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10 Ways to Improve Gut Health


10 Ways to Improve Gut Health

Ten ways to improve gut health:

  1. Drink bone broth
  2. Eat fermented foods
  3. Avoid antibiotics when possible
  4. Limit sweeteners
  5. Get quality sleep
  6. Eat a range of foods
  7. Eat plenty of fibre
  8. Eat whole grains
  9. Consume probiotics
  10. Eat foods high in polyphenols

What is gut health?

  • The healthy gut can be defined as a state of physical and mental well-being without gastrointestinal symptoms, the absence of any disease affecting the gut, and the absence of risk factors for diseases affecting the gut.
  • Gut health covers the health of the entire digestive system, the parts of the human body responsible for breaking down food into individual nutrients. Each piece of the gut has different colonies of microorganisms.
  • Moreover, the gut plays a part in the human immune system’s function. The gut barrier, when functioning correctly, prevents viruses, fungi, and harmful bacteria from entering the bloodstream. When this barrier becomes permeable, known as a ‘leaky gut’, it causes inflammation and several health complications.
  • Therefore, to maintain good gut health, following specific recommendations to help retard the disease process and prevent risk factors that might disturb the intestinal microbiome and the mucosal immune system.

What are the signs of poor gut health?

Poor gut health is a personal variable, but generally, symptoms may include:

  • Bloating
  • Loose stools
  • Constipation
  • Heartburn
  • Nausea and vomiting 
  • Fatigue, disturbed sleep patterns, and low energy
  • Skin irritation
  • Bad breath

Moreover, changes in bowel habits can be a sign of poor gut health or leaky gut. Also, food intolerances, autoimmune conditions, and unintentional weight changes can be linked to an unhealthy gut.

 

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What is the gut microbiome?

  • Trillions of microbiotas live in the human gut.
  • Microbiotas possess at least 100 times more genes than are present in the entire human genome and are implicated in host gut metabolic interactions.
  • Approximately 100 trillion micro-organisms exist in the human gastrointestinal tract and affect 23 000 genes of the human genome. In contrast, the microbiome encodes over three million genes producing thousands of metabolites, which affect human body metabolism.
  • The two most abundant bacterial phyla in humans are the Firmicutes (60%-80% of total bacteria) and the Bacteroidetes (20%-40% of total bacteria).
  • Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes relative proportion is the main effector in shaping host metabolism.
  • Moreover, imbalances in the composition and metabolic capacity of the gut microbiota are known as dysbiosis.
  • Dysbiosis (imbalance in gut microbiota composition) has gained interest this decade as an etiological factor for several metabolic and non-communicable diseases.
  • Dysbiosis provokes the translocation of gut bacteria and toxins into surrounding tissues and systemic circulation, leading to local and systemic inflammation.
  • In addition, dysbiosis is a risk factor for inflammatory bowel diseases, obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular, neurological, and psychiatric disorders.
  • Interestingly, the gut microbiome is individual-specific and affected by several factors.

Factors affect the gut microbial balance:

  • Excessive use of antibiotics.
  • Western diet (high fat and high refined carbohydrate)
  • Chemotherapy
  • Infant feeding method
  • Delivery process
  • Lifestyle
  • Geography
  • Stress
  • Circadian rhythm disruption

How does gut microbiota affect health?

Balanced gut microbiota provides gut integrity and body health. Gut health is affected by the balance of microorganisms in the digestive tract. Several benefits of healthy gut microbiota include:

  • Support immune function.
  • Protection against pathogens.
  • Regulate nutrient absorption and synthesise vitamins.
  • Additionally, it regulates blood glucose, lipid, and energy metabolism. Gut microbiota metabolites are involved in lipid metabolism and energy homeostasis by influencing human genes that regulate energy storage and expenditure.
  • Managing body weight.
  • Provides a healthy gut barrier.
  • Modulate pro and anti-inflammatory molecules and inflammatory conditions.
  • Regulate appetite, cognitive, emotional behaviour, and mental health.
  • Prevent allergies.
  • Protection against inflammatory GI disorders.
  • Chronic pain management.
  • Modulate energy homeostasis, appetite, and fat deposition.

Thus, a healthy gut and maintaining the right balance of gut microbiota are vital for physical and mental health and immunity. The type of diet influences gut bacteria. Here are some tips to fasten the regular gut mucosa restoration.

Ten tips to fix your gut health:

  1. Drink bone broth
  • Bone broth can heal your gut.
  • Bone broth improves intestine and digestive tract health.
  • The nutrients in bone broth: collagen, gelatin, glutamine, and glycine reduce gut irritation and inflammation and strengthen the gut barrier.
  • Also, broth may contain vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc, vitamin A, and vitamin K, all of which can improve overall gut barrier integrity.
  • Bone broth has high amounts of gelatin. Gelatin is essential for connective tissue function and supporting proper digestion. The gelatin in bone broth is a hydrophilic colloid that absorbs water and maintains the mucus layer that keeps gut microbes away from the intestinal barrier.
  • In addition, the gelatin in broth soothes the gut lining and promotes probiotic balance and growth.
  • While glutamine in broth protects the gut lining and improves metabolism. Also, collagen in broth stimulates healthy gut tissue and mucosal barrier.
  • Moreover, proline in broth helps regenerate and repairs leaky gut.

  1. Eat fermented foods

  • Fermented foods such as kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, apple cider vinegar, and sourdough may contain bacteria with probiotic effects.
  • Moreover, kefir (a fermented milk drink that is like and is rich in probiotics) or kombucha (a fermented beverage) and other fermented or pickled foods (such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickled ginger) increase the diversity of gut microbiota.
  • While apple cider vinegar supplies the body with increased acidity to fight infection and inflammation, improving overall digestion.  
  • Thereby, regular consumption of these probiotics helps restore balance in your gut and support digestion and health.

  1. Avoid antibiotics when possible.

  • Excessive use of antibiotics can dramatically influence the gut microbiota (both membership and functional capacity).
  • As antibiotics kill harmful bacteria as well as beneficial bacteria. Overusing antibiotics is a significant public health concern that can lead to antibiotic resistance.
  • The centres for disease control and prevention (CDC) and food and drug administration (FDA) recommend avoiding the unnecessary use of antibiotics.
  • Several studies reported that unnecessary use of antibiotics for children is associated with increased health risks for obesity, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases.

  1. Limit sweeteners

  • Artificial sweeteners are synthetic sugar substitutes like aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose that are added to foods and drinks to make them taste sweet without extra calories.
  • The use of artificial sweeteners increased nowadays, especially for people who try to lose weight or even follow a healthy lifestyle.
  • Recent studies reported that artificial sweeteners might increase blood sugar by stimulating the growth of unhealthy bacteria like Enterobacteriaceae in the gut microbiome.
  • Therefore, artificial sweeteners cause dysbiosis and thus affect gut health.
  • Artificial sweeteners may transform commensal bacteria into pathogenic ones, causing several diseases.
  • Additionally, artificial sweeteners may contribute to the development of glucose intolerance, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and cognitive dysfunction by altering a healthy microbiome into a pathogenic microbiome.

  1. Get quality sleep

  • Sleep quality is affected by a diversity of the gut microbiome to improve gut health.
  • Good quality sleep plays a fundamental role in maintaining good psycho-physical health; it can influence hormone levels, mood, and weight.
  • Moreover, the gut microbiome can affect sleep by hindering the sleep-wake cycle, circadian rhythm, and hormones that regulate wakefulness and sleep.
  • Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes phyla abundance influence sleep quality by regulating food intake and circadian rhythm.
  • Interestingly, the balance between these species affects serotonin and melatonin level that regulates the sleep–awake cycle through daily endocrine fluctuations, thus influencing sleep quality.
  • Several species belonging to the Firmicutes phylum possess tryptophan decarboxylase gene coding for an enzyme that catalyses L-tryptophan’s decarboxylation to tryptamine which, in turn, is converted to serotonin by tryptamine 5-hydroxylase.
  • Firmicutes abundance affects serotonin synthesis, a precursor for melatonin hormone synthesis, disrupting the awake sleep cycle and quality.
  • Both sleep problems and dysbiosis of the gut microbiome can lead to several metabolic disorders.

  1. Eat a range of foods.

  • Dietary habits constitute a strong driver of interpersonal variance in the gut microbiome composition, which prevails over genetics.
  • A diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains increase the number of beneficial bacteria in the gut like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium.
  • Additionally, it provides a healthy gut barrier and improves gut health.
  • While a diet containing a high intake of red meat, fried foods, processed foods, and dairy products leads to inflammation and dysfunctional gut barrier.
  • Moreover, functional foods that contain fibre and polyphenols support healthy microbiota. While the consumption of the western diet (high in saturated/trans-fat simple sugars and low in fibres) causes dysbiosis, leaky gut, and local and systemic inflammation.
  • Low fibre intake and high protein and sugar consumption reduces the diversity of gut bacteria and alters their function, including a significant reduction in their ability to produce gut metabolites as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).
  • A fibre-rich diet contributes to maintaining a healthy gut microbiota associated with increased diversity and production of SCFAs. High fibre intake and the production of SCFAs by the gut bacteria enhance mucus and anti-microbial peptide production and increase the expression of tight junction proteins.
  • Thus, eating a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains provides a healthy gut.

  1. Eat plenty of fibre

  • Dietary fibre is a plant-derived material that is neither digested nor absorbed by human digestive enzymes but is wholly or partially fermented by gut microbiota.
  • Dietary fibre is the primary nutrient needed for a healthy microbiome to improve gut health.
  • Dietary fibres are subdivided either into polysaccharides (non-starch polysaccharides, resistant starch, and resistant oligosaccharides) or insoluble and soluble forms.
  • Most insoluble forms, such as cellulose and hemicellulose, have a faecal bulking effect, digested by the gut bacteria.
  • Moreover, most soluble fibres do not contribute to faecal bulking but are fermented by the gut bacteria and thus give rise to metabolites such as SCFAs.  Therefore, dietary fibres provide a prebiotic effect.
  • Soluble fibre is found in legumes (e.g., beans, lentils, peas), cereals (barley and oats), flax seeds, fruits, and vegetables. While insoluble fibre is found in whole grains, legumes, wheat, nuts, and seeds.
  • Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that act as food for human microflora. It selectively increases the activity of healthy microbiota. Dietary fibres interact directly with gut microbes and produce gut metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids.
  • Thus, dietary administration of fibre alters the gut environment by providing substrates for microbial growth, allowing microbial species that can utilise these substrates to expand their populations, impacting gut microbial ecology, physiology, and health.
  • Studies reported that a low-fibre diet disrupts the microbial ecosystem and predisposes to chronic inflammatory diseases. While prebiotic compounds can selectively favour the probiotic effect and promote good bacteria growth.

  1. Eat whole grains

  • Grains are important sources of carbohydrates. Used to improve gut health.
  • Carbohydrate digestion occurs mainly in the small intestine, where monosaccharides (predominantly glucose) are absorbed, delivering energy to the body.
  • However, whole grains are indigestible dietary fibres that impact gut motility and are valuable substrates for the gut microbiota affecting its composition and quality.
  • Whole grains, compared with refined maintain gut microbiota balance and health. It favours the growth of beneficial bacteria.

  1. Consume probiotics

  • Probiotics are foods that contain live microorganisms (mostly Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species) intended to maintain or improve the good bacteria (normal microflora) in the body, such as yoghurt.
  • Probiotics enhance gut bacteria profile. It can help maintain or restore the balance of the intestinal microbiome. Increase the ratio of beneficial gut bacteria.
  • Repair the intestinal mucosal barrier.
  • Reduce inflammation of the intestinal mucosa.
  • Reduce bacterial translocation and secondary infections.
  • Competition for binding sites and nutritional sources.
  • Secretion of antimicrobial substances.
  • Enhancement of intestinal barrier function by regulation of tight junctions and mucin expression, along with immunomodulation.

  1. Eat foods high in polyphenols.

  • Functional foods that contain polyphenols support healthy microbiota.
  • Polyphenolic compounds have attracted attention due to their biochemical ability to modulate signalling pathways of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism by modifying the composition of gut microbiota.
  • Moreover, eating a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, and seeds.
  • You can improve gut health by using herbs and spices: (garlic, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, oregano, rosemary, etc.), providing the body with polyphenolic compounds that modify the composition of the gut microbiota, stimulate the production of SCFA and protect the mucosal barrier.

In conclusion:

Hippocrates said, “Let food be your medicine and your medicine be your food”.

The type of diet influences gut bacteria. Moreover, gut health shapes the body’s metabolism.

Therefore, it is essential to modulate gut microbial ecology to promote health and wellness by following the ten tips for a healthy gut.

Thus, following the ten ways to improve gut health will promote gut integrity and gut microbial balance.

 

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