Our gut microbiome is extremely important to our overall health. What you eat has a big impact on the bacteria in your digestive system. While some of these microbes are extremely beneficial to your health, many others can be harmful. However, a healthy diet and the use of synbiotics can help to build good gut bacteria.
Here are Five Strategies to Build Good Gut Bacteria and Improve Digestive Health.
Eat more probiotics
Probiotic foods contain live microorganisms that aid in the maintenance of normal intestinal flora with their ability to support a healthy digestive system.
A probiotic-rich diet can help lower the risk of digestive disorders and can also be used to treat diarrhoea and other digestive issues.
Other reported therapeutic effects include the promotion of a healthy immune system and the promotion of overall health and well-being.
Probiotics come in a variety of forms, including yoghurt, cheese, and fermented foods.
Keep Gut Bacteria Strong with Prebiotics
Unlike digestible foods, prebiotics remain intact as they pass through the digestive system, reaching the colon where they nourish beneficial gut bacteria.
Resistant to human digestion, prebiotics travel unimpeded through the stomach and small intestine, becoming a feast for the beneficial microbes residing in the colon.
Abundant in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, prebiotics also find their way into raw wholefood dietary supplements, offering a convenient source of this gut-friendly nutrient.
Fill up on Fermented Foods
Fermented foods contain live cultures that help promote healthy digestion and boost immunity.
They also provide prebiotics, which feed good bacteria in the digestive tract.
Examples of fermented foods include yoghurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, and miso soup.
Eat less red meat
Not only does red meat contain high amounts of saturated fat, but researchers discovered an enzyme in gut bacteria that causes an inflammation-causing carbohydrate to be released from meat. (1)
Limiting your intake of red meat will help the good bacteria in your gut thrive. You’ll also be limiting your exposure to potentially harmful N-nitroso toxins found in processed meats and some other foods.
By improving your overall bowel health, you will be able to avoid Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
Limit processed foods
Preservatives, additives, and artificial ingredients in processed foods are bad for your body and gut health. Natural, whole foods are far healthier.
Eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes instead. These foods provide essential nutrients that aid in the health of your digestive tract.
Synbiotic supplement
Although the term “synbiotic” is less well-known than “prebiotic” or “probiotic,” it is not a fancy new way to describe what is naturally present in our diet or dietary supplements that contain both probiotics and prebiotics.
Synbiotics derive their name from the “synergistic” effects that occur when probiotics and prebiotics work together to enhance efficiency or restore the beneficial effects of the friendly bacteria that live in our gut.
In a nutshell, symbiotic supplements combine friendly bacteria and a food source to feed the friendly bacteria in one supplement.
Building good gut bacteria can prove extremely beneficial, as our environment heavily influences the microbes in our gut.
However, not everyone needs to take a synbiotic supplement. But when buying one it is important to choose one that is Certified Organic.
Why choose Certified Organic?
Most supplements are not Certified Organic; instead, manufacturers produce them using intensively farmed foods that undergo spraying with toxic pesticides and herbicides. Additionally, these foods are often fertilized with ‘sewage sludge,’ a mixture that includes not only treated human waste but also a combination of everything poured down drains (both domestic and industrial), along with hormones, chemicals, and medical drug derivatives that pass through people’s bodies. Fortunately, organic farming prohibits these practices.
Another example illustrates the production of supplements using freeze-dried Certified Organic fruits, eliminating the need for processing agents during the drying process. This contrasts with the more prevalent fruit drying method, which relies on flash heat and necessitates a minimum 40% maltodextrin to 60% food ratio to prevent natural sugars from adhering to the equipment as the food passes through the machinery.
Indeed, to cut costs on the diluted food ingredient, some companies will quietly ask for as much as 80% maltodextrin to 20% food, a ratio that will never find its way onto the label. Maltodextrin, a commonly used processing bulking agent, primarily originates from modern genetically modified corn, serving as the largest global source. Furthermore, the flash heat generated by such machinery not only destroys 40% of the vitamins but also denatures (damages) the enzymes in the foods.
There is a lot that goes into making high-quality products. The ingredients and the Certified Organic logo help people see the quality on a label, but there is so much more that goes on behind the scenes, and this is where integrity is crucial when making synbiotic supplements, having a moral duty to put people before profit.
One such Certified Organic product that will help build good gut bacteria is Superfoods Plus. You can read much more about its amazing benefits for gut health in my blog post here.
