How to improve the happiness of your gut (part 2)
Gut health has a big influence on how well we feel. In Part 1 of this blog I explored one of the gut’s key roles – to communicate with the brain – and how we can improve our gut-brain connection by learning how to activate the vagus nerve.
The gut has another very important job: supporting the immune system. Did you know that 70-80% of our immune system is located in the gut? Digestive problems can often be a sign that our immune system is weakened [related post: A balanced immune system is a healthy one].
Keeping our gut happy goes a long way towards ensuring our immune system stays in balance.
How is your gut connected to your immune system?
Our intestines are home to an eco-system of trillions of microbes (including bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites) commonly referred to as the “gut microbiome”.
Most of these microbes are friendly and are important for digestion because they produce enzymes which break down the food we eat. Some of them make nutrients essential for our survival.
They also help to fend off harmful bacteria which might cause infection, so they are hugely important for our immune system.
The intestines are lined by a thin cell wall which acts like a gatekeeper. Immune cells within this wall are constantly assessing whether bacteria coming in and out of our intestines are friendly or harmful – both can pass through the wall.
It’s a tricky balancing act for these immune cells: they have to deal harshly with bacteria that are harmful but be gentle with friendly bacteria.
If the balance of bacteria is right, our immune system can function normally - neither over-, nor underreacting.
However, if the conditions in the gut aren’t right and there’s an imbalance of bacteria, our immune system can struggle and may not be able to distinguish between friendly and harmful microbes.
This can lead to an inflammatory response from the immune system – and inflammation anywhere in our bodies means symptoms.
Getting the balance right
To keep our gut (and therefore our immune system) happy we need to make sure the microbes in there are living in harmony :-)
Like any other eco-system, a key measure of the health of the gut microbiome is diversity.
Research suggests that a diverse microbiome with many different kinds of bacteria is more resilient than one with only a few kinds.
Microbes all have different roles so if one is unable to perform its function, another one can take over.
There are many different things that determine how diverse our gut microbiome is, food being the most obvious.
Genetics, medication (especially antibiotics) and stress all play a part too.
We may not be able to change all these factors, but food is a good place to start – we do have control over what we eat.
The best way to make sure we have a range of different microbes in our gut is to eat a range of different foods.
It sounds simple but many of us (me included!) tend to eat the same things day to day.
It’s an astonishing fact that 75% of the world’s food today is generated by only 12 plants and 5 animals.
5 ways to bring more diversity to your diet
Plan your meals each week and try not to eat the same thing every day.
Aim to include different coloured vegetables in your meals.
Think about including one new fruit or vegetable in your diet each week.
If you’re cooking potatoes, increase diversity by switching half of them for sweet potatoes or squash.
If you’re a meat eater, experiment with introducing a plant focused day once a week - a study published in 2020 showed that eating a Mediterranean diet rich in plant-based foods helped to boost the friendly bacteria in the gut microbiome.
When it comes to what we eat, there are 2 key things to remember:
Try to avoid processed food (including plant-based processed food) and eat whole foods as often as you can.
Next to variety, the thing our gut microbes love best is fibre. Aim to have around 30 different plants across the week – in the form of fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, legumes, pulses, nuts and seeds.
More ways to boost your gut microbiome
Here are 10 simple steps - perhaps you can commit to one of them to start with:
Try not to take antibiotics – unfortunately they kill off friendly bacteria as well as the harmful ones they’re aimed at.
Take a good quality probiotic (I recommend Optibac).
Eat small amounts of fermented foods like kimchi, kefir, sourdough bread, natural yoghurt.
Drink more water – fibre needs a lot of fluid to be properly digested.
Get enough sleep – we’re more likely to eat poorer quality food when we’re tired.
Limit your intake of alcohol and sugar.
Avoid artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose and saccharine – they reduce the diversity of gut microbes.
Move regularly.
Think about how much stress is affecting you and whether you could improve your vagal tone [related post: How to improve the happiness of your gut (part 1)].
Keep a diary – we’re all unique and no two microbiomes are the same. Keeping notes on your energy levels and how you respond to certain foods will help you adjust your routine for the better.
Changing what you eat and your daily routines can take time and effort but there are so many benefits to having a healthier gut microbiome:
Better immunity and reduced levels of inflammation
Healthier skin – research shows a link between the gut microbiome and skin conditions such as acne and eczema
Increased energy
It may help your mental health - a study carried out in 2021 showed that higher levels of loneliness and lower levels of social engagement are linked to decreased diversity in the gut microbiome
Research suggests we need a healthy gut microbiome to activate Vitamin D effectively [related post: Why we all need to consider boosting our Vitamin D levels]
The happiness of our gut has a huge influence on our wellbeing. Taking simple steps to improve our gut health can have powerful knock-on effects on many aspects of our health and happiness.
Homeopathy can be an effective treatment for gut symptoms. If your gut isn’t as happy as you’d like, do get in touch – I offer free discovery calls for you to find out more:
If you enjoyed this blog you may like to sign up for my email newsletter where I share useful and inspiring information: