Maintaining a healthy gut is essential to your overall health and well being. Not only is it important for optimal digestion but also for healthy looking skin, mental health, and your immune system. Our body works synergistically. Let me give you an examples. When you have increased stress, you may have an acne breakout. Why? Stress affects your immune response. You may also make unhealthy food choices that causes issues in your digestive tract as well. All of these things work together and can manifest to an acne breakout.
What can you do to keep your gut healthy?
Here’s a list of the top ways:
1. Choose a good prebiotic & probiotic with digestive enzymes. This will promote good bacteria to flourish.
2. Reduce stress. Easier said than done maybe, but reducing stress can go a long way to keep your gut healthy. Stress negatively impacts your physical and mental health as well. Since everything works synergistically it is important to decrease your level of stress.
3. Make healthy food choices. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store where you will find fresh food choices. Avoiding the center aisles and all of the processed foods full of additives is essential to good gut health.
4. Exercise. Regular exercise will promote a more diverse microbiome
5. Sleep is important for numerous reasons. A lack of sleep can disturb your digestion and your microbiome. This can lead to a poor diet and weight gain.
6. Staying hydrated helps your gut work at an optimal level. Avoid products loaded with sugars and carbohydrates.
7. Avoid artificial sweeteners and excessive sugar. Refined sugar can upset the balance in your metabolism and your gut. Excessive intake can lead to increased health risks including diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.