Nowadays, gut health is well-understood as central to general whole-body wellness, affecting digestion, the immune system, and even mood. But you also need to know that, although a healthy diet is the most important thing for your gut, some supplements may help keep it in excellent condition. This article will discuss the benefits of gut health supplements for your body’s general health and why it needs them.
Understanding Gut Health
Trillions of bacteria, fungi, and other microscopic organisms that make up the human microbiota populate our gut. But these little organisms play a huge role in digestion and nutrient absorption and even affect our mood through this gut-brain axis. A good mix of these microorganisms is very important to keep you fit and fine.
Common Factors Affecting Gut Health
When consumed in excess, it can disrupt the balance of the gut microbiota, causing a plethora of digestive issues and compromising health. These factors include:
- Diet: A diet of high processed foods with excess sugar and a low fibre content, to mention the main ones, are confounders that can impact your gut health directly by having an influence on desirable or undesirable bacteria.
- Stress: When under chronic stress, even if one maintains healthy eating standards and exercises regularly, the motility of their digestive tract begins to drop. The metabolism throughout the body slows down and even apparently minor local changes can expand into major symptoms that affect health overall.
- Medications: Some drugs, such as antibiotics, proton-pump inhibitors and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, may inactivate gut flora so that you develop indigestion.
- Lifestyle: An inappropriate lifestyle, not sleeping well and over-consuming alcohol also damage gut health.
Role of Gut Health Supplements
Diet is the bedrock of gut health, but supplements can improve and support digestive wellness in a variety of ways.
Probiotics
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, probiotics are viable microorganisms that allow health benefits for the host when given in adequate quantities. These helpful bacteria enable you to restore and keep a mix of bacteria that is advantageous to your gut, sustain them within your state affairs, and even make people feel good all over.
Probiotics supplements such as Vivomixx, which contain specific strains of probiotics, (Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, for example), have been proven to relieve digestive disorders by restoring the delicate balance between these benevolent bacteria and harmful ones.
Prebiotics
Prebiotics are non-digestible fibres that provide the opportunity for beneficial bacteria to gain ground and prosper. They constitute the food of probiotics and so expand their overall usefulness in our guts.
Digestive Enzymes
These enzymes permit the breakdown of food, simplifying it into more basic components that the body can absorb. This is especially necessary if you have digestive problems or a condition leading to low enzyme production.
Fibre Supplements
This maintains regular bowel movements and supports a healthy digestive system. While food is the ideal source of fibre, especially fruit, vegetables and whole grains, if you struggle with meeting your minimum daily recommendations, take this supplement to help bulk up stool, which in turn supports normal bowel elimination as well as nourishing healthy gut bacteria.
Furthermore, gut health supplements such as zeolite and colostrum powder are essential for improving many aspects of life. Colostrum powder fosters a healthy balance of microorganisms in the gut and promotes good digestion and more efficient nutrient absorption. Zeolite aids natural detox processes and keeps the gut ‘in check’ so that unfriendly bacteria are kept out. Incorporating these supplements into your daily routine can go a long way towards ensuring optimal digestive health and supporting the gut-brain axis. In moody times, happiness makes all things stay at the right angle.
Benefits of Gut Health Supplements
- Improved Digestion: Start implementing digestive enzymes and potent probiotics to help you digest the food you are currently eating, but also keep bloating gas indigestions at bay.
- Enhanced Immune Function: Your gut houses a great deal of your immune system. By increasing the gut balance of friendly bacteria, it will support the immune system and help prevent infections.
- Reduced Inflammation: A non-equilibrated bacteria population in our gut might lead to a systemic inflammation condition that has been associated with other diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), autoimmune pathologies, and even obesity. This supplement will improve gut health and keep the PH in your intestines balanced by a heap of inflammation!
- Mental Health Support: The gut-brain axis is responsible for the biochemical signalling that takes place between our enteric nervous system and the brain, which has now been established and it is crucial to understand this pathway back and forth. Several research studies also confirmed the brain-boosting qualities of probiotics and their beneficial effects on mood to alleviate signs of anxiety, depression and stress.
- Overall Well-Being: When your gut microbiota is healthy, you will have more energy, an uplifted mood and happy overall well-being. By promoting proper digestion and nutrient absorption, gut health supplements can aid the other positive aspects of probiotics.
Choosing the Right Gut Health Supplements
Here are a few things to look for when choosing gut health supplements:
- Quality: Opt for supplements from trusted manufacturers, like Throne Research and BodyBio, that abide by good manufacturing practices (GMP) and have passed purity and potency testing.
- Strain Diversity: Try to find a supplement that adds strains with different benefits for your system.
- Dosage: The dosage to be taken daily will depend upon the type of multivitamin you are consuming. Therefore, follow what is recommended by your healthcare professional or supplied by directions on the bottle.
- Consultation: If you have any known medical conditions or health concerns, contact a proper licensed physician and follow advice from them on whether these new supplements are safe for your personal use.
Conclusion
Using gut health supplements is an effective way of supporting a healthy digestive system, improving immune function and attaining optimal general well-being. Supplementation should not be used as a substitute for a healthy diet. Supplements complement dietary and lifestyle choices to maximise gut health. Good digestion with lower inflammation equals good overall health, which is key to a healthy lifestyle where probiotics, prebiotics, digestive enzymes, and fibre help to keep balance in your gut microbiota.