Essential Gut Health Habits That You Might Not Think About
Frequently on this blog, you all will see me refer time and time again to the time when I experienced significant gut health and digestion issues for over the last couple years.
These gut health and digestion issues were triggered primarily by the prolonged stress and anxiety I was experiencing. Every day, I was anxious going into work. I was pre-anticipating what fires would need to be put out while on the job.
But also, this trigger probably just tipped the scale. I had never really paid too much attention to what I was eating and how I was eating.
It was likely an accumulation of factors that caused me to experience painful bloating, discomfort, nausea, and so much more on a daily basis.
And it took me a while to work through these issues and start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
For a while, I thought this was just how life was going to be. I would be dependent on different medicines to mask symptoms, feeling terrible after every meal. Even meals that I thought were really healthy.
But slowly, after focusing on my health and building up strong habits that supported good gut health and digestion, I started to feel better. I believe you can too!
It will take time. It won’t be an overnight quick fix, but the below items I think were extremely supportive to my gut health and overall wellbeing.
1. Adding bone broth to your diet significantly improves gut health and digestion
Adding bone broth to your diet can have significant benefits for gut health and digestion. I recently learned about just how good bone broth is. Wow! It is now a staple in my kitchen cabinet. Bone broth is easy to digest and is rich in nutrients, collagen, gelatin, and amino acids that are beneficial for the gut lining.
The collagen and gelatin found in bone broth can help repair and strengthen the intestinal lining, reducing inflammation and promoting proper digestion. The amino acids in bone broth, such as glutamine and glycine, support the growth and repair of the intestinal cells.
Additionally, bone broth contains compounds like proline and arginine, which can help reduce gut permeability and support a healthy balance of gut bacteria.
This means that consumption of bone broth can positively aid in repairing your gut. It is particularly helpful for those of us who suffer from leaky gut, or have experienced prolonged periods of gut inflammation and gastritis!
By incorporating bone broth into your diet, you provide your gut with nourishing substances that can improve gut integrity, support digestion, and contribute to overall gut health.
Want to know what was the icing on top?
Not only does it aid in promoting the restoration of my gut environment, but it also is loaded with protein! One serving alone (about one cup) has ~10 grams of protein!!
So, how, you may ask, do I incorporate bone broth into my weekly diet?
- Base for chicken noodle and beef soups
- Add it to beef stews
- Boil chickpea pasta noodles
- Boil quinoa which adds a very nice flavor to the quinoa when it is ready
There are so many different ways to incorporate it, and it is so easy and so affordable.
Don’t worry! I got you and recipes are forthcoming!
My nutritionist also recommended that you can drink it straight for a more direct approach, but I don’t know about that – a savory drink is not my thing! But do you!
2. Reducing stress and learning to better manage it
I’ve spoken about this before and will keep harping on it. Prolonged stress can have a significant, negative impact on the body, affecting both physical and mental health.
When we experience chronic stress, our bodies remain in a heightened state of alertness. This leads to increased production of stress hormones like cortisol. Our body will begin to operate in fight or flight mode more frequently than rest and digest which should typically be the default state.
Being frequently in this heightened state can disrupt various systems in our body, including the immune, cardiovascular, and digestive systems. Over time, chronic stress can weaken the immune response, elevate blood pressure, contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease, and disrupt digestive processes.
You may notice when you are really stressed, you may get sick easily. Or, you may notice your stomach churning when you have a huge presentation. That is your body telling you the stress is impacting its functions!
In my case, the prolonged stress 100% impacted my digestive processes.
Additionally, prolonged stress can negatively affect mental health, leading to symptoms of anxiety, depression, and difficulty in coping with daily challenges.
I was so anxious all the time and sad about the state of my gut health and digestion. I felt like I had no control over it.
And that becomes a negative feedback loop because you know you are experiencing external stress, your body starts protesting, and then you become aware and anxious about the state of your body!
That endless cycle can be hard to break, but the sooner you start paying attention to it and addressing it, the better.
Stress is a detriment to your physical and mental health.
Because I took so long to address my stress, the symptoms I was experiencing just kept becoming more frequent and more persistent.
The mind-gut connection is a powerful thing.
It almost felt like I was making myself sick some days. Particularly, when I was working against a deadline, had a huge presentation, or was getting berated by a senior team member about various projects, I always worried I would have symptoms.
Then, inevitably, I would end up having the symptoms I was so worried about.
Recognizing the importance of reducing stress is crucial for maintaining good gut health and digestion as well as general well-being
Engaging in stress-reducing practices such as exercise, mindfulness, relaxation techniques, and self-care activities can help mitigate the negative impact of stress on your body and mind.
I made reducing stress a priority. I stopped stressing myself out over work. It was no longer worth it. There was so much more to life.
I also really started listening to my body. Listening to what it needed and what it hated. I really became in tune with my body after learning about the mind-gut connection.
3. Be mindful and present when you are eating
Take 3 deep, slow breaths before consuming any of your meals.
I’ll admit that it can be awkward when you are eating with people…so, at least try this practice when you are eating by yourself.
Being mindful and present when eating plays a crucial role in promoting good digestive health.
Many of us underestimate the impact of their eating habits on digestion. I certainly wasn’t considering my eating habits before I got sick!
But, by practicing mindfulness during meals, you can enhance your body’s ability to properly digest and absorb nutrients. You can help your body enter rest and digest mode, activating the parasympathetic nervous system, especially when you are having a taxing day.
When you eat mindfully, you give your full attention to the sensory experience of eating, taking note of the taste, texture, and aroma of your food.
By slowing down, chewing food thoroughly, and savoring each bite, you provide your digestive system with the time and attention it needs to break down food effectively.
Don’t give your body more work than it already has!
Mindful eating also helps to prevent overeating, as it enables you to tune in to your body’s hunger and satiety cues.
This is not an easy practice to master. I mean so many of us boss girlies are always looking for easy ways to multitask.
The easiest way is always to eat while we are working or eat while we are meeting someone. Or, eat while watching tv at the end of a long day!
And there’s nothing wrong with eating while watching something. I love eating a snack while watching Selling Sunset!
But if you try to minimize other stimulants in your surroundings some days, you will notice the difference. Try not to watch tv or scroll the internet while eating, for even just one meal.
You might find that you enjoy that meal even more.
However, all the gut health and digestion issues I experienced led me to have a negative relationship with food. I didn’t look forward to eating. Often, I tried to keep meals as bland as possible thinking that would help me avoid problems!
I think being mindful and present while I was eating definitely helped me also overcome that mental roadblock.
By fostering a mindful and present eating practice, you support optimal digestion, nutrient absorption, and overall digestive health.
Eating should be enjoyable! Not a task!
4. Avoid artificial sugars and “diet” foods
There are so many foods and popular products nowadays that have “diet” or “keto friendly” versions that are made with fake sugars and other replacement and filler chemicals.
How do you think they are able to maintain a similar taste as the original!
Don’t believe every new sticker on a label of your favorite products. Become an ingredients examiner! I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to know what it is you are putting into your body.
Avoiding artificial sugars and diet foods is crucial for maintaining good gut health.
Artificial sugars, also known as artificial sweeteners, are synthetic sugar substitutes used as alternatives to regular sugar. These substances are designed to provide sweetness to foods and beverages while adding little to no calories.
Common examples of artificial sugars include aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet), saccharin (Sweet’N Low), sucralose (Splenda), and acesulfame potassium (Sunett, Sweet One).
Artificial sugars can disrupt the delicate balance of our gut microbiome. These artificial sugars are often not easily digested by the body and can reach the colon, where they can be fermented by certain gut bacteria, leading to gas, bloating, and discomfort.
I will admit, I have fallen victim in recent years to these diet friendly foods thinking they were better for me without doing proper diligence on the ingredients.
It is so easy to think these foods are good for you with the way they are pushed in commercials and media!
And almost every product on the grocery store shelves has a diet friendly option.
Moreover, diet foods that are labeled as “sugar-free” or “low-fat” often contain artificial additives and preservatives that can negatively affect the gut microbiome and overall digestive health as well.
Instead, you should prioritize consuming whole, unprocessed foods that are naturally low in sugar and rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. These will materially promote good gut health and digestion.
If you prefer a little sweetness, try looking for products sweetened with stevia extract, monk fruit extract, or dates which are all naturally derived sweetener alternatives.
The goal is to give your body the least amount of irritants while it is already in a troubled state. Then in the future you can have some of your favorite treats in moderation.
This approach supports a diverse and healthy gut microbiome, promotes proper digestion, and contributes to overall gut well being.
5. Cut out vegetable and processed oils to promote good gut health and digestion
So many of us have always cooked with spray vegetable oil or canola oil and other processed oils that are actually highly inflammatory for the gut and body as a whole.
The unsaturated fats found in these types of oils are one of the primary causes for inflammation.
But we didn’t know or pay attention to this because we were just using the same oil our families have always used!
Cutting out vegetable and highly processed oils is crucial for promoting good gut health. I am talking about corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, and hydrogenated oils. These oils are often high in omega-6 fatty acids and low in omega-3 fatty acids.
An imbalance between these two types of fatty acids can contribute to chronic inflammation in the body, especially the gut.
Additionally, vegetable and highly processed oils are often subjected to high heat and chemical processing, which can lead to the formation of harmful compounds, such as trans fats and oxidized fats. These compounds can disrupt the gut barrier function, and contribute to gut inflammation.
There are much better and safer oils to cook with out there, have no fear!
Oils with healthier fat sources and more beneficial nutrients include:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Avocado oil
- Coconut oil
Additionally, there are other methods of cooking that you can utilize to reduce your general dependence on cooking oils:
- Pressure cooker and/or air fryer – my personal favorite
- You can cook almost anything in this
- Does not require oil
- Easy and fast!!
- Cook more stews and soups
- Healthier and require little to no oil
- Try using the absolute bare minimum of oil that a recipe calls for
- If all else fails!
6. Eat whole foods
Processed foods especially in the States include so many different chemicals and additives that we cannot even pronounce, let alone know what they are!
And, as we are now aware, they are treated with so many pesticides and herbicides that inevitably make it into our dishes if we are not paying attention.
Let me repeat…we put these into our body and expose our bodies to it daily. We are exposed to hundreds of chemicals and toxins every day!
And a toxin doesn’t necessarily mean it harms you immediately, most often it is a slow build up almost like you are filling up a bucket over time.
We don’t want to fill that bucket to the top.
Because of this, eating whole foods is essential for promoting good gut health and overall wellness. Whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, provide a wide range of nutrients, including fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
These nutrients are beneficial for maintaining a healthy gut environment and supporting the growth of good gut bacteria. The fiber found in whole foods helps regulate bowel movements, promotes regularity, and supports a healthy gut microbiome.
The goal is to look for organic foods as much as you can. Organic foods are generally free from artificial additives, preservatives, pesticides, herbicides and processed ingredients that can disrupt the gut microbiota and contribute to gut inflammation.
By prioritizing a diet rich in whole, organic foods, you can begin to reduce the amount of chemicals and toxins your body is exposed to.
It makes a difference and you will begin to enjoy cooking your meals and eating a variety of fruits and vegetables.
And if you busy ladies don’t have time, that’s not a great excuse! If you want to feel better, or even better than you already do, prioritize meal prepping on your weekends!
It only, takes a couple hours max and it is worth it.
By cooking your meals and eating whole foods, you are taking back control of your health and what you feed your body.
Those are some of the keys, in my opinion, to promoting good gut health and digestion.
With that, what are some ways you all support good gut health and proper digestion?
Comment below so we can learn from each other!
