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HealthyDoesIt Features Writer
There are all kinds of things that can determine how healthy our digestive system is, and this includes the food we eat, the stress that we’re exposed to, genetics and the condition of your gut microbiome. It often takes ages for gut health issues to be properly assessed by a G.P, and sometimes a very general diagnosis takes place. If you really want to get to the bottom of your digestive health, you might like to speak with a nutritionist/nutritional therapist. So what might they consider? 2 minutes. Go!
- Go ready to explain. One of the best things that you can do when assessing your digestive health is to keep a food and lifestyle diary to see whether there are any patterns linked to how you feel.
- A skilled practitioner will be able to assess whether what you’re describing might be linked to any possible intolerances, just by looking at your food diary. And it’s likely that they will test/challenge your diet based on this. Some will suggest specific food intolerance testing, which is something for you to consider.
- Stress can impact on the gut, causing cramping (sensitivity to wind), diarrhoea or, with prolonged stress, sometimes constipation. There are specific remedies and therapies to help in the nutritional management of these. These days, many people choose to supplement with a live bacterial culture formulation to help maintain a healthy gut microbiome. Taken long term, this can help create a favourable gut environment which will help in the final breakdown of foods, production of vitamins, and studies are even showing now that the gut microbiome plays a part in maintaining healthy immune function.
- Something for fibre – add in nuts, seeds, dark green leafy vegetables, and if you’re needing extra help to get things shifted, consider herbal formulations based on senna, prunes or psyllium.
If you’re having trouble breaking your food down, and experiencing indigestion, then you could consider a supplement of digestive enzymes. Taken on the first bit of food when eating, they help in the digestion of foods.