Prioritize Your Gut Health for Optimal Well-Being This Winter

As we enter another few months of colder weather, shorter days, and an unfortunate rise in COVID cases, it’s essential that we continue to implement wellness strategies to nourish both our mental and physical health.

Gut health is imperative to overall wellness—especially to your immunity and brain function. Did you know the 95% of the serotonin in the body is located in your gut? So, why is this important? The gut is often referred to as the “second brain” and it is the home of nearly 80% of your body’s immune cells. By looking after your gut, you’re also looking after your immune system. Even further, the gut has an incredible ability to communicate with the brain, commonly referred to as the gut-brain connection. This connection emphasizes the importance of fostering your gut health in order to ensure optimal brain functioning and mental health.

Serotonin, often called the “feel good hormone,”  is produced in the digestive tract. It acts as both a hormone and neurotransmitter in the body. The good and bad bacteria that is found in the gut, otherwise known as the microbiome, can both directly and indirectly influence serotonin levels. The gut is lined with a mix of cells and mucous that work together harmoniously to act as guards to your body. The gut lining is designed to allow vital nutrients to pass through in order to reach specific parts of the body. When the gut lining is intact, it can control what leaves and enters the bloodstream. However if the gut lining becomes porous, unwanted toxins, bacteria, and partially digested food will enter, causing inflammation and negatively impacting the bacteria within the gut. A poor diet, lack of sleep, external stressors, and lack of exercise all stimulate inflammation within the body, and too much inflammation can be harmful.

How can you best take care of your gut health?

Focus on incorporating whole foods every day—foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and kombucha, which are high in probiotics (the inhabitants of your microbiome). Similarly, incorporating foods high in prebiotics (plant fiber that act as food for your probiotics) ensures optimal function. Foods high in prebiotics include onions, leeks, bananas, oats, apples, flaxseeds, and barley. By adding a wide variety of foods to your daily meals, you can help your body function at its best, and you can foster happier and healthier days throughout the winter.

Additionally, limit your refined sugar intake and consumption of processed foods to avoid damage to the gut lining. Instead, achieve optimal nourishment by focusing on foods that are high in antioxidants (berries, citrus fruits, kale, brussel sprouts, and sweet potatoes) and that contain healthy fats (avocados, walnuts, extra virgin olive oil, and almonds). Remember to get adequate rest and limit stressors that can make it harder for your body to ward off illness.

Your body is more susceptible to illness during the colder winter days. Adding in the stress of a global pandemic, your mental health may be vulnerable as well. It is paramount to your wellness that you equip your immune system and your brain with the tools and nutrition needed to perform their best. Take care of yourself so that your physical and mental health can thrive in the months ahead.