How to Increase Good Bacteria in the Gut Naturally?
Although people often freak out when they hear the term bacteria, not all bacteria are inherently harmful to your body. In fact, trillions of bacteria are present in your gut that help in maintaining optimal health, allowing you to live healthily. When your gut is unhealthy, it is usually a result of a lack of these good bacteria.
A healthy diet plan that is balanced in nature often takes care of this concern without us even realizing it. However, in circumstances where your gut health is deteriorating, you need to address it head-on to tackle the situation, and we are here to help you out with just the same.
7 Useful Tips to Increase Good Bacteria in Your Gut Naturally
Taking care of your gut health by increasing the number of good bacteria in it will keep your physical and mental health in check while also improving your immunity, which, in turn, will aid you in fighting off diseases better. Here are some top tips that you can follow to increase the content of good bacteria in your gut naturally.
Control Your Sugar Intake
When there is an excess intake of sugar and other artificial sweeteners, your gut may suffer from dysbiosis, which is a condition of gut microbe imbalance in your system. Artificial sweeteners severely impact the blood glucose level and hurt your gut flora. Therefore, provide your body with healthy nutrition through a macronutrient-specific diet and minimize the consumption of sugar.
Not to mention, the excess presence of sugar in your diet can have a negative influence on your brain and behavior since they are impacted by the gut microbiome as well. The fewer bacterial strains you push for, the fewer chances you have of contracting a metabolic disease.
Include Prebiotic Fibre in Your Diet
The non-digestible carbohydrates that you consume are known as prebiotics which are crucial in the formation of good bacteria in your gut as they help in multiplying their numbers. Therefore, increase the number of prebiotic fibers in your diet such as bananas, and asparagus, alongside onions, garlic, chicory, artichoke, and whole grains such as quinoa and oats.
These prebiotics serve as the food for probiotics in your gut, thereby forming a co-dependent relationship between probiotics and prebiotics. Legumes such as chickpeas and black beans and nuts such as pistachios and almonds can also help in this regard.
Say Yes to Probiotics & Fermented Food
Many people resort to probiotics supplements to improve their gut health. While they may help you, nothing can replace naturally consuming probiotics in the form of fermented food. They will significantly improve any intestinal ailment that you may have while also preventing gut inflammation.
To increase the amount of good bacteria in your gut, include kimchi, kefir, tempeh, sauerkraut, kombucha, and fermented vegetables through a custom diet plan to ensure you are getting all the benefits of these fermented foods.
Say No to Excessive Antibiotics
Antibiotics help you in preventing as well as treating harmful bacteria that may spread infection. While relying on them when you are sick or suffering from illness is well and good, an excessive dependency on them will also mean that they will kill off the good bacteria in your gut as well.
Furthermore, continuous intake of antibiotics may also make you antibiotic-resistant and you won't be able to reap benefits from it when you need it the most. It is also believed that even six months after consuming antibiotics, your gut still lacks several good bacteria in your gut. Therefore, control the frequency of antibiotic consumption.
Stay Hydrated
This age-old tip will never cease to show its benefits in a myriad of ways in numerous health aspects. Needless to say, staying hydrated is also crucial in the formation of beneficial bacteria in your gut. When you are well-hydrated, you enable smoother bowel movements that help in the prevention of constipation.
Consumption of water in adequate amounts also helps in the elimination of harmful bacteria that lead to various gastrointestinal infections. You can also rely on various healthy beverages as part of your overall wellness meal plan that will take care of eliminating harmful bacteria and promoting beneficial bacteria in your gut.
Lower Your Stress Level
Stress and eating habits are interconnected and have a deeper relationship than most people assume. This is because stress can influence a lack of healthy eating or sometimes binge eating, both of which can lead to nausea and digestive ailments, which will inherently lead to a decrease in the number of good bacteria in your gut.
We understand stress is not a switch that you can turn on and off. Therefore, adopt healthy stress-reducing habits such as meditation, exercise, journaling, and avoiding overwork, among others.
Improve Your Sleeping Pattern
With so many distractions these days, having a disturbed sleeping pattern is very common. Most people don't realize that they can't compensate for their lack of sleep on the weekdays on the weekend. The human body is not built like that. It can lead to poor gut health with less production of good bacteria.
Even those who adopt a weight loss meal plan are recommended to sleep well to see the healthy positive changes in their body. You will be able to lower the risk of gut inflammation when you sleep for eight hours a day. Good bacteria will naturally multiply in your gut which will, in turn, majorly improve your gut health.
To Conclude
Having good gut health plays a pivotal role in improving your immunity and ability to fight off diseases. Adopting simple changes like the ones mentioned above will diversify the quality and quantity of good bacteria in your gut in a natural way without you having to resort to prescribed drugs and supplements.
Therefore, we hope you incorporate these lifestyle and dietary changes in your life and allow the blooming of healthy beneficial bacteria in your gut. Let those microorganisms do their magic in boosting your health in more ways than one.
Reach out to start your fitness journey with us!
