Balancing Your Gut Bacteria With A Healthy Diet

There are over 100 trillion cells living in your gut and these organisms play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy digestive system. There are different types of bacteria that can live in your gut.

Some of these organisms have positive effects since they help your body absorb vitamins and nutrients, help you digest and strengthen your immune system.

However, there are bad bacteria that can take over your gut. These bacteria can cause health problems, cause you to gain weight in your midsection and cause you to develop digestive problems.

This is why you need to make a few changes to your diet and your lifestyle to restore a healthy balance with your gut bacteria.

You need to make some changes if you suffer from any of the symptoms of an unbalanced gut bacteria. Your gut bacteria might be unbalanced if you suffer from bloating or any other digestive problem. Lacking vitamins or gaining weight are other signs to look for.

You are also more likely to experience an unbalance in your gut bacteria if you are taking antibiotics, eating an unhealthy diet or if you experience stress on a regular basis.

Some foods cause bad bacteria to grow at a fast pace and to take over your gut. If your diet is rich in these foods, you need to make a few changes to restore a healthier balance in your gut bacteria.

Foods rich in sugar, grains and unhealthy oils cause bad bacteria to thrive in your gut. If you often eat bread, pasta, baked goods and other snacks, you are likely to experience an unbalance in your gut bacteria.

You can support healthy gut bacteria by eating more of the foods that the good bacteria needs. This includes fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi and dairy products like yogurt and cheese that haven’t been pasteurized. Yogurt is also rich in probiotic, which will have a positive effect on your gut bacteria.

Try eating non-pasteurized dairy products on a daily basis while reducing the amount of grains, sugar and unhealthy oils present in your diet. You will find that your digestive problems disappear after a while and that it is easier to lose weight in your midsection once you adopt this diet.

Drinking soda on a daily basis can have disastrous effects on your gut bacteria. These beverages rich in sugar cause the bad gut bacteria to thrive.

Try reducing the amount of soda you drink or completely eliminate this type of unhealthy beverages from your diet if possible. It is important to stay hydrated and water doesn’t contain any sugar and unhealthy chemicals that can be found in beverages like sodas, especially diet sodas.

Managing your stress is also important. Bad bacteria will thrive if you experience stress on a regular basis. This can be difficult if you have an extremely busy schedule or a stressful job. Try setting some time aside every day to do something you love and relax.

Ask yourself what causes you to feel stressed and find solutions to either avoid stressful situations or to handle these situations better. It will be easier to manage your stress once you eliminate bad gut bacteria since this bacteria can contribute to making your stress worse.

Keep in mind that your diet and lifestyle can worsen your stress. Your stress will be easier to manage if you are more active and stay away from cigarettes and caffeine. You will also find that avoiding unhealthy foods that contain sugar, fats and chemicals will help you keep your stress under control.

Transforming the way you eat is not always easy. If you have a hard time with introducing fermented foods in your diet or do not enjoy eating yogurt or cheese, you should consider taking probiotic supplements. You can find supplements that are made to support healthy gut bacteria. This is a good option if you want to get results quickly and will combine taking a supplement with making changes to your lifestyle.

Maintaining healthy gut bacteria is very important because this bacteria will support your immune system and help with digestion. If you suffer from digestive issues, have been taking antibiotics or seem to have a weakened immune system, you need to take action right away and make a few changes to your diet.

Making changes to your gut bacteria can be difficult at first, but you will find that it is easy to maintain healthy gut bacteria once you get used to eating the right foods or take a supplement on a daily basis.

You should schedule an appointment with a doctor or with a nutritionist if you are not sure what kind of changes you need to make to your diet or seem to suffer from more serious health problems that could be linked to an unbalance in your gut bacteria.

For more information about your gut bacteria you can also listen to Jeroen Raes, who talks about this subject on TEDx Talks… All the best!