The right gut health supplements can assist with restoring and maintaining healthy levels of bacteria, aiding digestion, mood, and skin issues. Accessories include probiotics, prebiotics, and vitamins.
This vegan product contains lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains, along with licorice root extract clinically shown to relieve digestive distress symptoms such as bloating, gas, heartburn, and acid reflux. Furthermore, partially hydrolyzed guar gum feeds beneficial bacteria within your gut.
Probiotics
Probiotics are microorganisms that, when consumed, enhance digestive health by competing with harmful bacteria and improving digestion. Your digestive health relies on having the appropriate balance of healthy bacteria; when this balance becomes disrupted by illness, antibiotics, poor diet, or an overgrowth of harmful ones – probiotics provide relief by helping restore it, offering numerous health benefits such as increased immune function and better nutrient absorption.
Probiotics have many health advantages that are attributable to them, including improving digestion by crowding out “bad” bacteria and stimulating essential enzyme production, improving intestinal motility, and reducing inflammation, among other effects. Furthermore, studies indicate probiotics may lower risks of obesity and metabolic syndrome (type 2 diabetes).
Probiotics have also shown promising evidence for improving mental wellness through what’s known as the gut-brain axis – wherein healthy microbiomes promote positive mental wellbeing.
There are many ways to add probiotics, from fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, and miso to fermented drinks such as kombucha. Dietary supplement products in capsule, powder, or liquid form also contain various forms of probiotics. Still, before taking new nutritional supplements, it is always a good idea to check with your healthcare provider and ensure you take an appropriate product tailored specifically for your needs. This BioTrust probiotic contains 34 different Bifidobacterium strains plus prebiotics from Jerusalem artichoke and banana powder for maximum gut health support!
Prebiotics
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that can aid the digestive tract. Prebiotics provide food for these beneficial microorganisms and can help your digestive tract flourish together.
Foods high in prebiotics include various plant-based products. Examples include bananas, asparagus, garlic and onions, berries, artichokes, leeks, and whole grains. Bananas are an excellent prebiotic source as they contain fiber (about 3 grams per 6-inch banana) and inulin, an ingredient that stimulates good bacteria growth in your gut through inulin’s action as a prebiotic agent.
Leafy greens are another great source of prebiotics, offering fiber, folate, and vitamin C for supporting the development of beneficial bacteria. Just one cup of kale provides around 4 grams of prebiotics as a resistant starch source!
Prebiotics include oligosaccharides, fructans, and inulin – three popular prebiotics in plant-based foods ranging from cereals and breads to processed snacks like cookies. Look for inulin, wheat dextrin, acacia gum, psyllium, and polydextrose as potential prebiotic sources on product labels.
Diet is always your first source for prebiotics; however, if that isn’t possible or enough are available in your daily meals, then taking supplements may help. Selecting one that’s easy for your body to digest and keep to a regular schedule that suits you – that way, your gut bacteria know what they can expect and plan accordingly! You can find prebiotic supplements in powder or pill form; alternatively, try incorporating prebiotic-rich foods like dandelion greens or chicory root into regular meals for maximum benefit. These foods taste delicious when combined with proteins like eggs or turkey bacon!
Fiber
Gut bacteria thrive on a diet rich in fiber. Fiber plays an essential role in maintaining regularity, avoiding bloating, and even decreasing colon cancer risk, yet only about five percent of men and nine percent of women meet their daily fiber requirement from diet alone; Americans tend to overindulge in processed food that lacks fiber as well as consuming too much meat which contributes to digestive problems like diarrhea or constipation.
Researchers discovered in a recent study that eating a macrobiotic diet of whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and roasted green tea increased total gut bacteria diversity while simultaneously decreasing one pathogenic species’ growth. Other research indicates that increasing fiber consumption promoted gut bacterial diversity while mitigating risk factors associated with heart disease and diabetes.
Prebiotic fiber, or fructan or inulin, cannot be digested by human bodies; however, it’s an ideal food source for gut microbes to feast upon. Gut bacteria break down prebiotic fiber into healthy small molecules that nourish these microbes and promote abundant mucus layer protection for gut lining health.
Gut bacteria fed fermentable fiber produce short-chain fatty acids known as short-chain fatty acids, which have been linked with healthier metabolisms and less inflammation, most notably butyrate, which has been found to strengthen gut linings while providing immune system support. Aim for seasonal fruits and vegetables and whole grains, beans and lentils, legumes, and nuts as sources to boost your fiber consumption. Try supplementing with protease, amylase, lipase, and lactase digestive enzyme supplements for even greater effectiveness!
Collagen
Collagen is widely celebrated for its skin health benefits, but it also can offer significant advantages for gut health. Collagen helps promote better bowel movements, decrease gas and bloating, and support a balanced microbiome by feeding gut lining with essential nutrition while supporting increased butyrate production – critical components to maintaining overall good health in our bodies. Furthermore, collagen also facilitates proper phase two liver detoxification processes necessary for wellness in the body.
Glycine found in collagen is essential to maintaining tight junctions that form your intestinal lining – crucial components of an effective gut barrier. Furthermore, glycine aids digestion by binding water and stomach acid so food can be broken down more quickly; and has even been demonstrated to help treat leaky gut and IBS by encouraging healthy intestinal linings.
Consume collagen through foods like bone broth, fish, or meat; however, most people find supplementation is the ideal way to ensure they receive a consistent dosage of this essential protein. When selecting your collagen supplement, choose one with hydrolyzed collagen or collagen peptides; these forms have been broken down into smaller molecules so your gut can easily absorb them.
As soon as it comes to improving gut health, one thing’s sure: It takes time. Diet changes must include more “gut-friendly” foods like probiotics, prebiotics, and fiber; digestive herbs such as ginger and turmeric should also be added; and fermented foods like kimchi or sauerkraut for fermented food options. Results typically take several weeks after starting your journey, but it will pay off! You will feel healthier, have increased energy, and have fewer digestive issues as a result!
Zinc
Zinc is an anti-inflammatory trace mineral with strong antioxidative and anti-oxidant properties that may help improve gut health by slowing down inflammation response. Furthermore, zinc may help strengthen immunity so you can better fend off viruses more rapidly.
The digestive tract houses an ecosystem of trillions of microbes called the microbiome, which helps digest food, protect against disease, and boost your immunity system. Zinc is an essential nutrient that supports healthy bacteria by crowding out harmful ones.
Animal studies have demonstrated the efficacy of zinc supplementation for increasing beneficial bacteria growth and decreasing enterotoxigenic E. coli presence in cecum. Furthermore, zinc has also been shown to strengthen intestinal barrier function while reducing inflammation in the GI tract.
Zinc is essential to good health, playing a vital role in over 300 enzyme-mediated reactions in your body that regulate hormones, blood sugar levels, and nutrient absorption. People who suffer from digestive issues, have leaky gut, or follow a plant-based diet like veganism may be at increased risk of zinc deficiency due to these diets cutting out high sources of zinc like eggs.
if your gut isn’t functioning as it should be, consult your physician regarding taking supplements. A comprehensive stool test can assess vitamin B12, D, E, and other micronutrient levels like calcium, magnesium, copper, selenium, and zinc. In addition, zonulin tests measure IgG antibodies for up to 87 foods to help diagnose food sensitivities or leaky gut syndrome.
