Maintaining a healthy gut and allowing your good bacteria to thrive in order to starve out the bad bacteria is important for overall health, energy levels, skin health, mental health and so much more. If you are unfamiliar with what gut health is all about click here for an easy explanation.
Instead of telling you what to add to your diet and routine, we are going to tell you what to start removing or at least try and limit your intake of. In the future we will go over some great things you can add into your day to day to promote the growth of good bacteria but until you decrease these 9 things, adding other things won’t do much.
We know being healthy, making the right choices for you, your family and those around you can seem overwhelming. Unfortunately, most of us are eating foods we were not designed to eat and most of the foods we are consuming in abundance are food products and not actual food. To help simplify, we are breaking down the top 9 igut killers so you can start your journey to a healthier, happier gut!
REFINED SUGAR, REFINED GRAINS, REFINED & HYDROGENATED OILS
These three are found in almost all packaged foods “healthy” or not. The “healthy” health foods contain these ingredients under sneaky names. To make it simple, if it isn’t in its natural form, you are best off avoiding it. For example, white bleached wheat flour has been refined. This is not its natural form. Canola Oil is almost always highly refined, broken down and heated, making it extremely inflammatory.
Click here to see the sugars and oils we approve of.
ANTIBIOTICS & NSAIDs
Of course, there are times when antibiotics are necessary, and you should generally listen to the medical advice your trusted doctor is giving you. However, antibiotics should be used only when it’s necessary and there are no other options to fix the issue you are having. Example: If you have an infection that needs to be cleared up with antibiotics, your priority is to address that infection. The same goes for NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), things like Advil, Aleve, Aspirin, Ibuprofen. There are times you need the help from one of these, but it should really be used as a last resort and not popped like a mint anytime you have a slight ailment. To be clear, these are sometimes necessary, but they do cause a lot of issues to your gut and kill off good bacteria quicker than anything else.
ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS & CONVENTIONAL CLEANING PRODUCTS
This one can be tricky because these toxins are everywhere and a lot of the time hard to avoid. This is why it’s important to avoid it at all costs when you have the control. An example of environmental toxins are formaldehyde, dioxins, mercury, lead, bpas, pesticides, phthalates, fragrance. And these are only a few examples, unfortunately these are in a lot of the foods we eat, water we drink and products we use both on our bodies and hair but also in our homes. A good way to reduce these toxins is to switch to more natural cleaning products, candles, organic foods, skincare, body and hair care products with cleaner, more natural ingredients. We have a lot of information here on GLW to help you find better-for-you options. These toxins eat away at our good bacteria and allow our bad bacteria to thrive. These are also hormone disruptors that can cause other issues and long term can lead to cancer and other diseases.
STRESS & POOR SLEEP QUALITY
Stress is the ultimate gut killer, and unfortunately learning to manage your stress can be tricky. Just know that it’s a vicious cycle, if you are stressed and anxious regularly this is going to take its toll on your gut health and in turn you will feel more stress and more anxious. It’s important to take the time and understand the root causes of your stress and find ways to relax. Sleep and getting good quality rest is extremely important because when we don’t get adequate sleep, we stress our bodies, and the cycle continues. Here are some tips for managing your stress and natural sleep aids.
We know it can feel overwhelming but cutting back on these 9 gut killers will greatly impact your overall health, quality of life, energy and vitality levels and the way you look and feel! It’s all about taking small steps in the right direction, one foot in front of the other that adds up to major changes!
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Feature image via Pinterest
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