Many people only think of gut, or stomach, care during the winter when the threat of the flu is knocking at the door. However, there are reasons to care for your gut all year long. Stress can cause stomach issues, from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to ulcers, and with all the changes to the food people eat, you could develop a food allergy or even Celiac Disease.
If you want an all around healthier and happier gut, you can get it with a few easy lifestyle changes. It’s basically as easy as eating healthy, staying moving, and making sure you’re in good health all around.
Eat The Right Foods
You want to make sure that you are eating foods rich in nutrients. There are some vitamins and minerals that do great things for the gut, so you want to make sure you get those. Zinc and vitamin C can help you fight the flu, and you want to make sure you are getting enough vitamin D to fight bloat and other stomach issues that can come with a deficiency.
While the best way to get vitamin D is through 15 minutes of sun each day, sometimes it’s harder to get that much sun (like when it’s really cold outside) so a supplement or foods fortified in vitamin D can be helpful too.
Another great way to eat for your gut is to cook more homemade foods, and to start adding fermented foods into your diet. Fermented foods put good cultures and flora back into your belly. And home cooked things like bone broth helps to boost your immune system and settle tummy issues as well.
Stay Active
There are many ways to combat a yucky stomach, but one way that helps in the long run is to stay physical. If you take some time to exercise even a few days a week you’ll be doing a lot of great things for your stomach. When you aren’t spending as much time sitting you give your stomach less reasons to be upset.
Plus, exercise is great for fighting stress, and stress can cause all sorts of issues in the stomach region. Stress can cause stomach ulcers, IBS, and it can also make other gut illnesses worse.
Get A Regular Checkup
While it can be really easy to look for a diagnosis online, sometimes that’s a bad choice and you may end up having bigger problems than you bargained for. Although, online diagnosing can at least help you determine what you should ask your doctor when you go in for an appointment.
A regular checkup, even when your stomach (and the rest of your body) feels fine, can be the best way for getting an early diagnosis no matter what may be wrong with you. When you do feel like your stomach isn’t normal, or you feel different after eating certain foods, talk to a professional before you start popping pills or start an extreme diet.
Originally posted on October 27, 2015 @ 3:58 pm