You may have noticed the terms ‘gut health’ and ‘gut microbiome’ circulating more often these days – maybe in discussion with your medical providers, in conversation with friends or colleagues, or through health-focused accounts on social media.
They’ve become more common terms in recent years, and for good reason! Your gut health – the health of your gut microbiome – steers the ship of your body’s overall health and well-being in some incredibly important ways.
What is the gut microbiome?
Worthy of a lifetime of deep-dives, the gut microbiome is a community of microorganisms that lives all throughout your digestive system. (1) It plays a crucial role in all aspects of digestion, but does much more than that.
This busy community is in constant communication with your brain and the rest of your body. The higher the population and the larger the diversity of this community of microorganisms, the healthier your gut microbiome is.
And the healthier your gut microbiome is, the healthier the rest of your body is.
Another way to think of it – you know the saying, “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!”?
Try this instead: “If your gut ain’t happy, ain’t none of your body happy!”
…and that’s because poor gut health can lead to increased inflammation, chronic illness, depression and anxiety disorders, and more. (2)
What does science say?
Even though scientists have been investigating the importance of gut health since the 1800’s, recent research has focused a lot more attention on the topic.
In 2012, the Human Microbiome Project published results from a ground-breaking study that showed we each have more bacteria (← good + important ones…don’t worry!) in our body than cells! (2)
Incredible!
Not only that, the microbiome is now referred to as our second genome. The human genome is described as ‘the blueprint of human biology’ and contains 20,000 genes. But scientists now know that the microbiome has two million or more genes! (3)
These and other findings have brought gut health to the forefront of conversations surrounding human health and well-being.
Since a healthy gut microbiome is such a critical component of general well-being, we all want to know how to improve gut health!
1. Keep your taste buds guessing – eat a wide range of healthy foods
Diversity is key for gut health! Eating a variety of fresh veggies and fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains promotes a diverse microbiome.
- Make it your goal to eat the rainbow. Try to incorporate as many different colors (real + natural, of course!) into your daily meals and snacks.
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Try the Plant Points game. For each plant you eat in a day, you get a point. Look at your plate and count up how many different plants are represented – one point for each!
This doesn’t have to be a full serving of the food…the goal is variety!
If you’re having a green salad at dinner, use two types of lettuce instead of one, toss in some fresh herbs, add a tablespoon of sunflower seeds, throw in those leftover roasted veggies from last night…diversity!
Plant Points pro tip: this is a great way to encourage kids to add more healthy variety to their daily diet! How many points can you get per meal? How many points can you get in a week? How many different plants can you eat over the course of a day or week?
2. Embrace fermented foods – they’re delish and powerful
Fermented foods are full of probiotics and introduce healthy bacteria to your gut. They’re a super important component of an optimized daily diet, but especially critical if you’ve been sick, and definitely if you’ve had to take antibiotics recently.
- Some tasty ways to get your probiotic fermented foods include yogurt, fresh sauerkraut, kimchi, and cultured cottage cheese (which also has a ton of protein!).
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Add fermented foods wherever you can…a little on the side with each meal goes a long way!
Or, try building a daily snack around one fermented food. -
One of our favorite ways to get our probiotics is through Good Wolf Probiotic Refreshers!
3. Cut back on processed foods and sugar – they aren’t doing your gut any favors
Unprocessed, whole foods are best for your gut health.
Processed foods and lots of sugar can throw off your gut’s balance of bacteria.
For a mindset shift:
- Instead of focusing on what you shouldn't eat, put your energy toward filling your plate with as many foods as you can that will contribute to great gut health!
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Remember that your microbiome is a community. Eating real and whole foods is like planting trees to line the neighborhood streets. Regularly eating ultra-processed or high-sugar foods is like emptying your trash can onto the sidewalk.
4. Hydrate – your body will thank you
When you’re well-hydrated, the mucosal lining of your intestine can move food through your digestive tract more easily, so this is a biggie!
Pro tip: make sure you’re getting plenty of electrolytes, especially if it’s hot, you’re exercising, or you’re sick.
5. Keep stress in check – your brain and gut are connected
Your gut and your brain are besties…they talk all the time! And they really impact each other! Chronic stress can negatively affect your gut health, and poor gut health can lead to mental health issues. (2)
To keep this balance in check, you can try:
- Yoga
- Deep breathing
- Meditation
- Purposeful chunks of screen-free time each day
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Spending time on positive, face-to-face relationships
6. Catch those Zzzzz’s – sleep matters
Sleep is a cornerstone of overall health. It contributes to great gut health and helps optimize digestion and immune function.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but even missing just one hour per night of your needed sleep (between 7 and 9 hours for most adults), can lead to negative health outcomes. (5)
Your gut microbiome depends on good sleep, just like the rest of your body!
7. Move your bod – getting those steps in matters for your gut, too
We all know it…exercise is important!
In terms of gut health, physical activity contributes to improved digestion.
It can also be a huge stress-reducer. And since stress has a negative impact on gut health, decreasing stress by moving your body is a win-win!
One step at a time
These habits might be simple, but they aren’t necessarily easy! Try picking one or two to focus on for a month until they become a rock-solid habit, then add in another. Your gut will thank you!
How to improve gut health: pro tip!
Good Wolf Probiotic Refreshers are a tasty way to help check the boxes of your daily gut health habits!
We batch ferment all our beverages using fresh, real, whole ingredients – local and organic whenever possible! – to create a probiotic drink that’s as delicious as it is good for you.
Our Refreshers support your gut health and overall well-being because they:
- Are packed with probiotics – at least two billion CFU probiotics per can!
- Contain electrolytes – no need for sports drinks full of artificial junk!
- Are free from added sugar – our bevvies are sweetened by the organic Pacific Northwest apple juice we use in our fermentation process
- Have no caffeine – sipping perfection for kids, pregnancy, and just generally keeping it chill any time of day!
- Never ever contain any artificial ingredients – no artificial sweeteners, no dyes, no ‘natural flavors’... we always keep it real!
I’m ready to improve my gut health! Take me to the Probiotic Refreshers!
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Author: Molly Brumfield