There’s a feeling of hope and excitement that accompanies January. A fresh start. It often seems like the best time to start over, to apply all the things we’ve learned from the previous year, and to go after those goals we’ve been staring down for some time.
Often, our thoughts about things we want to change or improve, center around our health. Maybe you have a goal to lose weight, start working out, complete a 5K, or eat less junk food.
And while these goals can be beneficial, we often overlook an area of our health that has a very powerful influence over the entire function of our bodies. The gastrointestinal system.
The key to health
Digestion is the doorway to all facets of our health. When we aren’t able to digest and absorb nutrients, the entire body will be affected.1
Your gut helps feed many aspects of your body including your skin, brain, it helps to support your hormones and your immune system, to name just a few of its powerful roles. Without the integrity of your gut lining, the foundations of your body will be dysfunctional.
Grace and small steps lead to sustainability
Resolutions can start off strong, and then often dissipate by mid-February (speaking from experience). It’s when I take on too many new changes that my best intentions crash and burn. I would often be so enthusiastic about starting some new habits, that I would try to make all the changes overnight or within a week. It wasn’t a good way to build sustainable new changes in my life.
What I hadn’t been doing was giving myself grace. Changes, no matter how small, are still changes and they add up over time. I encourage you to go at a pace that isn’t overwhelming and lets you truly apply a new change well.
Here are 7 resolutions that will make for a healthy gut:
Meal Planning Planning your food ahead of the week prevents you from having to reach for something that’s not so nourishing for your body. It also allows you to plan for meals that are nutrient dense rich and avoid processed food with additives and fats that are inflammatory for your gut lining and not supportive of your microbiome. If you are looking for an app to help you streamline your meal planning, check out realplans.com. It allows you to customize your meal plan and supplies you with lots of recipes to choose from.
Add fermented foods Eating fermented foods daily is one of the easiest ways to get a dose of probiotic bacteria that supports your gut and immune health, as well as provides beneficial enzymes. Kefir, sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, yogurt, raw cheese, cottage cheese, kvass and coconut kefir are some great examples to include. Aim for at least a tablespoon of fermented veggies each day.
Variety The good gut microbes in your gut love variety! Before agriculture, humans ate 300 to 1000 different foods. Today, we eat an average of 17 to 20 different foods.2 Try including a different vegetable and fruit in your diet each week.
Chew! You’ve heard me say it before because it’s so important and very underrated! If you aren’t chewing food adequately to break it down well, your gut has a lot more work to do. Your stomach doesn’t have teeth so give it a break and chew your food to an applesauce consistency before swallowing it.
Establish a nighttime routine for sleep Sleep is very important for gut health. When we don’t get enough sleep, stress hormones like cortisol can rise. Increased stress can result in intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut”. When a leaky gut occurs, a cascade of digestive symptoms can show up, like bloating, food sensitivities, inflammation, dysbiosis and more. If you want to learn some strategies for supporting your sleep, check out this blog 12 Ways to Enhance Your Sleep So You Can Boost Your Gut Health.
Reduce exposure to environmental toxins Pollutants can affect the make up of good gut microbes and cause dysbiosis (an imbalance in your gut bugs).3 We find toxins in cleaning products, make up, self care products, water, air and food. An easy way to go about changing out cleaning products and make up or self care products is by replacing it when it’s empty with something less toxic. Don’t feel you need to change things overnight.
Move more Walking and gentle exercises, like yoga and pilates, can be super helpful for lowering stress levels. Getting your body moving is a great way to support digestion, decrease the time food spends in your colon, and help with constipation.
Recap
If you want to up level your health, start with your gut. Your gastrointestinal tract is tied to every vital system in the human body! To keep your changes going long after February, start with just one, and than another change as you are ready. A long list of changes can be overwhelming and are often not sustainable. Give yourself grace, and know that new habits don’t need to start in or wait until January. They can be started at any time!
Encouraging you and cheering you on!
References
- Restorative Wellness Solutions. Digestion Anatomy and Physiology. [PDF file]. 2020. P 1.
- Nutritional Therapy Association. Fatty Acids-Dysfunction. [PDF file]. 2020. P 3.
- Claus, S. P. , Guillou, H., & Ellero-Simatos, S. (2016). The gut microbiota: a major player in the toxicity of environmental pollutants? NPJ biofilms and microbiomes, 2, 16003.
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