Six Ways to Heal Your Gut After the Holidays

“It’s the holiday season,” and we all know what that means; kiss our healthy eating habits goodbye and say hello to the abundance of comfort foods sprawled out across the family dinner table. Christmas cookies, stuffing, and sugar plums;  It’s fun while it lasts, but how can we get our digestive health back on the healthy track?

Here are six relatively simple tips to restore your gut health that could optimize your microbiome health:

• Take a probiotic supplement: Probiotic supplements and food sources with beneficial bacteria will improve the number of good bacteria in your gut. Yogurt, kimchi, and sauerkraut are all good food sources of probiotics.

• Eat a balanced diet: Avoid excess dairy, red meat, and refined sugars. Make sure you eat enough whole foods and fiber. Your microbiome feeds off the remnants in the colon after the amino acids, and other nutrients are digested, so it’s important to consume enough complex fiber instead of processed foods.

• Get enough sleep, water, and exercise: Science believes that maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle will also contribute to a healthy gut.

• Avoid excessive alcohol and unnecessary medications: Excessive drinking and medicines that you don’t necessarily need might be hurting your microbiome. Talk to your doctor if you feel that your medication schedule needs to be reevaluated.

• Keep a journal: Pay attention to your habits and record how they make you feel. If you make changes, take note of any reactions you may have. According to the Harvard Health Blog, recording where, when, and what you’re eating can help you understand your diet habits. This can help you figure out which of your habits are hurting or helping your gut.

• Practice stress relief techniques: Alleviate the stress on your body and protect your microbiome by taking time to relax and destress.

What are the signs of poor gut health?

If your gut bacteria is thrown off balance or if the diversity of your microbiome has diminished, your body will tell you in a number of ways:

• Excessive gas

• Bloating

• Nausea

• Diarrhea

• Stomach pain

Although these symptoms are usually short-lived, if they do not go away for a few weeks, you may be at risk for a chronic condition that may require a diagnosis or treatment from your doctor.

How can I find out how healthy my gut is?

It can be frustrating to experience poor gut health symptoms and not know what is exactly is causing the problem. Fortunately, scientific innovation has provided ways you can measure and detect your gut bacteria by taking a simple gut health test. These tests can tell you how diverse your gut bacteria may be, as well as what bacteria in foods may promote or potentially reduce your overall digestive health. By visiting mypsomagen.com, you can find out more about how Psomagen uses cutting-edge technology to determine both helpful and harmful bacteria in

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