You already know that your gut health is the key to your overall wellness. But how do you start a daily routine to help improve your gut health when it all seems so confusing?
Daily Gut Health Routine to Improve Your Gut Health
The good news is there are some simple, doable, and effective things you can start now to support your gut health each day.
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1. Start Your Day With Water
Keep a large glass of water on your nightstand. When you wake up, drink up. That water helps to get your digestive system up and moving for the day.
Add a tablespoon or two of organic apple cider vinegar to your morning water. Make sure you get the raw, unpasteurized vinegar containing the ‘mother’, the cloudy bits that contain probiotics and enzymes you need for good gut health.
You already know that drinking more water is always a good health goal. It’s also an important part of a daily gut health routine.
Everything in your body, including your gut, functions better when it’s well hydrated.
Throughout the day, I keep my trusty Hydro Flask filled with ice water. Since I have the 32-ounce container, I make sure to keep going back to the fridge to fill it up through the course of the day.
And another thing….minimize the amount of water you drink with meals. Chugging water at a meal actually dilutes your digestive juices and can interfere with digestion. Only take small sips while eating meals, and drink the bulk of your water in between meals.
2. Poop Every Morning
I know, I know…..I can’t believe I said that either.
Pooping on a regular basis means your body is working properly.
Most of us are rushing around every morning just trying to get out the door to start our days. It’s enough to make anyone irregular.
Try setting aside just a bit of quiet time each morning to get this daily habit started. Once you start practicing the suggestions in this post, you’ll find that you can train yourself to poop regularly.
Ok….enough with the pooping. Just make sure you set aside some time each day for this gut health habit.
3. Spend Time With Pets
It’s long been known that spending time with your pet can help you lower stress levels, and lead to a healthier lifestyle.
But there’s also growing research that having a dog in your home can lead to having a more diverse array of gut bacteria. And a more diversified gut bacteria is an indicator of better immune system health.
Is there no end to the wonderfulness of pets? If you have a dog or cat, make them part of your daily gut health routine – you don’t have to tell them why they’re getting that extra love!
4. Build a Better Breakfast
When you think of food as medicine for your body, you can make choices that are both healthy and delicious.
Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, said it best: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
Start your day with an easy gut-friendly meal that is packed with gut healing probiotics AND prebiotics.
Prebiotics don’t get as much press as probiotics but are very important in improving your gut health. Think of prebiotics as fertilizer for your gut, meaning that they contain components that encourage the growth of gut bacteria.
A great solution to the rushed breakfast dilemma that covers both the probiotic and prebiotic bases is Overnight Refrigerator Oats. These recipes contain both yogurt (a potent probiotic) and oats (a fiber-rich prebiotic), along with a healthful serving of fruit to start your day on the right healthy foot.
- Toasted Coconut Overnight Oats – recipe from Chellie at Art From My Table
- Blueberry Overnight Oats – recipe courtesy of Marie at Just Plain Living
If you can manage it, sit down for a few minutes to savor your breakfast, chew things thoroughly and enjoy the tastes of your food.
5. Get Your Daily Exercise
We already knew that daily exercise makes you feel better and supports your health in so many ways. But did you know that it’s actually so good for your gut health that it needs to be a major part of your daily gut health routine?
Experiments have found that exercise, even when independent of diet choices, can alter the gut microbiome in a way that is beneficial to health. Exercise actually increased beneficial gut microbes.
So if you’re currently exercising, keep it up. If you’ve been slacking, make sure to add some movement to your day. Even a brisk daily walk counts as exercise. Strap on your favorite pedometer or smart watch and get moving.
6. Layer Your Lunch
For lunch, try to eat a meal made up of both prebiotic and probiotic foods. You’ll never get bored if you mix up your combinations each day.
Probiotics: Top your salad with a miso salad dressing, trade your soda for kombucha, add some sauerkraut to a reuben sandwich or hot dog.
Prebiotics: Have a big salad with asparagus, jicama, mushrooms, and artichokes. Snack on some berries, citrus or apples.
For more information, check out my post on probiotics vs prebiotics.
7. Snack on Gut Healthy Foods
To fight off the afternoon slump and help you stay away from the sugary choices, always plan some gut healthy snacks.
- Yogurt
- Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
- Celery with Almond Butter
- Pickles
- Walnuts
- Avocado Wedges
- Blueberries
- Tomatoes
8. Dish Up a Gut Healthy Dinner
Guess what I’m going to suggest here???
If you guessed eat a meal with both probiotics and prebiotics, you’re right! But also do your best to follow these guidelines to help you care for your gut:
- When you eat dinner, sit down and be mindful with your food.
- Put down the phone, turn off the TV, and close your latest magazine or book.
- Being present in the moment will help your digestion.
- Only sip on water during meals so you don’t dilute your digestive acids.
- Finish eating three hours before bed.
9. Take a Mindful Minute or Ten
Stress has a huge impact on your overall health, including your gut bacteria. Keeping stress in check can help you keep your gut bacteria balanced.
Carve out time for yourself each day, even if it’s only 10 minutes. Do whatever makes you feel a bit more relaxed in your busy day. Here are a few suggestions that are doable even for the busiest person:
- Put down your phone and go screen and notification free for 15 minutes.
- Meditate or just sit quietly for 10 minutes.
- Read a book.
- Take a walk.
- Sit outside and listen to the sounds of your environment.
- Start a gratitude journal.
- Go to bed 10 minutes earlier without your phone.
- Play with a pet.
- Read to a child.
- Take a bath.
- Incorporate some easy self care strategies into your daily schedule.
Make time every day to relax and destress – it may be the very best part of your daily gut health routine.
10. Take a Daily Probiotic
While it’s best to get your gut health help from probiotic-rich foods, many digestive specialists recommend taking a probiotic supplement as extra insurance to help in healing your gut.
Different strains of bacteria have been proven to improve different aspects of health. In fact, the human gut houses anywhere from 500 to 1000 different strains.
Science is continually learning more about improving gut health, but as of now, experts agree that these strains have the most impact on improving your gut health.
- Lactobacillus – helps diarrhea
- Bifidobacterium – for IBS
- Saccharomyces boulardii – for diarrhea and other digestive problems
When choosing the best probiotic to add to your daily routine to improve gut health, look for these three strains.
11. Go To Bed Early
The final piece of your daily gut health routine involves getting adequate rest.
Getting enough sleep really helps your overall health. Adequate sleep helps your body rejuvenate, deal with stress and heal each day. Go to bed early, but make sure you give your body three hours to digest your last meal before you hit the hay.
Bottom line: Your Daily Gut Health Routine
Improving your gut with a daily gut health routine requires a multi-prong approach. If you’re reading this, you are probably already doing great things to feel your best each day.
But if you want to truly take your health to the next level, you’ve got to make a gut health routine part of your overall wellness strategy.
And with these very doable suggestions, you’ll be well on your way to being able to heal your gut so you can experience better gut health before you know it.
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