Everyone’s gut is a unique microbiome containing trillions of microorganisms that contribute to your overall health. While some microorganisms are beneficial, others aren’t so great for your body. Disruptions to your microbiome can also happen throughout your life. Excessive alcohol intake, taking antibiotics, or being ill could impact your body’s gut.

When you have a balanced microbiome, your immune and digestive systems function better, and you can even enjoy more excellent mental health. Many of the best natural ways to support gut health align with other healthy lifestyle practices. Adding these strategies to your daily regimen helps you build a more robust microbiome with more beneficial bacteria that promote proper digestive functioning.

Watch the Medications You Take
There are times in life when you need to take an antibiotic, but doing so excessively can wreak havoc on your gut’s microbiome. Antibiotics are designed to kill bacteria, and they don’t always differentiate between the good and bad kinds. Prolonged or frequent use of antibiotics is known for reducing the good bacteria in your gut, which can lead to digestive discomfort and other ailments. If you need to take antibiotics, then make sure to include some extra probiotic foods in your diet, such as the following:

• kimchi
• miso
• yogurt
• sauerkraut

Add More Diversity to Your Diet

Many people eat the same processed foods every day. Eating a sugary cereal for breakfast followed by a deli sandwich and dinner out could leave you with serious nutritional deficiencies. Expanding your diet to include a broader range of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help you get new beneficial bacteria into your body that helps with gut health. Try making a commitment to add a new food each day or week to your diet to begin broadening your meal options.

Reach for Plant-Based Foods and Drinks
As you begin expanding your diet, all you have to do is look toward nature to find foods that are designed to improve your gut’s microbiome. Plant-based foods tend to contain more nutrients compared to processed products. You can also select from a wide range of vegetables and other foods to meet your need for taste, texture, and nutrition.

When you eat, your body digests most of the food and breaks it down. But, some of the food products are left behind, where they can then impact your gut. In some cases, this is good. Certain types of fiber serve as food for the good bacteria in your gut. However, chemicals and other food waste byproducts also feed harmful bacteria or kill the good kind.

Eating more plant-based food helps to turn the odds in your favor that the good bacteria will flourish. Keep in mind that you can also add plant-based drinks to give your diet a boost. Coffee and tea contain flavonoids that encourage a special group of bacteria called Bifidobacteria to grow in your gut, which is terrific for your health.

Use Fermented Food to Cultivate More Good Bacteria
If you already love sauerkraut, then you’re in luck. Fermented foods are typically made from sources that are already beneficial for gut health, such as cabbage and soybeans. Once the food ferments, it then becomes a rich source of commensal microbes that further improve your body’s microbiome.

Eat Prebiotic Foods
Probiotics tend to get a lot of recognition in the health and nutrition field, and they are incredibly important for building a healthy gut microbiome. Yet, you also don’t want to overlook the helpfulness of prebiotics.

Prebiotics are introduced to your body when you consume certain kinds of fiber that your body doesn’t digest, and these exist in many different types of fruits and vegetables. Prebiotic foods include legumes, oats, and bananas. When you eat these types of food, the leftover fiber provides fuel for the good bacteria in your gut to flourish.

Use Natural Herbal Supplements to Detox

When you are starting out on your journey to improve gut health, you might find that you currently suffer from some of the symptoms of an imbalanced microbiome. A sluggish bowel often leads to constipation, which allows for more of the bad bacteria to grow.

Some of the best supplements for constipation contain ingredients that help to stop this process. Rhubarb is an excellent source of nutrients that promote good gut health, and looking for a supplement that can help you clear out your colon can jumpstart your ability to see benefits from the changes that you are making in your diet.

Spend Time Improving Your Mental Health
The connection between your gut and emotional well-being is strong. If you’ve ever felt digestive distress in response to a threat, you already know that what you eat also impacts your mental health. Improving your diet and using natural herbal supplements helps to give your gut and brain what they need to stay physically well.

Now, you’ll also want to add some de-stressing techniques to your health plan. Taking time each day to meditate, do some deep breathing exercises, or journal helps you decompress during stressful times. Doing so gives your body more energy to focus on building a stronger gut microbiome that pays off when you feel better handling stress.

Get Your Body Moving
Runners can attest to the effects of movement on the digestive system. If you’re currently sedentary, you don’t have to run a marathon to see this effect. Instead, find ways to move your body throughout the day. You might choose to take the stairs instead of the elevator at work, or you could park your car further away from the entrance to the grocery store.

As you build up your comfort level with exercise, you can throw in regular daily workouts that help stimulate your digestive system and keep your organs functioning normally. Even going for a walk around the block can aid digestion after your meals and give you a mental health boost that is good for your gut.

Remember to Hydrate for Better Digestion

Your gut needs a healthy amount of water to be able to process the food that you eat. Avoiding caffeinated and sugary beverages helps reduce harmful bacteria in your gut, and drinking water can further help your body flush out any waste products that remain after digestion. Try making fruit-infused water to add some flavor along with a boost of nutrients that can help your gut stay healthy and strong.

Taking control over your gut health goes a long way towards improving your digestive discomfort, and you might even find that your mood begins to lift as you improve your body’s health from the inside out. To give your efforts a boost, try using gut health supplements such as InnerPure, which are known for helping the colon detox and flush the harmful bacteria from your body. Choosing a supplement that is manufactured by Farlong Nutraceutical also helps you know that you’re only adding beneficial nutrients to your system since we do third-party testing to keep contaminants out of every bottle.