5 Daily Ways to Have a Happier Gut

Welcome to a journey towards a healthier, happier gut! Your digestive health plays a crucial role in your overall wellbeing, and simple daily habits can make a significant difference. So here are five easy, effective ways to keep your gut smiling every day. I encourage you to try and change your daily life for a better functioning gut by incorporating at least one of these habits.

1. Choose Healthier Oils

The Problem with Processed Oils: Heavily processed oils like canola, vegetable, soybean, sunflower, safflower and others are highly refined and receive high-heat treatment and bleaching, which can strip away nutrients and create potentially harmful compounds. Consumption after this process leads to inflammation, a clogged colon and disrupting your gut health. The processed oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids, which, when consumed in excess, can also lead to inflammation and are linked to chronic diseases. These oils typically also contain trace amounts of trans fats and pesticide residues due to their production processes.

The Solution: Switch to natural fats like tallow, ghee, butter, coconut, and olive oil. These alternatives are not only less processed but also rich in essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins, promoting a balanced and healthy gut environment.

The quality of fats in our diet, including those from processed oils, greatly impacts our gut health and the gut microbiome.Trying to swap for a more natural unprocessed version will uplift a happy gut. My personal favorite cooking oils are tallow for steaks and frying potatoes and ghee for everything else. I add butter on top of everything and drizzle olive oil on certain dishes.

Cooking at home in oils you know are clean and making your snacks from scratch will help you in this transition to choosing healthier oils. It may not be the most conventient but its a descion of health with instant ior delayed gratification. When going out and wanting to avoid processed oils there is a wonderful app called "Seed oil scout" that helps you locate resturaunts that cook in tallow and are good to go and ones that cook in canola that you should avoid. I highly reccomend this app for starting out and for traveling to new paces :) (We are not affiliated with the app "Seed Oil Scout", just personally love it and use it myself when traveling!)

2. Embrace Fermented Foods

The Power of Fermentation: Fermented foods like kefir, sauerkraut, yogurt, kimchi, and miso are packed with probiotics. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that enhance gut flora, aiding in digestion and bolstering the immune system.

Fermentation Benefits: Regular consumption of these foods can help in rebuilding a robust microbiome, essential for a healthy digestive tract. They also aid in nutrient absorption and can even improve mental health through the gut-brain axis.

Changing your snack from oreos and crackers to a cup of yogurt, some kraut, a cup of miso soup can be intimidating to start but so helpful in the long run and a fairly easier upgrade :)

Making your own lacto-fermented vegetables is surprisingly simple and cost-effective. It typically involves submerging vegetables like cabbage (for sauerkraut) or cucumbers (for pickles) in a brine of salt and water, then allowing them to ferment at room temperature for several days. This natural process encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria, resulting in a probiotic-rich, flavorful addition to your diet that supports gut health. I encourage you to try to make your own and get creative! Be that kitchen witch.

I am also just learning to make my own kraut and pickles, join me!

3. Reduce Processed Sugars and Artificial Flavorings

The Issue with Artificial Sweeteners: High fructose corn syrup, sucralose, aspartame, and similar additives can disrupt the delicate balance of your gut microbiome. They may lead to increased cravings, inflammation, and gut dysbiosis.

Natural Sweetener Alternatives: Opt for natural sweeteners like raw honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, and blackstrap molasses. These not only add a touch of sweetness but also come with their own set of health benefits, including antioxidants and essential minerals.

This can unfortuantely be a harder one in simlariity to the processed oils, they sneak them in everything! Processed and artificial sugars are detrimental to gut health for several reasons. These sugars can cause gut disbyosis and lead to an overgrowth of harmful bacteria and yeasts. This imbalance can cause minor or major digestive issues, inflammation, and even contribute to chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes. And of course these sugars lack the nutrients found in natural sweeteners. To enjoy an alternative treat look for items with "Honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, Blackstrap Mollasses, Date sugar, or raw cane sugar" You want to source local honey or maple syrup for your kitchen, check out farmers' markets, local health food stores, or direct from local beekeepers and maple syrup producers! Buying locally not only supports community businesses but will typically provide you with a fresher and tastier product. Plus, buying honey local to the land you live on can help in reducing seasonal allergies!

My personal favorite sugars are Local honey and Dark mayple syrup, then when I am baking I use organic coconut sugar.

4. Prioritize Good Sleep

Sleep and Digestive Health: A full night's rest is vital for deep tissue repair and the production of healthy hormones and neurotransmitters. Aligning with your natural circadian rhythms and achieving restful sleep can profoundly impact your gut health.

The Importance of Rest: Restorative sleep is irreplaceable for maintaining a healthy gut. It allows your body to heal and rejuvenate, ensuring your digestive processes function optimally.

Good sleep is truly and almost unexpectedly crucial for maintaining gut health. During sleep, the body undergoes repair and regeneration processes that are vital for a healthy digestive system. Adequate rest helps to regulate the gut-brain axis, which influences digestive functions and the health of the microbiome. Poor sleep patterns have been linked to various gut issues, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and indigestion. Furthermore, a well-rested body can better manage stress, which is known to have a significant impact on gut health.

Some ways to encourage a good nights rest is trying to maintain a consistent sleep schdule by going to bed and waking up within the same hour each day, not eating/drinking an hour before bed, changing the lighting in your house from bright and blue lights to warm and red lights, limiting screen time an hour before bed, get blackout curtains an eyemask and ear plugs, listen to soothing sounds while falling asleep, stretch/mindfully breathe/meditate before bed to calm the nervous system, and get some good moderate exercise in during the day!

I personally change all the lighting in my home to pink salt lamps once the sun sets, reduce screen time before bed and change my phone screen to all red light, I have blackout curtains in the bedroom, I am done eating at least an hour before bed, and I fall asleep and wake up between 8-9pm and 6-7am each day.

5. Avoid Processed and Disconnected Foods

Processed Foods and Gut Health: Fast food, energy drinks, packaged snacks, and refined grains often contain additives and preservatives that can harm your gut health. They may contribute to inflammation and hinder the absorption of essential nutrients.

Eating Wholesome: Focus on local, organic, and whole foods like Grass-fed red meat, eggs, raw dairy, potatoes, sourdough, and organ meats. These foods provide a rich array of nutrients that support gut health and overall wellness.

Processed and disconnected foods, such as Mcdonalds, snickers bars, hot cheetos, Factory farmed meats and refined grains, contain additives, preservatives, and artificial ingredients that deeply impact gut health in a negative way. These foods lack the essential nutrients and fiber needed for a healthy digestive system, leading to imbalances in the gut microbiome. They also cause inflammation and contribute to digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and leaky gut syndrome. On top of that, processed foods are high in unhealthy fats, sugars, and unfortunately lots of food dyes which will further disrupt gut health and lead to chronic diseases.

You likely get snacks and meals from these fast food and convenince stores becaus its quick and cheap but you likely get a stomach ache immediately after eating and are harming your future health. Opting for less convience and more intention is the way for optimal health and nutrition.

Making friends with your local farmers and attending your local Farmers Markets are great ways to find fresh, locally-sourced meats and produce. Farmers' markets allow direct interaction with growers and producers, providing insights into how the food is grown or raised, no hiddden ingredients and this allows direct support to the farmers no third party systems! Some farms even operate their own retail shops where they sell their produce and meats directly to consumers everyday and not just at markets. Finding your local Co-ops and Health Food Stores are also trustworthy places to source products from local farms and just simply organic and natural products. There is also a handful of websites and apps dedicated to finding local farms near you that can connect consumers with local farmers and producers in their area. I love using www.realmilk.com to find raw dairy!

Incorporating these five simple practices into your daily routine can truly lead to a happier, healthier gut and life. Remember, small changes can lead to significant improvements in your overall health. Of course there is so many more practices we can all do to have excelling gut health, but for now I hope you try at least 1 of the suggested habits to your daily life and share with me how its going for you!

Happy gut, happy life!