Trust your gut to feed health and happiness

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have missed the news that gut health is the hottest nutrition trend of the year.

So, should we all be getting on the fermentation and probiotic trend?

Let’s break it down and take a look.

The digestive process takes place in your stomach and intestine. Trillions of microbes break down particles from the food and drinks you consume, so your body can absorb the nutrients it needs. These microbes also play a critical role in shaping your appetite, allergies, metabolism, neurological function and even aspects of your mood.

Unfortunately, the modern diet is higher in sugar and unhealthy fats that feed the bad bacteria, which means that we need to consume a sufficient amount of fibre each day to feed the good bacteria. So, what can we do to help our gut to thrive?

Minimise an unhealthy diet – Reduce your sugar, unhealthy fats and processed foods. As well as helping the good microbes, you should find a reduction in gas, discomfort, bloating, and chronic inflammation.

Stock up on fresh produce – Whole plant foods especially fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains have the most good bacteria. Superfoods that are packed with microbe-fuelling nutrients include garlic, leeks, onions, asparagus, bananas, apples, oats, flaxseed, cocoa and seaweed.

Eat organic foods – Going organic can assist in creating optimum conditions for microbial health and help you steer clear of unnecessary antibiotics, glyphosate, and environmental toxins.

Add a probiotic – Probiotics are the so-called ‘good’ microorganisms inside your gastrointestinal tract. They aid in digestion and keep your tummy happy. Consume foods and beverages such as yoghurt and kombucha or check out the supplements in your local chemist and supermarket.

Consume prebiotics for probiotics – They’re a type of plant fibre humans can’t digest that take up residence inside your large intestine. The more of these prebiotics you feed to your probiotics, the more efficiently they’ll do good work inside you. Prebiotic foods include chicory root, garlic, onions, asparagus and leeks.

Jump on our website to check out our range of gut-friendly recipes – www.slendier.com.

The image can be credited to: @joniastin