We all know that almost all diseases, whether metabolic, autoimmune or cognitive — start with gastrointestinal disturbances or imbalances. 70-80 per cent of our immunity lies there too! Are we taking good enough care of our gut or making lifestyle changes to control these issues or improve our immunity? If your answer is no, then now is the time for you to start making these small changes in your daily routine to keep your gut health in check. Let’s look at eight basic lifestyle changes that will help you in keeping your gut health strong:
■ Chewing your food well: Make sure you start chewing your food really slowly and really well so that it can breakdown in the mouth itself and aid digestion with the help of salivary amylase. Take 20 to 25 minutes to chew your meal thoroughly with no gadgets or distractions and your digestion will definitely get better.
■ Stay hydrated: A lack of hydration can increase gut-related issues, so keep sipping on water throughout the day. Water also adds bulk to motion, so it will help in flushing out toxins naturally from the body and overcoming constipation.
■ Eat the rainbow: Yes, you heard that right. Add a variety of veggies and fruits in your meal to get digestive fibre which helps in keeping the gut health in check, plus fruits and veggies are alkaline in nature and add digestive enzymes to your meal too. Veggies can be had with a meal but fruits should be taken with soaked nuts as a separate snack.
■ Eat on time: Our body has its own circadian rhythm/body clock. It expects food at the same time every day, so focus on eating your meal on time to fix your gut. Once we work on this, most of the issues related to acidity or bloating will get better.
■ Sleep well: Most of the healing, recovery, repair, detoxification etc. happens only when we sleep well. So work on removing triggers that you know affect your sleep cycle and you will realise the number of good sleep days will increase, which in turn will help in repairing your gut.
■ Movement and activity: Blood circulation is very important to improve nutrient absorption and its transport throughout the entire body. Plus, when we do any activity our body releases feel good hormones that also help in improving stress. Target 10,000 steps on a daily basis and don’t sit at one place for more than an hour.
■ Avoid processed sugar: Processed sugar is acidic in nature and can feed the bad bacteria in the stomach which can lead to infections. Avoid this and stick to natural sweets like raisins etc. but always in moderation.
■ Prebiotic and probiotics: Good bacteria and its food is required for good digestion, balanced pH, hormones, inflammation etc. You don’t really have to be on a pill for a long time; you can choose natural options too.
Here’s to your health!