How to Keep Your Gut Happy and Healthy

Do you have that gut feeling that something is wrong? Well, it might be time to have a check-up to see if you have good gut health. According to BBC, bad gut health can bring on mood swings, obesity, and even cardiovascular complications! 

Here are three superfoods to have which will help maintain good bacteria in the stomach according to BBC and will keep your gut happy and healthy.

1. Probiotics

When we hear the word 'bacteria', the picture that comes into our minds is of a green, ugly blob that's on a mission to make us sick. Yes, there are harmful bacteria, but there are also good bacteria like probiotics, which are living microorganisms that offer so many health benefits after being ingested into the system. Healthline says that our gut is filled with about 1000 different microorganisms, including yeast, viruses, and bacteria. Together they are referred to as 'gut flora', and they work collectively to produce vitamins such as vitamin B and K as well as turning fibers into healthy fats like acetate that feed the gut wall. However, since gut flora is very sensitive to what you eat, an unhealthy diet will cause the flora to go berserk and get out of balance, which results in conditions such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. 

This is where probiotics come to the rescue and bring balance to the gut flora and make sure they are working optimally. Probiotics for gut health can be taken by consuming foods such as yogurt and via supplements available at your nearest NDL Pharmacy in Auckland.

2. Prebiotics

Prebiotics? What's that you say? Even though they sound similar and are equally beneficial to your gut bacteria, they both have different jobs to do. Healthline reports that while probiotics are beneficial to the gut flora, prebiotics is what the gut flora eats on. Your gut flora needs nutritious prebiotics to stay in balance and keep your gut healthy.

While prebiotics can come in supplements just like probiotics, they can also be taken via foods rich in them such as; legumes like beans and peas, oats, bananas, berries, Jerusalem artichokes, asparagus, dandelion greens, leeks, and onions.

3. Fermented Foods

A recent study by the Quadram Institute of Food and Health In The UK discovered that people who eat fermented dairy products live longer due to its healthy influence on the gut. Other fermented foods such as kombucha, kefir, and pickled foods are also said to be good for the gut.