New year, same gut issues? Starting the year fresh can be difficult when your gut is holding you back. Here are some signs, symptoms and causes of gut imbalance which may suggest that it is time to change something in your diet or lifestyle:
- Excessive bloating
- IBS symptoms
- Mild pain or discomfort
- Changes in bowel habits
- Constant fatigue
- Unhealthy diet
- Sleep disturbances
- Weight changes
- Antibiotic use
How to Improve Gut Health
The good news is that you do not have to live with these uncomfortable symptoms, and making certain lifestyle and diet changes can make a huge difference, such as:
- Getting at least 7-9 hours of shut-eye per night
- Cutting down on caffeinated beverages, which can trigger gastrointestinal disturbances
- Eliminating carbonated beverages, which can cause excess gas and bloating
- Avoiding chewing gum
- Avoiding overly processed foods high in artificial sweeteners
- Taking a probiotic supplement
- Eating a healthy and balanced diet, including a varied and diverse range of plant foods.
- Consuming fermented foods such as kimchi and kombucha
- Consuming prebiotic foods which help feed our healthy gut bacteria.
What Are Probiotics?
Probiotics are living microorganisms which can be found in probiotic supplements or fermented foods and can help to replenish the ‘good’ bacteria in our gut. They are also useful for rebalancing our gut bacteria, for example, after we have taken a course of antibiotics. There have been many benefits associated with consuming probiotics and taking probiotic supplements, such as:
- Rebalancing our gut bacteria
- Treating diarrhoea
- May help improve our heart health
- May help improve mental health
- May help to reduce certain bowel or digestive symptoms
- May help to boost our immune system, since 70% of our immune system resides in our gut.
Choosing a Probiotic Supplement
Sona Pro25Biotic contains a high strength of 25 billion probiotics per capsule. Specifically containing a blend of 50:50 lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium BB-12, they can help to increase our healthy intestinal bacteria to balance our digestive system, while promoting other benefits such as healthy immunity and digestive health.
References
- Chapman, C.M.C., Gibson, G.R. and Rowland, I., 2011. Health benefits of probiotics: are mixtures more effective than single strains?. European journal of nutrition, 50(1), pp.1-17.
- King, S., Glanville, J., Sanders, M.E., Fitzgerald, A. and Varley, D., 2014. Effectiveness of probiotics on the duration of illness in healthy children and adults who develop common acute respiratory infectious conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Nutrition, 112(1), pp.41-54.
- Heiman, M.L. and Greenway, F.L., 2016. A healthy gastrointestinal microbiome is dependent on dietary diversity. Molecular metabolism, 5(5), pp.317-320.
- Hill, C., Guarner, F., Reid, G., Gibson, G.R., Merenstein, D.J., Pot, B., Morelli, L., Canani, R.B., Flint, H.J., Salminen, S. and Calder, P.C., 2014. Expert consensus document: The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics consensus statement on the scope and appropriate use of the term probiotic. Nature reviews Gastroenterology & hepatology.