6 Healthy Foods That Help Improve Gut Health
What you’re eating has a huge impact on the balance of your gut flora. So add these foods that help improve gut health to your daily diet.
Does your stomach sometimes feel bloated or are you constipated, maybe a little queasy at times? Are fatigue and bad breath problems for you? All these symptoms may be due to having an unhealthy gut.
If you want to improve gut health, you might need to include more of the following foods in your diet.
Foods That Can Improve Gut Health
To improve the health of your gastrointestinal tract, try adding these foods to your diet:
1. Sauerkraut
Fermented foods are high in good bacteria, like Lactobacillus that can keep the gut healthy.
If you don’t care for sauerkraut, many other fermented foods are available, such as kimchi, pickles, yogurt, or kefir. Eat one for breakfast or lunch to reap their bacteria benefits.
2. Cage-Free Eggs
If you eat meat, forego processed meats and beef, pork, or chicken raised on corporate or factory farms.
Instead, choose naturally-raised animal sources like cage-free eggs, wild-caught fish, and grass-fed beef.
Naturally-raised animals provide healthy Omega 3 fatty acids, minerals like iron and magnesium, and protein.
Processed foods and meats grown by commercial methods can contain antibiotics, hormones, and toxins that can reduce the gut’s healthy bacteria.
3. Dark Leafy Greens
Dandelion, collard, and mustard greens are among some of the healthiest foods you can eat.
Along with making the gut healthier, they are high in vitamins, fight against inflammatory diseases, and they are high in antioxidants, which can help protect against cancer.
4. Leeks
Although supplements like ATP Science Gutright can help heal an unhealthy gut, people should also eat healthy foods to build up the good bacteria in their gut. It’s important to eat foods containing fructans, which are natural fibrous carbohydrates.
Leeks contain water-soluble fructans, about 10 grams per leek, that are necessary to keep the bowels regular. Other foods high in fructans are onions, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, and whole-grain foods. By keeping the bowels regular, you’re flushing toxins from your body.
5. Dark Chocolate
By now, almost everyone is aware that dark chocolate is healthier than milk chocolate, and it should be a part of their diets.
Along with supplying an abundance of antioxidants, dark chocolate contains billions of active bacteria to improve gut health. Consider eating chocolate a bonus for maintaining a healthy gut.
6. Bone Broth
Consuming beef, chicken, or fishbone broths may not appeal to many people, but it can benefit your gut health. The minerals and amino acids from the bones and marrow permeate the broth to make it one of the healthiest foods that people can consume.
Researchers discovered that l-glutamine, or glutamine, which is one of the most abundant amino acids, can strengthen the lining of the large and small intestines. Sealing the lining reduces leaky gut and helps maintain your gut and overall health.
Eating foods in their natural form helps to maintain and improve your health. In the case of bone broth, the health benefits come from the homemade variety, not the processed broth available in stores. It is the same with vegetables, fruits, and meats.
Buy food that is grown and raised naturally to ensure you’re getting all the nutrients they naturally contain. Otherwise, your gut will not benefit from these six healthy foods or any others.