You’re the best judge of when your gut is unhealthy. This isn’t a part of your body that can be closely examined without some truly invasive procedures, so you need to monitor how it feels.
Your gut microbiome, the trillions of microorganisms that live in your gut, are linked to everything from heart disease to obesity and immune dysfunction. So, this isn’t a part of your body you should ignore. If your gut feels funny, then you need to take action, and you can do that with this easy guide to resetting and detoxing your gut.
What is a Gut Detox?
As awareness spreads about the importance of gut health and the gut microbiome, the idea of gut detoxes have spread as well. A gut detox is basically a short-term diet that’s meant to improve digestive health and increase the number of beneficial bacteria in the gut in a short time.
There’s very limited evidence about whether these types of diets can permanently change the gut microbiome. However, most of the habits that are introduced in a detox are generally beneficial for good health. So, as long as you’re careful, there’s no harm in doing a gut detox.
The Best Gut Detox Tips
To ensure that your gut detox is safe, gentle, and effective, make sure you follow these tips:
See a Doctor
You should always visit your doctor before making any major changes, just to ensure you don’t have any health conditions that could react adversely to detoxing.
Prepare Properly
Chances are that your gut detox routine will be quite different to your everyday schedule. So, make sure you prepare properly to make it as easy as possible. Get your diet plan early so you can shop and make or freeze meals early to make it easy for yourself.
Watch your Diet
The first and most important aspect of a detox is your diet. There are many different detox diets available, but to improve your diet you should eat more of the following:
- Fibre
- Probiotics
- Prebiotics
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Whole grains
You should also eliminate fried, processed, and sugary foods from your diet during your detox.
Rest and Sleep
There’s no real point in doing a detox if you’re still at work and getting stressed each day. Stress is very bad for gut health and your health overall, so make sure you detox over the weekend or when you have time off if possible.
And during your detox time, try to sleep as much as your body wants to. This will help make up your sleep debt, reduce your stress levels, and boost your gut health.
Drink More Water
Stay Hydrated! You know by now that water is essential for every part of your body, including your gut. And if you’re like most people, then you aren’t drinking enough. So, try to drink at least 2L of water a day for women and 2.6L for men.
Exercise
Gentle exercise will help lower your stress levels and has been shown to improve gut bacteria diversity. So, go for a walk or do some yoga and enjoy the chance to move around more than usual.
Supplements
If you want to try supplements, then make sure you’re using them to enhance a healthy diet, not replace it. For the best results, find a plant-based supplement that supports your gut bacteria and beneficial intestinal microbiota.
The Takeaway
A gut detox can be a good idea if it’s done correctly. Just remember that you don’t need to punish yourself to improve your gut microbiome. In fact, a detox diet that’s hard to maintain and complex will only cause additional stress, which won’t improve your gut health at all.
If you want to boost your detox effects with supplements, then we recommend Modere Axis Phytogreens for a blast of carefully selected, bioavailable, and bioactive superfood ingredients.
Read next: Gut Microbiome: Ultimate Guide to How to Improve Your Gut Health
