Gut Health
Here at Nina’s Natural Kitchen we are obsessed and passionate about the importance of gut health. We would like to share some of our knowledge with you so hopefully you will be too!
Having a healthy gut can help to protect you against disease and support both your physical and mental health. When we talk about the gut, we are referring specifically to the gut microbiome (as it is often referred to by health professionals and scientists). As well as eating the right food it is also important to understand how exercise, reducing stress and sleep have an impact on the health of your gut.
The food we eat has a huge impact on ensuring you have a healthy gut or healthy microbiome.
Research has shown that eating plenty of fibre is associated with a lower risk of stroke, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and bowel cancer. It can also support our immune system, help regulate blood sugar levels and make you feel fuller for longer therefore aiding weight loss. The UK Government guidelines suggest that we should be aiming to eat 30g fibre a day and 30 different types of plant based foods per week. Therefore the best diet for gut health is diversity. This should include lots of different whole grains, vegetables & proteins. Nuts, grains and seeds all count!
To help support your body’s friendly bacteria, it’s essential to include probiotics & prebiotics into everyday life. Probiotics are the beneficial bacteria found in your gut. You need to have a wide variety of different bacteria to thrive. Every morning I enjoy Chuckling Goat Kefir before eating my breakfast. This is my favourite kefir. It contains 27 live & active cultures. Afterwards with my granola I often add St Helen’s Farm Natural Goats Milk Yogurt which is ‘Bio Live’ and High Protein. Probiotics can be found in other ‘live’ dairy products e.g Greek yogurt and some fermented food e.g Sauerkraut. Prebiotics are essentially food that feeds the good bacteria in our gut.
Each bowl of Nina’s Natural Kitchen granolas contain prebiotics. Did you know that oats are a fantastic prebiotic? Gluten free oats work in harmony with the chicory root fibre found in Nina’s Natural Kitchen Nutty Granola to supercharge your gut flora. Each bowl contains 6g of prebiotic fibre, getting you half way there to the recommended 12g per day. Without prebiotics, like chicory root fibre, the friendly gut bacteria would not flourish and thrive.
Prebiotics are linked to:
Improving blood sugar control and regulating appetite.
Supporting bone health and skin health.
Supporting your immune system.
Quick fact: Our gut houses around 70 - 80% of the cells that make up our immune system.
The microbiome in our gut is responsible for a number of different functions, including breaking down fibre and absorbing nutrients, but it's also responsible for controlling our immune system and how our bodies respond to infection. The two essentially work together to support one another throughout our lifespan. The immune system supports the growth of bacteria, while the bacteria contributes towards the development of healthy immunity cells and how they respond to infection.
Some medicines such as antibiotics have also been known to harm the good bacteria in the gut. While they're there to treat common illnesses caused by bacteria, they actually affect all bacteria, good and bad, which will affect the diversity of our gut flora.
Exercise will always be a part of a healthy lifestyle. Gut health and physical performance is a subject of much research. Recent studies have suggested that exercise not only increases the number of good bacteria in the gut, it importantly encourages diversity, the growth of different kinds of good bacteria which each bring their own benefits.
Exercise is also a proven stress buster and can help put you in a different mindset. Exercise releases lots of endorphins that make you feel great, it can be the best 'quick fix' if you're feeling under pressure.
When we are under stress It is inextricably linked to our mental health through the 'gut-brain axis', helping to facilitate the production of hormones like serotonin that are instrumental in regulating our mood and maintaining focus and concentration.
Stress can make you take smaller, shallow breaths that don't get enough oxygen into your body to fully relax. Breathing techniques can really help. Every morning I do Wim Hof Breathing Method - I find this helps set me up both physically & mentally for the day ahead.
Like exercise, the relationship between sleep and gut health goes both ways. Better sleep leads to better gut health, poor sleep has a negative effect on your gut health. The research in this area is emerging, but it is clear that a relationship exists. Not getting enough sleep can quickly affect your microbiome. The amount of sleep that you need varies by person but is usually between 7 and 9 hours for a healthy adult. Numerous studies show that people who sleep well have more diverse levels of gut bacteria than poor sleepers. More and more research is taking place in this area to understand how it all works and what we can do to ensure we all sleep better.
So there you have it, a healthy gut can indeed make for a healthy immune system, and by eating well, exercising, reducing your stress levels and taking care of your gut, you can ensure that both are running in top condition. Helping you to feel your best.
Disclaimer: The information on this website is provided as an information resource only. It is not intended to replace advise from a qualified professional. We encourage you to discuss any health concerns with a qualified medical professional.