZnC improves gut integrity and permeability by stimulating cell proliferation in the small intestine. This reduces gastric and small intestinal injury by preventing toxins and pathogens from passing through the intestinal wall. This is why ZnC is a supplement to improve gut health.
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6. DEGLYCYRRHIZINATED LICORICE
Licorice root is a very beneficial tea because it contains over 75 bioactive compounds, but it also contains a compound called glycyrrhizin. This compound has been found to cause adverse effects in humans, so one of the supplements that can confirm deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) is a way to improve gut health. Studies done on patients with functional dyspepsia, a gastrointestinal disorder that causes a great deal of discomfort, have found that DGL is beneficial in reducing discomfort. It can also reduce mucosal damage found in a rat study by increasing mucous production and reducing inflammation.
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7. MARSHMALLOW ROOT
Marshmallow root is another supplement that can improve gut health. It contains a high mucilage content which helps build up the mucous content in the intestines. Increasing the mucous helps ease inflammation, prevent constipation, and promote the integrity of tight junctions. It also has antioxidant benefits because it can release oxygen radicals in the white blood cells, and it improves histamine activity, another nitrogen compound that fights inflammation.
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8. BERBERINE
Berberine is a naturally occurring organic compound that is found in many plant species, and it has been notable for its natural medicine use in china due to its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. It can improve gut health because it has been used in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. Additionally, in a different study, it was shown to aid in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by increasing intestinal mucous. Occludin is a vital protein to build the structure for the tight junctions in the intestines. They suggested that intestinal barrier dysfunction exists in those with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with intestinal permeability. In these subjects, there is a decreased level of occludin, which can be rehabilitated with berberine treatment.
9. SLIPPERY ELM
Slippery elm is a supplement made from the powder of the bark from the slippery elm tree. Evidence shows that slippery elm can improve gut health because it has benefited patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. It is a soothing supplement to ease constipation and bloating through building up intestinal mucous and it decreases inflammation.
10. CURCUMIN
Curcumin is the bioactive part of turmeric and a supplement that can confirm what is good gut health. Curcumin has anti-inflammatory properties that aid in intestinal health and tight junctions. It also regulates gut bacteria creating the right balance to optimize absorption. Though the herb can be low bioavailable in the body when it is absorbed it centers in the gut. Combining turmeric with black pepper or looking for curcumin supplement formation with black pepper or piperine can enhance the absorption of curcumin. Piperine is the bioactive compound found in black pepper that has been shown to increase the absorption of curcumin
11. COCONUT OIL
Coconut oil contains high amounts of lauric acid which can improve gut health. Lauric acid is a medium-chain fatty acid in coconut which has antioxidant properties. Lauric acid has been shown to have antibacterial effects against pathogens which explains that lauric acid is beneficial for intestinal health. The lauric acid was found to have low antimicrobial activity towards lactic acid bacteria which is a positive result because lactic acid bacteria are probiotics in things like yogurt and cheese. These probiotics improve gut health, so it is good that lauric acid doesn’t eliminate them. Additionally, in a study between coconut oil, soybean oil, and olive oil, coconut oil was shown to have the greatest impact on the absorption of caffeic acid, a component found in all plants and is used to increase athletic performance and exercise-related fatigue.
12. GARLIC & ONIONS
Garlic and onions are also noted as foods to improve gut health. They are both high in allicin which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. As garlic is broken down, cut or ground alliinase is released which eventually catalyzes into sulfenic acid. Eventually, the sulfenic acid will self-condensate and make allicin. The allicin gets decomposed and turns into many other organic sulfur compounds and is responsible for many of the benefits of garlic as a whole. The allicin is found to have antibacterial functions. In a study that compares a high-fat diet and a normal diet, mice were given garlic to see the effects on metabolism and gut microbiota. They found garlic to have protective effects for reducing high-fat diet-induced metabolic disorders, it has protective effects on mucosal damage and ulcer development, and overall promotes nonpathogenic bacteria in the intestines.
A rat study that looked at the effect of onion on gut health also shows onion to be a gut healing food because it has prebiotic effects on the intestines, and it supports antioxidant defense by improving the gut microbiota diversity.
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13. GINGER
Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, ginger is a food that can improve gut health. It has been found that ginger can support women with nausea and reduce symptoms of vomiting and nausea in pregnancy. This is important because nausea and vomiting in pregnancy are typically caused by a rise in estrogen that your body is not used to, and we know that high estrogen is a symptom of gut issues. Stomach emptying is another gut issue that can occur because if the stomach takes a long time to release its contents to the small intestine, this can be a sign that the stomach is not functioning right. A study found that ginger can shorten the stomach emptying time by 4 minutes when it is consumed after a bowl of soup.
