8 Ways To Improve Gut Bacteria

Your gut’s health depends on the balance of the bacteria living in it. Most of these are essential for healthy digestion and immunity, while others can cause diseases.

The balance in this microbiome depends on several factors, beginning with your diet. Unhealthy eating habits often result in the harmful microbes multiplying to such a measure that they suppress the helpful ones.

In this article, you will learn how to improve your gut bacteria and preserve your health.

1. Diversify Your Diet

Your gut contains many species of essential bacteria, and the more diverse these microbes are, the healthier your digestion will be. Each of these bacteria requires different nutrients to thrive on, which means you will need to take in several different food types.

Unfortunately, the typical Western diet of processed, sugary foods doesn’t provide much diversity for the bacteria that may contribute to your health. In fact sugar, even artificial sweeteners, usually promote the growth of unhealthier microbes, creating a huge imbalance between the species. Consuming too much fat makes things even worse, and the issue will end up affecting your entire body. 

By eliminating processed foods full of sugar and fat and replacing them with other food types, you can restore your gut microbiome and overall health. Try consuming meals made from a wide variety of plant and animal species without overprocessing them.

A good way to do this is by aiming to make your meals as colorful as possible. Feel free to experiment with different food colors and textures, as this can only add to the diversity of your microbiome. It can be a great learning experience, not to mention how beneficial it will be for your physical and mental health.

2. Increase Your Fiber Intake

Fibers are complex carbohydrates found in lots of fresh food and vegetables. Your body may not be able to digest them but your gut bacteria certainly can. As with any other living organism, gut bacteria go through a life cycle that lasts for a limited amount of time.

After a while, they have to multiply and produce new bacteria. Your fiber intake determines how fast will these new bacteria grow into a thriving microbiome and provide you with their multitude of benefits. Again, processed food lacks any fiber and voids gut bacteria from all the nutrients they need. This favors the growth of the disease-inducing bacteria, which thrive on different nutrients than complex carbs, often feeding on the tissues of your internal organs.

The best sources of healthy dietary fibers are fruit and vegetables. Switching to a vegetarian diet could be a great solution for increasing your fiber intake. Even if you can’t commit to a fully plant-based diet, you can still make sure you consume enough complex carbs.

For vegetables, legumes (beans, green peas, lentils, and chickpeas) are famous for their high fiber content. Leafy veggies like broccoli and cabbage are also rich in complex carbs.

When it comes to fruit, the most fiber you will find is in bananas, apples, and berries but only when consumed in their natural form. Avoid juicing fruits and veggies because this process takes away most of their fiber content. Eating whole grains also helps improve your gut microbiome and reduces any inflammation in your digestive tract.

3. Consume Fermented Food

Fermented foods are food sources that have undergone a process in which their sugar content is broken down by different microbes. Fermentation causes these meals to become rich in bacteria that benefit your digestion and overall health.

By eating fermented foods, you actively consume these bacteria as well. Another great benefit of fermentation lies in its effectiveness in elongating the shelf life of the food. It’s a natural preservation method that eliminates the need for artificial preservatives.

This makes food easier to digest, helping your gut bacteria thrive. Plus, it won’t overwhelm your body with potentially harmful chemicals. All of these are processed by the liver, an organ that significantly affects your digestion. If the liver can’t function properly, neither will your intestines. 

Fermented dairy products, like kefir and yogurt, are rich in bacteria that contribute to the health of your entire digestive system, from your stomach to your colon. When it comes to yogurts, it’s always best to opt for a natural, unsweetened version.

Sugar only slows down the proliferation of healthy gut bacteria and increases the number of unhealthy microbes. Fermented soybean milk has very similar benefits to its animal counterpart, and it can be the perfect alternative if you are lactose intolerant.

Kombucha can also help decrease the number of harmful bacteria throughout your digestive tract. Kimchi and sauerkraut are two more great food sources full of vitamins and minerals that you and your microbiome need.

4. Avoid Using Antibiotics and Chemicals

When you have a bacterial infection, a doctor will prescribe antibiotics to combat the disease. The problem is, these medications don’t just kill bacteria in the area that’s affected by the infection.

Broad-spectrum antibiotics often end up killing the bacteria in other parts of your body as well. Prolonged use of antibiotics or unnecessary application can seriously disrupt the microbial balance of your gut. Not only that, but their overuse will result in antibiotic resistance, which means that next time you use them, they won’t affect the harmful bacteria at all. They will continue to multiply and suppress the healthy ones. This is why it’s not a good idea to use antibiotics without consulting with a doctor first. 

Unfortunately, antibiotics aren’t the only chemicals that have a significant impact on your gut health. Disinfectants and other common household cleaning products are all disruptive to gut bacteria.

Try to avoid using them more than once a week, and make sure they don’t come in contact with your food. Or, better yet, switch to natural cleaning products, so you won’t have to worry about sacrificing hygiene for healthy gut flora.

Nicotine also has the ability to create an imbalance between healthy and unhealthy bacteria. If you are a smoker, this is another great reason to quit besides the many other important reasons. 

5. Take in Natural Probiotics and Prebiotics

Yogurts have yet another way of contributing to a healthy digestive microbiome and this is most noticeable when the balance of your gut bacteria is disrupted. Infections, chemicals, and antibiotics can also contribute to the reduced number of good bacteria.

If you can’t avoid taking antibiotics, all the healthy bacteria they kill will have to be replaced. Yogurts are natural probiotics which means that they actively contribute to the proliferation of essential gut bacteria, restoring their numbers.

Probiotics themselves are microbes, but they don’t stay permanently in your gut. However, their presence encourages other, healthy bacteria to multiply. Probiotics are available in the form of supplements.

Prebiotics are yet another food group that contributes to a balanced gut microbiome. They can help heal several digestive issues, including the ones causing inflammation, irritability, and reduced blood flow in the intestines.

Food that contains fibers and other complex carbs typically contains prebiotics as well. This means that by consuming these fruits and veggies, you are improving your gut in more ways than one. Starches aren’t absorbed in your small intestine, so they won’t elevate your blood glucose levels. Instead of that, they provide your gut bacteria with nutrients in your large intestine.

6. Eat Foods Containing Polyphenols

Polyphenols are essential compounds that carry several health benefits from reducing cholesterol levels and inflammation to regulating blood pressure. They also help prevent oxidative stress, which can have disastrous consequences for your organs.

To engage their function, polyphenols have to be broken down into smaller components, something your own digestive enzymes cannot do. Fortunately, your gut bacteria are able to digest polyphenols and help them get absorbed through your intestines.

Gut bacteria thrive on nutrients like this, which means eating more polyphenols will help them diversify. This, in turn, leads to increased polyphenol absorption and further health benefits.

Like for fibers, the best source of polyphenols you can turn to is a plant-based diet. Vegetables like broccoli and onions have plenty of these compounds that are necessary to maintain a healthy microbiome.

Dark fruit like blueberries and grapes are also great resources of polyphenols with antioxidant properties. Not only that but there are plenty of them in red wine and black tea as well. If you enjoy indulging in chocolate, you are also contributing to the healthy balance of the gut microbiome.

Just make sure to buy organic dark chocolate with high cocoa content and without unnecessary additives. Doing this will help reduce gut inflammation and maintain a healthy metabolic rate throughout your entire body.

7. Reduce Your Stress Levels

The symptoms caused by stress can vary from simple mental exhaustion to physical pain. However, all of them contribute greatly to gut microbe imbalance, making stress relief another crucial factor in digestive health.

Even if the stress is short-lived, it will cause changes in your digestive tract, turning the environment unfavorable for some essential bacteria. Keep in mind that stress comes in many forms such as psychological pressure, extreme temperatures, noisy environment, and sleep deprivation. So to restore gut health, you must address the issue that causes the most stress for you and your digestive microbiome. 

Spending time in an overly hot environment causes dehydration, which can significantly decrease the number of healthy bacteria living in your gut. To avoid this, try spending less time in this environment and make sure you drink enough water to keep your digestive tract hydrated. Cold causes blood flow restriction, depriving the microbes of nutrients, and can be resolved by consuming warm liquids and food. 

Sleep deprivation disrupts your circadian rhythms, which affects your entire body, including your digestive system. By having a restful sleep, you can contribute to healthy digestion and a thriving gut microbiome. Your lack of sleep may be caused by psychological issues, in which case you may want to try to relieve yourself of this burden. Breathing techniques, meditation, and passive exercises like yoga can work wonders for stress relief.

8. Start Exercising

The same way the gut microbiome contributes to healthy digestion, regular bowel movements are paramount for a thriving environment for gut bacteria. A sedentary lifestyle affects the frequency of bowel movements and in combination with an unhealthy diet, it can seriously disrupt your digestion.

Without physical activity, all your muscles (even the ones in your digestive tract) become sluggish and stop functioning normally. When this happens with your gut muscles, they stop pushing down the food towards the bacteria to digest, and when they do, it remains there too long. This promotes the growth of methanogenic bacteria which in large quantities, cause serious health issues.

Inactivity also causes psychological issues that lead to stress and sleep deprivation. Furthermore, it causes obesity, a condition affecting all your organs, including your gut. To prevent all these health issues and help gut bacteria thrive in a well-balanced, dynamic environment, it’s a good idea to exercise on a daily basis.

This doesn’t have to be a grueling workout, as long as you can avoid sitting for long periods of time, it will stimulate your digestive microbiome. Taking a nice walk outside will strengthen your muscles and provide them with plenty of fresh oxygen, improving circulation in your digestive tract and helping the bacteria to nutrients. If the weather outside isn’t favorable, cleaning or organizing your home can work just as fine for this purpose.

Final Thoughts

Making healthier dietary changes is crucial for restoring the digestive microbiome. From consuming fermented fruit and lots of fibers to increasing the number of natural probiotics, there are many ways to alter the balance of gut bacteria.

Avoiding the overuse of certain medications and consuming organic food without unnecessary chemicals also yield positive results. If you have persistent digestive issues, it’s recommended to consult with your doctor about the possible causes as there may be an underlying issue that needs medical attention.