Gut Inflammation

After the year that has been, it has become even more imperative that we value the priority of our health.  Individually within our gut microbiota, there are billions of bacteria present, helping to maintain balance by keeping our gut healthy and in part also helping to support our overall wellbeing.

Gut inflammation
To support your health, your gut needs to contain a wide variety of good bacteria, and this diversity helps keep it balanced. When there is an imbalance, a reduction of beneficial bacteria to potentially harmful bacteria, the gut can become inflamed.

Inflammation is a defence mechanism that the body uses to fight against foreign matter. This can take place all over the body including our gut. Inflammation that is found in the gut has found to be more prevalent in individuals experiencing anxiety and depression which is highly present today when compared to the overall population.

Factors that can cause a reduction of beneficial bacteria include the natural aging process, stress, medications and a poor diet. While research has yet to identify the ideal gut bacteria combination, the impact of diet on the gut cannot be denied. Ensuring that we keep our gut healthy and happy has seen to make a huge improvement in our overall wellbeing.

What can we do to prevent gut inflammation?

One of the most powerful tools to combat inflammation comes not from a pharmacy, but from the grocery store. Ensuring a balanced diet is consumed will help our gut health thrive.

• Eating a variety of vegetables, fruits, wholegrains and protein sources are the ways to keep your gut happy.
• Avoiding highly processes foods such as processed meats and high sugar snacks
• Including some dairy, fish and using moderate amounts of olive oil
• Despite the small amounts being used in cooking, herbs and spices have a great impact on our gut as well as adding great flavour to our food.

Consuming a probiotic may also help with reducing inflammation in the gut. 70% of the immune system is found in the gut so it is not surprising that there is a strong relationship between digestive and immune health. Probiotics have the ability also to restore the balance in the gut and therefore have a potential role in the support and prevention of illness.