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How To Reset Gut Health: While it's necessary to maintain your gut health all year round, summertime makes it even more critical. The diversity of microorganisms that inhabit your digestive tract is referred to as your gut health, and it has the potential to impact not only your digestive system but also your mood, mental stability, and a host of other physiological processes. Maintaining a healthy digestive system is critical for general health, and it becomes even more important in the warmer months.

Shivani Bajwa – Functional Medicine Coach listed some tips to promote a healthy gut while you're practising fasting. 

Tips For Better Gut Health

Hydration is key: Make sure youdrink plenty of water throughout your fasting window. This helps keep everything moving smoothly in your digestive system and prevents constipation, which can disrupt your gut health. You can also include herbal teas or water infused with fruits for a bit of flavour.

Focus on nutrient-dense foods during eating windows: When you do eat, make those meals count. Choose whole foods rich in fibre, prebiotics, and probiotics.

Fibre: Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts are all excellent sources of fibre. Fibre feeds the good bacteria in your gut, helping them to thrive.

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Prebiotics: These are non-digestible fibres that act as food for your gut bacteria. Onions, leeks, asparagus, garlic, and whole grains are all good sources of prebiotics.

Probiotics: These are live bacteria that are similar to the beneficial bacteria found in your gut. You can get probiotics from fermented foods like yoghurt, kefir, kimchi, kombucha etc.

How To Reset Gut (Image Credits: Canva)

Limit processed foods: Processed foods high in sugar, unhealthy fats, and artificial additives can disrupt gut flora. Opt for whole, unprocessed foods to support a healthy gut microbiome.

Break your fast gently: When breaking your fast, start with easily digestible foods like soups, steamed vegetables, or fruit to ease your digestive system back into action.

Manage stress: Chronic stress can negatively impact gut health. Practice stress-reducing activities like meditation, deep breathing exercises, or yoga to support a healthy gut-brain connection.

Get enough sleep: Quality sleep is essential for gut health as it allows your body to repair and regenerate. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night.

Exercise regularly: Regular physical activity can improve gut motility and promote a healthy balance of gut bacteria.

Don't overeat: It can be tempting to overeat during your eating window after a period of fasting. However, this can lead to digestive problems and negate the potential benefits of fasting.

Listen to your body: Don't restrict yourself too much during eating windows. Focus on eating until you're comfortably full, and avoid overeating.

Be mindful of fasting duration: While short-term fasting may benefit gut health, extended periods can be counterproductive.

Choose Slow-Releasing Carbs: If you're breaking your fast with carbohydrates, opt for slow-releasing ones like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables to sustain your energy levels.

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