Gut Health
Digestive system symptoms are very common. Many struggle with consistent bloating, gas, constipation, or diarrhea. Whilst, dealing with these things is common it does not make them normal. Having, regular daily bowel movements that are easy to pass and having little bloating or gas is actually optimal!
Understanding your gut microbiome is a huge way to improve your health. Our gut includes over 200 different species of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live in our digestive tract. Each person’s microbiome is different and unique to them and our individual environments impact the health of our gut.
Things like our nutritional status, poor sleep, high-stress levels, and taking antibiotics can all impact our gut microbiome and digestion. If you notice the digestive system symptoms mentioned previously, it might be time to take a look into nutritional and lifestyle changes that can positively impact your feelings!
Gut health is not a one size fits all approach and it requires taking into account a number of systems in the body. Considerations for not only our digestive system but also our liver-detox pathways, immune system, and central nervous system are important in supporting a happy gut!
Let’s outline some strategies for working on improving gut health and some teas that you can incorporate to help along the way!
Keys to gut health:
- Prebiotics are non-digestible compounds found in foods that help to feed your good gut bacteria and provide balance in your microbiome. Having this appropriate balance can help with blood sugar balance, digestive system motility, support the immune system, and more…These include foods like:
- Asparagus
- Dandelion greens
- Chickpeas
- Lentils
- Apples
- Pomegranates
- Oats
- Couscous
- Flaxseed
- Probiotics are living organisms found in certain foods that can help improve our gut health. The microbiome is very complex and being able to consume a wide variety of these types of foods helps to ensure that you are providing different strains of bacteria to help with the balance in your gut. Some foods that can help with getting this variety are:
- Yogurt
- Kefir
- Sauerkraut
- Kimchi
- Kombucha
- Miso
- Tempeh
- Pickled vegetables
These 5 keys to helping support your digestive system really take a holistic approach so that you can connect all systems to take an approach to understand deep health. It’s not just about good nutrition (but that certainly helps) but it also taking into consideration our environment as well as our stressors to make changes in all areas of our life to improve how we show up for ourselves.
Drinking tea is another way you can start a positive ritual. In fact, some teas can also improve your gut health. Here are some of our favorites:
- Peppermint is very soothing and can help with symptoms of nausea, gas, and bloating
- Ginger is also known to help with nausea, and morning sickness during pregnancy, as well as helping to stimulate emptying so if you struggle with constipation ginger tea with lemon first thing in the AM can be a really great option to add to your morning routine.
- Green Tea can help support your liver-detox pathways
- Black Tea has been shown to support delayed gastric emptying as well as protection against stomach ulcers.
The new sample set would be the perfect way to show your digestion system some self-care! Make sure you check it out here! We can’t wait to share more blogs like this that highlight ways you can help improve your health and how tea can play a positive role!
Sources:
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/tea-for-digestion#TOC_TITLE_HDR_3
- https://www.trifectanutrition.com/blog/prebiotic-foods-to-support-digestive-health
- https://www.trifectanutrition.com/blog/prebiotics-vs-probiotics-what-is-the-difference
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6779243/
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/the-gut-brain-connection