Gifts for your gut: protect your microbiome this holiday season
The amount of ways the holiday season negatively impacts our gut health is no new news. From stress to overeating, traveling to higher alcohol and sugar intake, there is no shortage of life and gut disruptions this time of the year.
So we are taking a stand against wreaking havoc on gut health this holiday season.
We are sharing our top gut-protecting tips that you can gift your gut this year! This is important for everyone but especially for those who already suffer from dysbiosis.
Why are holidays so harsh on our guts?
The main reason that holidays are so harsh to our guts is that they take our normal routine and shake it up like a snow globe.
- We don’t have work so we have a different sleep-wake cycle
- We are traveling or moving around in different ways which means our bathroom habits can become disrupted
- We binge eat and overeat which negatively impacts our digestive cycle
- Our diets themselves are completely different
- There are more temptations for unhealthy food and drink choices
- Our stress levels often go up which reduces microdiversity and promotes inflammation
And all of these minor changes happening at the same time affect our gut microbiome drastically.
So what can we do to mitigate the risk of holiday-related changes to our routines and protect our guts instead of destroying them?
Focus on improving gut microdiversity
Gut microdiversity is one of the greatest and most effective ways to protect your gut this holiday season. The quantity of different microbial communities living in our gut allows us to extract more and higher quality nutrients from our foods.
They also unlock special metabolites and byproducts of these foods that normally wouldn’t be accessible to us. Metabolites and metabolic byproducts are released from our microbes and into our bloodstream where they carry out multiple health-enhancing effects. This leads to:
- Anti-inflammatory effects
- Improved mood
- Higher energy levels
- A better ability to deal with and manage stress
- Craving control
Who doesn’t need all of those amazing benefits?
So how can you do that? We are so glad you asked because it leads us right to our next suggestion!
Pop some polyphenols instead of champagne
Polyphenols are SO helpful in our pursuit of good health. And they’re one of the best gifts we can give to our guts. Polyphenols make our gut microbes extremely happy!
You see, gut microbes enjoy polyphenols because they contain prebiotics which is the richest source of food for them. If we feed them what they most love, they provide our bodies with endless effects like:
- Neuroprotection
- Anti-inflammation
- Antioxidants
- Short-chain fatty acids like butyrate
- Happy neurochemicals like endorphins and serotonin
- Gut barrier repair and enforced integrity
Honestly, there are so many more that we could be here forever. But we just wanted to name a few so you had an idea of the amazing effects polyphenols will have on our gut microbes and thus our general well-being.
What food sources of polyphenols in the winter?
- Cranberry
- Pomegranate
- Oranges
- Winter squash
- Beets
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Apples
- Lemons
- Pears
- Cauliflower
- Kale
- Meat that has been cooked with or marinated in herbs
- Nuts (get those chestnuts roasting on an open fire)
- Seeds
- Atrantil
This is not an exhaustive list, it’s just to get the wheels turning on what foods you should gravitate towards to keep your microbes happy — and honestly, they’re probably easier to keep happy than some of your family members.
Eat mindfully
Mindful eating is one of the best ways you can protect your gut. Mindful eating is the practice of fully experiencing the food you’re nourishing your body with. You might hear this a lot and not really know how it works so here is what to do.
Rather than shoveling the food in and barely tasting it, take a minute to notice the textures and flavors in your mouth while you chew your food.
That’s not so hard, right?
This will help you to:
- Actually enjoy the food you were so excited to indulge in
- Avoid swallowing air as you eat so less belching and bloating
- Realize when you’re full so you don’t overeat which also avoids that post-eating lethargy that makes you want to nap instead of play
Along with this, mindfully choose the foods you’re putting into your body. The longer you practice mindful eating, the more in tune with your body’s needs you’ll become. That means you’ll very likely start eating fewer cookies and more fresh fruit and veggie sticks.
Cookies, cupcakes, chocolate-covered pretzels, muffins, and grown-up punch all sound great. But the sugar content in all of them destroys your microbiome, makes you crave more unhealthy foods, and derails your progress towards a healthier body.
Maintain some form of normalcy in your life
If you have something that you do every day, continue doing that over the break. This can include meditating, walking, exercising, journaling, or just having a few minutes of actual quiet without distraction.
This small sense of normalcy respects what is important to you and gives your body time to indulge itself in something that is familiar. That helps to reduce the mounting stresses and relax a little bit. Believe it or not, this lets your gut microbes rest and digest leading to a healthier happier microbiome.
Make exercising fun and something the whole family can join in on (or make it your alone time to reflect and destress)
Exercising is SO great for your microbiome. It actually allows your body to have better microdiversity because certain microbes are only present in people who take the time to exercise. This then releases those happy and healthy chemicals that help you manage stress and make healthier lifestyle choices.
If you don’t want to take precious time away from being with family, get them involved! Put some music on and get everyone dancing. Play a video game that everyone can participate in like Just Dance or one of the Olympic games. These are a great way to get everyone moving, burning some calories, and laughing which creates some long-lasting great holiday memories.
Also, laughter yoga was proven to be more effective than anti-anxiety medication for IBS patients. If that isn’t a testament to the power of a good belly laugh then we don’t know what is.
And isn’t that the whole point of the holiday season anyway?
Don’t let this stress you out. This article is purely to help you put your life into perspective and help you work towards the best health you can possibly have. So take an idea or two and test them out this year during your holiday celebrations. Let us know how it worked out for you!
Give this article a share across your social media platforms to give the people who matter most to you some great tips for a healthier, happier holiday season.
Check out some of our other Holiday blogs:
How to Get Your Gut Back on Track After the Holidays
Polyphenols & Your Holiday Dishes
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3577372/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8156030/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7399674/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7218537/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6895849/