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 is associated with a lower 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 yogurt, cheese, and fermented foods.
Keep them strong with prebiotics
Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that feed the beneficial good bacteria in your gut.
Prebiotics are not fermented by the human body, and therefore pass undigested through the stomach and small intestine to the colon.
Prebiotics are found in a variety of different foods including fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Prebiotics are also available in raw wholefood dietary supplements.
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 yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, and miso soup.
Eat less red meat
Not only does red meat contains 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.
This can be extremely beneficial to build good gut bacteria because the microbes in our gut are heavily influenced by our environment.
However, not everyone needs to take a supplement that is synbiotic. But when buying one it is important to choose one that is Certified Organic.
Why choose Certified Organic?
Most supplements are not Certified Organic; they are made with intensively farmed foods that have been sprayed with toxic pesticides, herbicides, and often fertilised with 'sewage sludge,' which is not just treated human waste, but a concoction of everything that gets poured down the drains (domestic & industrial), plus all the hormones/chemical/medical drug derivatives that pass-through people's bodies. Fortunately, these are a prohibited practise in organic farming.
Another example is that supplements CAN be made with freeze-dried Certified Organic fruits that do not require any processing agents during the drying process, as opposed to the most common type of fruit drying process, which uses flash heat and requires at least a 40% maltodextrin to 60% food ratio in order for the food to pass through the machinery without the natural sugars sticking to the equipment.
In fact, to reduce the cost of the diluted food ingredient, some companies will request up to 80% maltodextrin to 20% food, which will NEVER be declared on the label. Maltodextrin, a processing bulking agent, is commonly used; the largest global source comes from modern-day farmed genetically modified corn. What's more, the flash heat produced by that type of machinery destroys 40% of the vitamins and 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 it's amazing benefits for gut health in my blog post here.
