The Most Common Mistakes Made While Maintaining Gut Health

Your gut health impacts your digestion, immune health, heart health, kidney health, and much more. Because it affects your entire well-being, it is important to know how to properly care for your gut health. You'll find many ways to support a healthy gut online, but not all of these tips are accurate. According to Mindbodygreen, it is not necessary to eliminate any food that causes some digestive discomfort. Unless you have a food intolerance, it is normal for some foods to cause minor gut issues like gas and bloating.

Some types of vegetables, for example, are hard for the body to digest and can cause mild discomfort after eating. However, eliminating many vegetables from your diet will also eliminate their benefits, like vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Adding fermented foods to your diet is also strongly recommended by many people. While fermented foods certainly have their benefits, they aren't the only things you can eat to naturally support a healthy gut. Cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens also provide many gut health benefits, including prebiotic fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Taking a probiotic supplement is one of the most well-known ways to improve your gut health. While probiotics can be found naturally in fermented foods like kimchi and kombucha, a supplement can be a good way to get more good bacteria in your system. "No one eats perfectly all the time: eating fermented foods, fiber, prebiotic foods, vegetables, and fruits," integrative physician Bindiya Gandhi, MD, told Mindbodygreen. "That's why I highly recommend everyone of all ages take a daily probiotic for generalized overall health."

There are many other vitamins that support gut health (via Everyday Health). Several B vitamins perform various functions that affect the gut. Vitamin B1 is responsible for regulating appetite, vitamin B3 helps your body break down carbs and fats, and vitamin B6 helps your body process protein. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and has been linked to a lower risk of colon cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. You should be able to get all of these vitamins in your system by eating a well-balanced diet consisting of whole foods.