Gut health plays a crucial role in maintaining the body’s overall health and immune system. The gut hosts seventy percent of the body’s immune system. The gut also can affect mental health as it consistently communicates with the brain.
During her Miss Kemah Teen USA competition, Bryn Carden found her passion for health and promoting wellness. The young health guru has since continuously sought out better wellness practices, including enhancing her immune system by keeping her gut health in line. In this article, Carden reviews signs of poor gut health and how to improve the body’s epicenter.
What Poor Gut Health Looks Like
There are multiple signs that indicate an individual suffers from poor gut health. One of these signs is being intolerant to certain foods where the body reacts with gas and bloating. When this happens, the body is communicating that whatever that food consists of is not a good source of nutrition or fuel for adequate energy.
Unexplainable fatigue, feelings of sluggishness, or trouble sleeping are other red flags that could mean bad gut health. Other indications of poor gut health include a decline in mood, depression, reoccurring infection or illness, chronic diarrhea or headache, repetitious painful gas, heartburn, constipation, weight changes, irritated skin such as eczema, upset stomach, autoimmune issues, and frequent sugar cravings.
How to Get Gut Health in Check
The first step to improving gut health is to evaluate diet. High-sugar diets and meals often made up of processed foods can diminish the pretense of good bacteria in the gut. Bacteria in the gut interact so much with the body’s immune system, as the GI tract is where a large amount of the immune system is found. Those looking to elevate gut health should pay close attention to what foods cause bloating or gas and cut those foods out or replace them with a healthier and more nutritious option.
Foods and drinks that are known to cause problems for the gut consist of artificial sweeteners, processed foods, red meat, and alcohol. Anyone can substitute these food choices with better ones that promote a strong gut and immune system: probiotics (sauerkraut, yogurt, miso, kefir, kimchi, tempeh, kombucha), prebiotics (raspberries, asparagus, bananas, watermelon, sunchokes, onions, beans, legumes, garlic, pears, leeks), fermented foods, fiber, and polyphenols (red onions, dark chocolate, apples, artichokes, tea, berries). Prebiotics and probiotics can also be appropriately applied to a diet through supplements. A simple, solid, gut health diet consists of consuming nuts, fruits, seeds, whole grains, and vegetables.
Besides diet alterations that can excel gut health, other ways involve getting the proper amount of sleep every night, slowing down eating speed, and lowering stress levels. When feelings of stress arise, the gut can react in unpleasant ways. Stress can be maintained when activities such as walking, yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, or even laughing are incorporated into a daily schedule. A beneficial wellness habit that boosts more than just gut and immune system health is always carrying a water bottle to promote drinking and refills to stay hydrated.
About Bryn Carden
Bryn Carden is a young entrepreneur and philanthropist with a passion for real estate and design. She is currently studying at Neeley School of Business, pursuing a major in Finance with a Real Estate Concentration. Besides working towards her degree, she has already begun her entrepreneurial journey as a co-founder of BF Hats and a creator of Styles for Smiles – a company selling bracelets to help fund cleft palate operations for children in developing countries.