7 Gut-Health Fundamentals I Recommend all my Clients Start with
Whether I'm working with someone on their gut health, or to increase their energy, or to address their stress and anxiety - these lifestyle practices are almost always where I’ll start.
It's important to have the basics in place. You can't build a house on a rocky foundation. It's the same for your health - especially your gut health. You can't have a thriving system without a solid base.
The following 7 pillars are what I consider "fundamentals" conducive to gut (and ultimately overall) health. What's great, is for the most part these are all accessible (affordable, if not free), and you can start implementing these on your own, in the comfort of your own home!
While all of these suggestions are generally safe for you to explore on your own, I do want to note that if you might have a certain digestive imbalance, you might not benefit right away from implementing some of these foundations (as you might need to do some gut healing first). Some of these recommendations, like increasing your fiber or prebiotic intake, can exacerbate your symptoms. I always always recommend consulting a practitioner you trust if you are experiencing any signs or symptoms, and before you start to take any sort of supplementation.
That being said, Here are the 7 fundamentals you can start with to improve your gut (and as a result, your overall) health:
1. Increase your fiber intake
OK so dietary fiber plays many important roles in the body - many of which support a healthy gut. Fiber is the indigestible part of plant foods. There are 2 distinct categories: soluble and insoluble fiber.
Soluble fiber forms a gel-like substance when mixed with water or liquid - this helps to bind bile acids, helps to regulate cholesterol and blood sugar levels (fiber actually helps to rid excess cholesterol from the system via our stool, and may help to normalize serum cholesterol levels), and helps to keep the pH levels in the intestines at their ideal level.
Insoluble fiber on the other hand, doesn't dissolve in water, but rather absorbs it, which helps to keep bowel movements regular, bulk stool, and support peristalsis. It's fermented in the gut by bacteria in the microbiome (it feeds our little guys!). This fermentation process produces short-chain fatty acids, which maintain and provide a source of fuel to the cells in the intestines.
Eat a wide variety of plant foods to get lots of fiber. Some foods you might want to consider:
beans
legumes
leafy greens
whole grains (unrefined)
oats
fruits
vegetables
ground flax seed
ground chia seed
Note: Increasing your dietary fiber intake may cause some GI upset like bloating or gas - it might take some time for your body and microbiome to get used to this additional fiber. Start low and slow.
2. Make sure you’re Drinking Enough H2O
Hydration is super super important. In regards to gut health - adequate hydration keeps stool soft, and easily passable through the intestinal tract. Adequate water intake supports colon health, skin health (and basically cellular health). It helps to carry nutrients to your ells, supports detoxification pathways, and aids in waste removal via the kidneys.
Aim for at least ~2L/day. I find it helpful to keep a 1L water bottle at my desk/close by to act as a reminder to have at least two in a day!
3. Emphasize Whole Foods
Where possible, opt for whole food, unprocessed foods. These include: fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes & beans, nuts, seeds, healthy fats (like avocados, walnuts, olives, wild-caught cold water fish, etc.) & clean protein sources. Highly processed and refined foods can cause inflammation in the body, blood sugar imbalances (spikes and dips in your blood sugar levels), disrupt the balance of your microbiome, contribute to hormonal imbalances, tax your liver, etc. A good rule of thumb when grocery shopping is to try to make most (if not all) of your haul include items with minimal ingredients, or no ingredients in them. The food itself ideally is the only ingredient.
4. Incorporate Prebiotic and Probiotic Foods
Prebiotics are non-digestable fibers, that actually FEED these beneficial microorganisms. It's not only important that we have an adequate good-guys in our guts, but we've got to show them some love by feeding them. We want them to stay and hangout with us, ya? The fermentation of these non-digestible fibers in the gut produce metabolites called short-chained fatty acids (SCFA's for short). These SCFA's are super important (as above mentioned), as they support maintenance and energy for the cells in the cell in the intestinal lining.
Probiotics are *live* microorganisms, that can provide health benefits to their hosts - they can help to restore and re-balance the microbiome. Different strains of probiotics can be used to target different systems and/or symptoms. I'll highlight this in more detail in another post.
While all plant-based whole foods are sources of fiber, and beneficial for our gut (diversity in plant based foods is super important!!), there are specific "prebotic foods" (non-digestible fibers) that are known to feed our little guys. Try incorporating some of these into your food everyday to show your microbiome some love.
Some of them prebiotic foods are:
raw jicama
raw asparagus
raw chicory root
raw Jerusalem artichoke
raw garlic
raw/cooked onions
Some probiotic, or "live" foods to incorporate might be:
coconut kefir
coconut yogurt (or organic dairy yogurt if you tolerate it)
kimchi
sauerkraut
fermented veggies
pickles
natto
tempeh
5. Move your Body Every Day
Movement is not only a great stress-reliever, but depending on the type of movement, it can tone the muscles around the digestive tract, can reduce transient stool time (which means passing stool more quickly AKA better poops!), and some research has actually shown that movement may beneficially impact the composition of the gut microbiome.
Experiment with whatever makes you feel good. Movement doesn't necessarily need to mean "exercise." Getting a mix of cardio and resistance training is a good balance. Walking make you feel good? Go for a walk. Are you an aspiring yogi? Try a yoga or pilates class. Into martial arts? Weight lifting? 15-minute at home mat resistance training? Perfect. As long as you're moving your bod.
6. Find a Stress Management Practice that Works for you
This one hits close to home for me - it's so important. The gut is so intimately intertwined with the body's nervous system (it has its OWN nervous system, hello), and stress has a direct impact on digestive processes. Stress also impacts the endocrine system (our hormonal system), our sleep, and our immunity.
Practicing stress management daily (however that looks for you), will help keep things moving and working as they should. To get you started, here are a couple things to look into further:
breath work (like the square breath, or the 4-7-8 breath)
journaling
cultivating a creative hobby
spend time in nature
clean up/organize your space
practice mindfulness
meditate (I know, I know - but it works)
7. Prioritize your Shut-Eye 💤
Adequate, and quality rest, is another hugely important pillar. We know that sleep is important for many functions like immunity, metabolism, memory, etc. and general housekeeping and toxin removal - but sleep can also have an impact on our gut health. Some research shows that compromised sleep lowers levels of beneficial bacteria in the gut, and conversely the gut microbiome produces many important neurotransmitters that impact sleep. Make sure to get at least 7-9 hours a night - whatever feels good for you.
With these 7 fundamentals in place, you'll set the stage for both health & vitality, AND healing, should you have some deeper healing to do. Try to approach one thing at a time, and make it a habit. Focusing on too many things at once easily becomes overwhelming, and that's where a lot of people tend to "fall off the wagon" (though I really don't care for that phrase) - and fall back into old habits that don't serve them.
