8 Ways To Improve Your Gut Health

If you’d like to say goodbye to bloat ing and other tummy troubles for good, you’ll need to get your gut health in order. Here, gastroenterologists in Singapore share how you can improve your digestive health naturally with certain dietary and lifestyle changes.

- Amy Greenburg

What is gut health and why does it matter?

The human intestines have billions of bacteria, some harmful and some helpful. These microorganisms play a vital role in digestion, as well as immune function and brain-gut communication, explains DR CHRISTOPHER KONG SAN CHOON, a senior consultant and gastroenterology and liver specialist at StarMed Specialist Centre.

“Gut health” refers to the balance of these microorganisms that live in our digestive system. An imbalance of microbiota is linked to a range of health issues including diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, inflammatory bowel conditions, autoimmune disorders and asthma, as well as food allergies and intolerances.

This is why sustaining the correct balance of microbiota is fundamental for our physical and mental health, our immunity and overall disease prevention, according to gastroenterologist DR ANDREA RAJNAKOVA of Andrea’s Digestive, Colon, Liver and Gallbladder Clinic.

Everyone’s gut microbiota changes over time, as it’s affected by age, environmental factors and diet. While we can’t control every single factor that influences our digestive tract, we do have control over what we put into our bodies, and the capacity to make healthier lifestyle choices – which means we have some of the power when it comes to influencing the state of our gut.

Not sure where to start? Here are eight things you can do to improve your digestive health naturally.

#1 Eat a diverse range of foods

A diverse microbiota is considered to be a healthy one – and a well-balanced diet that incorporates all food groups can help with that. Dr Andrea recommends: