Humans do not produce all the nutrients and vitamins that their bodies need to function. Stop eating, and you die. Eat poorly, and your body breaks down. It isn’t just the consumption of food that matters, either. Gut health plays a critical role in the overall body, and far too few people understand how the gut works or the role that it plays in regard to your health and even why.
A lack of understanding of the gut, how the body process food, and even what the various compounds in food do to your body is a health crisis. You need to understand more about diet and how it can impact all areas of your life so that priority can be taken to eat healthier and live healthier.
The issue, of course, is that there are not enough resources for everyone to get a personalized dietician who can walk them through their gut health and help them understand just what foods are winners for their bodies and what foods cause issues. The good news is that there are many digital tools and online resources that can help people make the journey on their own. All it takes is for healthcare professionals to put more emphasis on beginning the journey.Why Should the Public Learn More About Gut Health?
A healthy gut plays a crucial role in many key bodily functions, including digestion, nutrient absorption, immune function, and even mental health. An imbalanced gut can lead to a range of health issues, from digestive discomfort to skin irritation, autoimmune conditions, food intolerances, and more. By learning more about gut health and taking steps to support a healthy gut microbiome, you can improve your overall health, reduce the risk of certain diseases, and feel better both physically and mentally.
Why Should More Healthcare Professionals Encourage Gut Health?
Holistic health changes must be the first step toward treatment. Other treatments, including medication and more invasive procedures, can then either be used shortly after or concurrently. The reason to stagger treatments, even if medical intervention is essential, is simple: It helps minimize the symptoms for more effective diagnostics.
Encouraging a healthier diet, specifically in relation to gut health and microbiome balance, should, however, start as soon as possible. All too often, people eat foods that cause a maelstrom in their gut, but they aren’t really sure why. More education on how gut health works, why certain culprits from spices to dairy affect a person more than other things, and what compounds are the source of the issue is key.
Take those who actually have a slight intolerance to dairy. While those who are lactose intolerant should not have any dairy at all, those with a slight intolerance can make a switch to goat’s milk products to great success since they contain significantly less lactose than cow-based products.
How to Begin the Gut Health Journey
Improving gut health and diet is a journey that cannot be rushed. If a person plunges right into it, chances are they’ll end up limiting themselves in terms of their diet. A wide, varied diet that brings joy is absolutely possible even if you experience frequent indigestion, heartburn, or bloating.
The key is to identify the specific compounds that are causing you issues and what additional changes can help boost your gut health outright. When it comes to trying out any tip, remember to do it one at a time. This way, you can track your symptoms and how you feel to determine if it fixes the issue, worsens the issue, or leaves you feeling exactly the same.
Take Probiotics
One of the best ways to begin your gut health journey is to take prebiotics, probiotics, and digestive enzymes. Processed foods and refined sugars can disrupt the delicate balance of microorganisms in a patient’s gut. Boosting healthy bacteria, then, can help solve many issues relating to indigestion or bloating.
Not every probiotic is appropriate or a good fit. That’s why companies like Jetson Health offer an online quiz to help customers find the right product for them. Even with this level of personalization, it’s still important to use trial and error. A person would need to use the probiotic while maintaining their current lifestyle to really determine the effects of the probiotic itself. If they notice a positive improvement, then they can commit to those probiotics and move on to another tip in this list.
Add More Fiber to the Diet
Fiber is essential for good gut health, but a lack of understanding of where to find that fiber leaves many lacking. Fiber isn’t just found in whole grains, for example. It’s also common in fruits and vegetables and even in legumes. Once again, greater education on the diet and the benefits of compounds like fiber is a must. Without that general understanding coming from schools, medical professionals, and even the media, the general public will not have the know-how to lead a healthy life.
Remove Culprits from the Diet
Minor intolerances are incredibly common. These foods and compounds don’t cause life-threatening symptoms, which is why people can power through them. That being said, the damage they’re causing can go well beyond indigestion and bloating. For example, those with a minor lactose intolerance may find that cutting dairy and lactose out entirely can clear up their acne or other skin conditions.
Other Factors that Impact Diet
Stress, sleep, and hydration will also impact gut health. That’s why a full, comprehensive lifestyle recommendation is important. It’s tough, of course, for healthcare professionals to do anything more than just telling their patients that they need to make a change. Thankfully, the rise of health-tracking apps has made it easier for patients to see the impact their lifestyle updates are having on their overall health. In the future, telehealth needs to expand so that medical professionals can be notified if there’s a sudden surge in results. Wearable tech, after all, is the future of healthy living and healthcare as a whole.