Many positive lifestyle choices can help balance your gut and boost your immune system. Making gut-friendly changes to your diet, choosing the right supplements, and generally prioritizing wellness can promote gut and immune system health. Here are a few proven ideas.
Follow a Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet
A plant-based diet rich in whole foods provides your gut with essential nutrients for optimal function. Consuming plant-based proteins can increase immune-boosting gut bacteria like Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. A balanced diet supports the immune system by maintaining gut health, with many vegetables and fruits offering prebiotic fiber that nourishes beneficial gut bacteria.
Eat Probiotic Foods
Incorporate probiotic foods, including fermented options like kimchee and sauerkraut, into your daily diet. Excellent sources of prebiotics include alliums (such as onions, leeks, and garlic), artichokes, and asparagus. If your diet falls short, consider a high-quality supplement. Global Healing’s Ultimate Probiotic, containing 75 billion CFUs from 25 unique strains and a prebiotic blend with bacteriophages, is an excellent choice to support your immune system through your gut.
Eliminate or Reduce Sugar
Excessive sugar disrupts gut balance, decreasing the variety of gut bacteria and potentially leading to Candida overgrowth. A lack of diverse gut flora increases the risk of illness. Additionally, high sugar intake can cause gut inflammation, leading to leaky gut, which makes the body more vulnerable to harmful microbes. Avoid artificial sweeteners, as they can also disturb gut balance.
Reduce Stress
Chronic stress adversely affects various parts of the body, including the gut. High levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, can alter the communication between the gut and brain, weakening the immune system. Like excess sugar, high stress can lead to gut imbalance and leaky gut, both of which affect immunity. Incorporate calming practices like yoga or meditation into your routine to manage stress effectively.
Identify Food Intolerances
If certain foods cause stomach upset, you might have a food intolerance. Sensitivity to gluten, lectins, or specific foods can imbalance the gut, leading to nausea, bloating, or gas. Consuming intolerant foods can cause inflammation and damage intestinal cells, lowering intestinal immunity. Keeping a food diary can help identify problematic foods. A colon cleanse can also help identify food intolerances and clear the gastrointestinal tract for better health.
Get Enough Sleep
Your gut microbiota are sensitive to disruptions in your sleep-wake cycle. Insufficient rest can damage intestinal cells, affect your gut’s immune response, and increase the risk of leaky gut. Lack of sleep also reduces the diversity of gut bacteria, leading to gut imbalance and lower immunity, which can slow metabolism and cause weight gain.
Points to Remember
A poor diet, antibiotic use, stress, lack of sleep, and excessive alcohol consumption can disrupt the balance of good and bad bacteria in your gut, affecting immune function. To support a balanced gut and strong immune system, start with a plant-based diet rich in colorful fruits and vegetables, and include probiotic and prebiotic foods. Reduce or eliminate sugar, and identify potential food intolerances to prevent cell damage. Probiotic supplements can be beneficial if your diet falls short.
Make lifestyle changes to support good health, such as getting plenty of sleep and reducing stress through meditation. Global Healing’s 6-day Colon Cleanse Program can help reset your gut balance, and the Gut Health Kit provides everything needed for a comprehensive gut reset.
A strong gut-immune connection is crucial for wellness. When your gut is healthy, so are you.
