Our guts play a huge role in our overall health and wellbeing, from our immunity to our mental health and our digestive system, so prioritizing it is absolutely key to feeling our best. It can take just 2 weeks to reset your gut and to get the best out of it, so we’re here with a bit of information about what a gut health reset is, the benefits and how you can achieve it! The smallest changes can make a huge difference when it comes to our gut, so even if you take baby steps, your body, mind and gut will thank you for it.
What Is A Gut Health Reset?
A gut health reset is all about restoring balance in the gut by adding beneficial foods to your diet and removing some that aren’t as beneficial. In just a few weeks, you can improve your digestive health, which then can improve your digestion, boost your energy, help your immune system, regulate moods, reduce bloating, clear skin, support with weight management, support healthy brain function and so much more. Once you see the benefits, we’re sure that you’ll want to keep gut health as a focus moving forward! Luckily, there are so many positive changes you can make to suit your palette and routine, that will all contribute towards resetting your gut and transforming how you feel.
How To Reset Your Gut!
1. Eat More Prebiotics and Probiotics
Firstly, you need to be eating more prebiotics and probiotics. Foods that contain these healthy bacteria help to fuel our gut microbiome, and when that’s right, everything else falls into place. Foods containing prebiotics include garlic, onions, leeks, asparagus, bananas, nuts and barley. Then, probiotic foods include things that are fermented like kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi and miso. In terms of where to buy kefir and other fermented foods, most large supermarkets stock them so you won’t need to go out of your way to add these gut-friendly foods to your diet! Incorporating a portion of prebiotics and a portion of probiotics into your diet each day can make such a good difference.
2. Eat More Fibre
Something else that is key to help fuel a healthy gut is to eat more fibre. Foods that contain fibre help to add bulk to the stool, which encourages healthy bowel movements, supports healthy digestion and generally it feeds the good bacteria in our stomachs. Luckily fibre is found in many foods that you probably already eat, including any fruit and veg, nuts, beans, lentils, popcorn, oats and seeds. So, make sure you’re eating your 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, as well as nuts and seeds in your diet, and some beans and lentils, then you’ll be well on your way to a healthy gut.
3. Limit Processed Foods and Sugar
Another important component of resetting your gut, as well as adding positive foods into your diet, is to limit processed foods and sugar if you can. Processed foods not only can strip foods of many of the great nutrients that our gut microbiome thrives off, but usually they will also contain high levels of saturated fat, salt and sugar. As a result, this can cause inflammation, bloating, general digestive issues, as well as increasing the risk of some quite serious health conditions. So, try to limit your intake of these foods and generally focus on a balanced diet. Completely stripping out processed foods and sugar is unrealistic as life is a bit too short for that! But really focusing on foods that are great for our gut can transform how you feel.
4. Manage Stress and Increase Sleep
Our gut and mind are directly linked by the vagus nerve, meaning when we’re stressed or tired, it impacts our gut movements, and when we’re not eating properly, it can contribute to poor sleep and stress. So, if you’ve ticked off the other suggestions in terms of gut health and are still struggling, then you need to look at getting more sleep and reducing your stress.
Conclusion
We know this is easier said than done, but set yourself some strict rules in terms of bed to help improve your sleep, making sure you’re getting 7-8 hours every night, as this can be transformative for how you feel. Then, in terms of stress, identify the triggers and see whether there are any adjustments you can make to reduce that. It could be talking to your manager at work about your workload, asking a friend for help with a task that’s weighing on you, swapping your morning phone scroll for a walk in the sunshine or incorporating more exercise as a form of stress relief.
When our minds are overworked and overtired it can impact all areas of our health, including our gut, so it’s vital you’re focusing on protecting your mental health just as much as your physical health!
