Strengthen your intestinal flora with the right diet

For your gut flora, digestion, and immune system to function well, a healthy gut flora is essential. A healthy and balanced diet can play an important role in this. Especially fiber serves as fuel for the gut and helps keep it moving. Lactic acid bacteria also have a huge impact on your digestion. To help you and your gut perform at your best, we have listed 6 dietary rules for you here, because it’s all about Happy Gut, Happy You!

6 Dietary Rules for a Healthy Gut

1. Take your time eating: The foundation of healthy eating habits is to sit down calmly and eat—without major distractions or stress. Chewing well is also very important because it helps nutrients be absorbed better, gives the body the necessary time to feel full, and reduces stress. Eating calmly is almost like an anti-stress therapy.
   
   
   
2. Breakfast for champions: Digestion is most active in the morning. When the gut is working hard, vitamins, proteins, and fiber are absorbed better. That’s why you benefit most from a hearty breakfast. This is when the gut can best process the good nutrients and use them as fuel for the day!
   
   
   
3. Evening cravings : Treating yourself to a few extra snacks now and then is absolutely normal and not a problem. However, the largest meal should be eaten in the morning or at midday, and even for those with a sweet tooth, it’s best to reach for the snack box right after lunch. In the evening, our gut engines slow down and only start up again around 3 a.m. During this resting period, it’s better not to snack.
   
   
   
4. Mindful drinking: If you like to enjoy alcohol in the evening along with a big meal, it can be beneficial to occasionally skip the alcohol and late dinner. This helps regulate hormone balance and gives your gut a little “time out.”
   
   
   
5. Proper cooking: The right preparation is very important even for healthy foods. Cooking at too high a temperature can destroy all the good vitamins and nutrients. Fried foods are also not particularly gentle on the gut. The rule here is: everyone wants to be treated gently, including your gut and the nutrient-rich vegetables!
   
   
   
6. Drink up: Drinking enough fluids is the key to a healthy body and good skin! But this doesn’t mean soft drinks or their diet versions. Water and unsweetened teas are absolutely the best choices!

Besides these important basics, there are of course plenty of tips about foods and nutrients that your gut especially loves or those that should only be enjoyed in moderation! Above all, variety is absolutely essential for your gut flora. You can find out the rules for this here:

Rules for Foods and Nutrients

Meat:

Studies have found that daily consumption of red meat, such as pork, beef, or lamb, leads to an increased risk of colon cancer compared to regular consumption of white meat like turkey or chicken. Some even say the risk increases up to 2.5 times. Meat is an excellent source of protein, as 40g can already cover our daily protein needs, which is especially important for muscles, organs, and bones. However, meat can also contain saturated fats alongside amino acids. Alternatives to meat include legumes, grains, and soy, as these foods are great protein providers!

Fiber

Fiber is particularly important for gut flora and digestion. Here’s why: The digestive enzymes responsible for breaking down food components are actually unable to break down fiber. Instead, other bacteria in our gut are real fans of fiber and even depend on it. When fiber reaches the large intestine undigested, our beneficial gut bacteria, called probiotics, are responsible for utilizing it. Fiber is like food for probiotics, helping them thrive and multiply in our gut. On average, one should consume about 30g of fiber per day. This can be found in whole grain products, fruits, and vegetables. Oligofructose and resistant starches are also valuable energy sources for gut bacteria that produce butyric acid (butyrate, the salt of butyric acid, is an important fuel for gut bacteria).

Fat

With fats, the source and amount are crucial. The rule is: less is more. If you want to supply your body with good fats, you should mainly rely on plant-based fats. These include avocados, olives, nuts, and flaxseeds. But animal products also contain good omega-3 fatty acids, such as cold-water fish. Omega-3 fatty acids belong to the unsaturated fats, which are healthy and essential in small amounts. Our body cannot produce them independently. Omega-3 fatty acids improve blood flow, inhibit blood clotting, have anti-inflammatory effects, and can lower blood pressure. However, consuming too much fat, especially saturated fats, tends to lead to overweight. Overweight negatively affects the entire organism, especially the gut flora.

Sugar

Sugar in the form of short-chain carbohydrates (monosaccharides: “simple sugars” and disaccharides: “double sugars”) provides the body with energy very quickly, causing a rapid rise in blood sugar. However, they also quickly convert into fat. Therefore, the amount should definitely be monitored. Remember: sugar is not necessarily bad! For example, fruit contains short-chain carbohydrates, and as we know, fruit is indispensable in a healthy diet.

Happy Gut Food & Spices

Probiotics

1. Sauerkraut: raw or pickled, contains lactic acid bacteria that support digestion
2. Yogurt: The lactic acid bacteria contained in yogurt also have a positive effect on the gut flora

Prebiotics

1. Oligofructose and inulin: these are fiber components found in fruits, vegetables, and grains. They serve as food for probiotics and are absolutely essential for their growth.
2. Resistant starch: this substance is converted into butyric acid, which also serves as an important fuel for beneficial bacteria
3. Fiber (as already mentioned above)

Miracle spices:

1. Turmeric: stimulates digestive juices and can help prevent colon cancer
2. Ginger: has detoxifying and anti-inflammatory effects
3. Chili, oregano, thyme: all these delicious spices have antibacterial properties. However, those who frequently suffer from heartburn or have a sensitive stomach should not consume too much of them! This could negatively affect circulation and digestion.

 
We hope we were able to enlighten you well about the do’s and don’ts! Strengthening the gut flora is actually not that difficult when you know what the good bacteria love and what they should better not get too much of!