Your gut is responsible for many different areas of your overall well-being; its condition directly impacts your physical and mental health.
A happy gut will most definitely bring about happier and healthier skin, so it is important for you to listen to your body when consuming any type of food or drink—taking a negative reaction seriously, such as bloating or pain.
Foods that trigger your gut may be the reason your skin suffers!
In this article, I will be advising you on some simple steps you can take to achieve a healthier gut.
Step 1: manage your stress levels!
The most efficient way to do this is through daily exercise.
You don’t need to start lifting weights or doing intense cardio routines unless you want to—start taking daily walks or choose to drive a little less.
While it can get exhausting on long days, your body and mind will truly appreciate it.
I find myself choosing to take short walks outside before bed to clear my head, helping me wind down and deeply relax.
Stress is also an acne trigger for many individuals, so work your body until you empty your head!
Step 2: increase your consumption of probiotics and prebiotics!
Probiotics give our gut the “good” bacteria it needs to thrive, due to the living microorganisms they contain.
Prebiotics provide nourishment for the good bacteria within our gut, bringing balance to our gut’s microorganisms.
You can either take both of these as supplements or eat foods naturally containing them.
Eat more fermented foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, yogurt, and miso to increase natural probiotics.
Eat more garlic, onions, leeks, and asparagus to increase natural prebiotics.
Less is more, but consistency is key.
Step 3: unwind with herbal teas!
Herbal teas are a simple and effective way of healing and boosting our bodily functions—on all levels.
Ginger, peppermint, and lemon tea are some of the best treats for our digestive system.
Chamomile is another great tea for the gut—best consumed after dinner.
These teas have the power to soothe our gut lining, as well as promote the digestion process to clear out our digestive tract.
Step 4: cut down on inflammatory foods—gut triggers!
Now this step might seem a little harder than the rest, but the results will be completely worth it.
Popular diet staples such as refined sugar, alcohol, gluten, and processed foods can cause significant harm to your gut lining.
These foods are all inflammatory, posing serious health risks to your entire body.
Cutting down on your consumption of these foods will restore and strengthen your gut lining, leading to a stronger and healthier skin barrier.
Gluten is a hard one to cut out, especially if you love bread in the mornings, but I have found that sourdough bread is much easier to digest.
It goes through a process of fermentation, making it rich in prebiotics, while containing lower amounts of gluten than most breads.
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Taking any, or all, of these steps will propel you on your journey to proper gut health—increasing your gut’s strength and decreasing its sensitivity over time.
When your gut is stronger, it can handle much more!
Proper gut care will increase your likeliness of achieving and maintaining healthy, gorgeous skin.