How I Majorly Improved My Gut Health & Got Rid Of Bloating!

Maybe it’s just the bubble that I am living and thriving in, but I feel like gut health is the new diet trend of 2024. Don’t get me wrong – I think for once this is a fantastic diet trend to follow. In my humble opinion, diet should be about health and well-being, nothing more. Gone are the days that I’m trying so hard to control my diet, just to reach some kind of “fitness goal”. (Click here to learn about my problems with the health & fitness industry.) Now, all I care about and focus on is how a certain “diet” or food impacts my body. Throwing out stuff that leaves me feeling sluggish or bloated, and replacing it with healthy, nutritious food. And just like that, I managed to dramatically improve my gut health! So here are my tips and tricks:

Gut Health Hack #1: Eat more fermented foods

Adding fermented foods into my diet has been a game changer! Fermentation happens to foods or drinks when bacteria, yeasts or other microorganisms break down carbs (sugars or starches), and you are left with acids, gases or alcohol. Now, I am obviously not recommending you drink more alcohol to improve your gut health! You would most likely achieve quite the opposite. Instead, I included things like kombucha, kefir and kimchi into my diet. Secretly, I like to call them my “special K’s” (how witty). These types of foods contain the “good kind” of bacteria, the ones you need in your systems to digest food properly and get all of its goodness. They are the same kinds of bacteria that are sold as probiotics, only that they come in there natural form, rather then being processed into pills or capsules.

How to incorporate fermented foods into your diet

Making my special K’s is surprisingly easy: here are recipes for kombucha, kimchi, or kefir. With a little bit of practice, you’ll be making your special K’s in no time! Side note: I wouldn’t recommend store-bought kombucha, as it often contains a lot of sugar – something your good bacteria aren’t very fond of.

There are even more foods that are fermented and that are probably already found in your diet. Yoghurt probably comes to mind first. But did you know that coffee beans are fermented before roasting? And all kinds of cheeses obviously are fermented as well (otherwise they would still be milk). Make sure you get good quality ones wherever possible.

Gut Health Hack #2: Eat The Rainbow

You have probably heard “eat the rainbow” in another context – that of the Skittles commercial. Again, I am not advising you to eat those! Instead, what I mean by the rainbow is the colorful palette of fresh fruit and veggies – as many different varieties as you can muster. I have talked about Tim Spector and the Zoe podcast a few times on this blog. They are where I get most of my knowledge regarding gut health from. And they recommend you consume at least thirty different plants per week. It sounds like a lot. But when you think about it, it is actually pretty do-able. Coffee is a plant after all. Spices count as well. And if you’re making a curry or a salad, that is probably ten different plants off your list.

Gut bacteria love plants!

The reason for this seemingly absurdly high number of different plants is simple: the good bacteria in your gut love variety! The kinds of polyphenols (formerly known as antioxidants), fibre and other nutrients found in plants differ from one veg to the next. And not all bacteria eat the same kinds of nutrients. So by repeatedly eating the same things (veggies or otherwise), you might be feeding one kind of bacteria, but starving another. The more variety you get, the more bacteria you feed, the happier your gut!

Gut Health Hack #3: Avoid Ultra-Processed Foods

I am currently reading a fantastic book: Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken. It vividly describes the impacts ultra-processed foods (UPF) have on our bodies. At times, it is even disturbing. I already knew that things like artificial sweeteners or colorings mess with our gut health, but I wasn’t aware of the detrimental impact they can have on our general health. This post however is on gut health, so I’m going to focus on the impact UPF has on it.

UPF changes your gut microbiome

The gut microbiome consists of all kinds of microorganisms, bacteria, fungi, yeasts and viruses. Sounds horrific, but they all do as a huge service. They help break down foods and extract important nutrients from it. They are even capable of producing nutrients themselves, all of which we need to thrive. If you eat a lot of UPF, you’re probably getting a lot of unwanted additives – not just sweeteners and colorings. Think sugar, salt, flavor enhancers, preservatives, emulators, stabilizers… the list goes on and on. Put simply, none of these things are good for your microbiome. They kill off the good bacteria, while “bad” bacteria, those that make you feel bloated or sluggish, thrive. You can eat all the kimchi you want, if you’re creating a hostile environment for your good gut bacteria, you’re not going to see any benefits. So cut out UPF wherever possible. I know this is easier said than done, because even so most benign seeming foods sometimes contain additives. But going with fresh veg, whole grains etc. is always a safe bet!

Gut Health Hack #4: How to avoid bloating

Bloating is something I struggled with for years. But for about a year now, it hasn’t been as much of a problem. The answer is simple: don’t eat stuff you don’t tolerate. Simple. I told you. But I really needed to hammer this into my head. For years, I tried eating a (mostly) vegan diet, with lots of legumes and pulses, such as beans, chickpeas, etc. And I would get so bloated after eating! I would downplay, saying my gut needed to get used to them first. Which yes, that can be a thing for some people. If your body isn’t used to a lot of any veg (i.e. a lot of fibre), you might get bloated. But even after months and months of eating this way, it wouldn’t get better.

Be honest with yourself

So as much as I wanted to eat a vegan diet for the animals, it was taking a toll on my own health. To some that might be worth it, but for me, the constant bloating and pain was too much. So I started incorporating animal foods into my diet again, and the bloating pretty much disappeared. So if you’re struggling with bloating, try to pay attention to the timing: does it happen after eating a certain food? Try eliminating that food for a while and see how you feel! If the bloating still occurs, and it can’t be linked to a specific food item, please make sure you go and the a health care professional about it!