Have you ever experienced symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, bloating, or soreness in your joints? I know I have! In fact, I’ve experienced a combination of all four. The culprit? An imbalance in gut health, and more specifically, inflammation. Changing my diet alone was not enough to fully rid myself of all of the symptoms. Even after cutting out foods groups I had developed a sensitivity to, namely gluten and corn, I was still experiencing bloating and soreness. So what was I missing?

When your gut microbiome are out of whack, dysbiosis occurs.  It’s much more common that you would think and the implications on overall health can lead to an increased risk of diseases such as GI disorders, cardiovascular disease , and asthma.  So what affects your gut microbiome?  In adulthood, things like diet, antibiotics, aging, genetics, and stress can all have an impact.  Luckily there are a number of key steps you can take to achieve balance, support health and reduce inflammation.

1. Take Probiotics. You can consider probiotic rich foods such as yogurt, kefir or kombucha or take a probiotic supplement. The most common ones include Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. The dose you want to take may vary depending on whether you’re looking to maintain health or you’ve just gotten over taking a round of antibiotics.

2. Increase consumption of foods with Prebiotics, which can be found in many high fiber foods such as Asparagus, Bananas, Garlic and Onions

3. Eat more foods with Polyphenols, including berries, nuts, beans, and brightly colored fruits and veggies

4. Consider small diet shifts such as eating more fermented foods, foods rich in antioxidants, and whole foods containing Vitamins D, A, and Zinc.

5. Eliminate added sugar from your diet, which feeds the “bad” bacteria in your gut

6. Incorporate bone stock and bone broth into your meals as they contain gut-healing nutrients

Try starting with one or two small additions, see how you feel and then take it from there. As always, before making any major adjustments to your diet, consult with your physician to understand what makes the most sense for you and your health needs. Leave a comment to let me know if there’s another health-related topic you’d like to hear more about.