Ask the Pharmacist: Tips for a Healthy Gut and Digestive Wellness
Your gut plays a huge role in your overall health, so keeping it in healthy is essential. It's not just responsible for digestion, it also helps with your immune system and can even influence your mental wellbeing. I like to think of the gut as our "second brain" with trillions of friendly bacteria that support our bodies in so many ways.
Here are my top tips for great gut health:
1. Eat a Balanced Diet: To keep your gut happy, focus on a diet rich in fibre. Foods like fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains are fantastic choices. Plant-based foods are especially beneficial for promoting a healthy gut and overall wellness.
2. Manage Stress: Stress isn’t just tough on your mind, it can also impact your gut. When you're stressed, your body produces a hormone called cortisol, which can interfere with communication between your gut and brain – the gut-brain axis. Finding ways to manage stress, can keep both your mind and gut in better shape. A healthy gut can have a positive effect on your mental wellbeing.
3. Include Prebiotics in Your Diet: Prebiotics are the food that good bacteria (probiotics) need to grow and thrive. You can find prebiotics in foods like bananas, oats, and flaxseeds. These can help keep your gut environment healthy and support the friendly bacteria that play a role in digestion.
4. Add Probiotics for Extra Support: Probiotics are the good bacteria that live in your digestive system and help with digestion, immune health, and even mood. You can find probiotics in foods like yogurt, kefir, and kombucha. They can reduce bloating, support digestion, and help balance your gut, especially after taking antibiotics.
By focusing on a healthy diet, managing stress, and supporting your gut with prebiotics and probiotics, you can improve your digestive health and feel your best.
Here are my top five supplements for digestive wellness, available on millies.ie:
FabÜ Gut Culture
Swedish Nutra Encapsulated Probiotics
Advanced Nutrition Biome Powder
Advanced Nutrition Skin Clear Biome
Aya Afterbio for post antibiotics
