21 Insanely simple, Zero-Cost Tips for Restoring Gut Health

If you are looking to improve gut health or restore gut health or improve overall Immune system you have come to the right place!

In this blog, I will share 21 insanely simple and actionable lifestyle habits that you can develop to restore your gut health and keep diseases at bay!

While this is an extensive list of healthy habits, you can take baby steps by starting with 3 to 4 habits till you get comfortable with it.

#1 – Improve digestion by waking up to a glass of warm water.

• It is a no brainer that drinking warm water as soon as you wake up has proven to be beneficial for overall health.
• It is an optimal way to wake up your body’s internal systems rather than a coffee.

#2 – “Drink food and Chew water”!

Yes, you read that right “Drink your food and chew your water”.

Drink Food?

• You can take a couples of seconds to let it sink in.
• What it means is that we should chew our food very well.
• 30% of the digestion is supposed to happen in your mouth.
• We should chew the food until it becomes a paste or a liquid in your mouth
• Then swallow it (drink your food).
• The saliva should mix well which serves 2 purposes:
  • It sends appropriate signals to the brain to produce relevant digestive juices in the stomach.
  • This aids in further digestion.
  • It also breaks down the food to a certain extent.
• You might have read about several articles that say, chew 32 times or x number of times.
• Although there is no reason as to why it is only 32 times or x times.
• Basically, the principle behind that is to make sure you drink your food.

Chew Water?

It means 2 things:

• Most of the water content required by our body should come naturally through food we eat.
• Meaning eat more fruits and vegetables.
• Chewing whole fruits and vegetables means Chewing water.
• Another perspective is to literally let your saliva mix with the water that you drink
• This can happen only if we chew the water we drink.

#3 – Restore gut health by drinking water at appropriate time.

• Water is a crucial element for the survival and well being of our body.
• We should avoid drinking water especially cold water while we are having our meals.
• This weakens the digestive juices in the stomach which results in poor digestion.
• You can drink half an hour before your meal.
• Avoid drinking water (or any cold liquid) during your meal and immediately after meal.
• Drink warm water after an hour of your meal.

#4 – Align with your body’s circadian rhythm.

• According to circadian rhythm, our body’s digestive fire or digestive capacity is in sync with sun’s strength during the day.
• Chronobiology is an evolving area of research which explores our body’s internal clock and rhythm in response to sun light.
• So, morning as the sun rises it’s strength grows;
• So, does our digestive capacity.
• It is minimal during mornings and grows.
• Therefore it is recommended to have light quality breakfast like fruits, oats and boiled eggs which  do not require much of digestive fire or capacity.
• Sun is strongest during the midday and so is our digestive capacity.
• Digestive capacity is highest during midday
• Therefore we should have the heaviest meal of the day during lunch.
• Sun sets in the evening and so does our digestive capacity.
• Digestive capacity is weakest post sunset.
• Therefore it is recommended to have a light meal during or immediately after sunset.
• Dinner should be our smallest meal of the day.
• To summarize the largest meal to smallest meal -> Lunch | Breakfast | Dinner.

#5 – Restore Gut Health by eating to reduce Inflammation.

• This is a very important lifestyle change that one needs to adopt if they are serious about restoring gut health.
• Inflammation is the primary cause for majority of the problems and diseases in our body.
• Our diet should be Anti Inflammatory.
• I have explained Anti Inflammatory diet and food sources in another blog post.
• Please make sure to check that out towards the end.

#6 – Restore Gut Health through alkaline foods.

• Acidity is another major factor for leaky gut and other chronic illnesses in our body.
• So, we need to balance excess acidity.
• We can do that if we focus on Alkaline diet and food sources.
• I have explained Alkaline diet and food sources in another article.
• Please check that out towards the end.

#7 – Restore Gut Health through antioxidant foods.

• Oxidative stress is another major factor for leaky gut and other chronic illnesses in our body.
• So, we need to balance excess oxidative stress.
• We can do that if we focus on Antioxidant diet and food sources.
• I have explained Antioxidant diet and food sources in another blog post.
• Please ensure to check that out towards the end.

#8 – Eat to balance blood sugar.

• Our focus should be to eat to balance blood sugar.
• This means to choose food sources and schedule low in sugar and eliminate the ones which are high in it.
• Sounds simple and straight forward right?

#9 – Choose local grown for better gut health.

• These days because of Industrial farming and food exports crossing continents, almost all the food types are available in all the countries and regions.
• But remember to consume locally grown food sources.
• Let us say Ram who lives in India wants to consume Olive oil grown naturally in United States.
• He can consume olive oil but a better choice would be to consume coconut oil grown in his area available in his local farmer’s market.
• Why?
• Because the nature and environment where Ram lives is completely different from the nature and environment where Olive Oil is grown in United States.

#10 – Cooking habits for better gut health.

• I remember the way my Grandma used to cook.
• She would use earthen pots made of clay for cooking food.
• The food was so delicious and healthy.
• Lot of research has gone into saying that the best utensils to be used for cooking are clay pots.
• If you are cooking in a pressure cooker, remember you food is cooked with pressure and not naturally.
• These days it may not be practical to cook with clay pots and for long duration, but we need to strike a good balance.
• If clay pots are not a viable option then the next option is Brass utensils.
• If you cannot use brass utensils then the next best option is stainless steel.
• Please avoid using Non-stick cooking utensils and aluminium utensils as both are considered as slow poison to our body.

#11 – Rotate your diet according to seasons to balance your gut health

• Nature has different seasons in a year.
• What does this actually mean for us?
• Not all food sources can be grown throughout a year
• Certain fruits and vegetables can only be grown during certain seasons naturally and in certain types of soil.
• We need to align with nature and choose food sources naturally available during a particular season.
• So, we need to rotate our diet according to the seasons of nature.
• One diet throughout the year may not be a good mantra for your gut health.

#12 – Fast Intermittently reset and restore gut health.

• Intermittent fasting has proven to be very effective in restoring gut health.
• Remember to consult your doctor before you decide to do so.

#13 – Get some sun to increase immunity.

• Vitamin D is crucial to our body.
• The only natural source of Vitamin D is the sun.
• There are some food sources which can provide vitamin D
• But they can only provide a fraction of what we need.
• Sun exposure is mandatory for our body.
• Our skin absorbs sun light and converts it into Vitamin D.
• These days sun exposure has been projected as harmful but it is very much essential.
• So, go out there and you should be doing good except in areas where the ozone layer has depleted.

#14 – Practice Deep breathing to detoxify.

• Deep breathing helps to maximize the supply of oxygen within our body.
• It also help to detoxify our body.
• Those are the 2 basic principles of deep breathing exercises like Pranayama and Yogic breathing.

#15 – Meditate to detoxify mental stress.

• This is a no brainer.
• Mental health is getting a lot of traction these days.
• It is crucial for the overall well being of a human.
•  Meditation is the best way to help you detoxify from stress, anxiety and depression.
• Transcendental meditation has proven to be very beneficial and useful.

#16 – Breakfast should start with whole seasonal fruits.

• Ideal or optimal time to eat fruits during the day would be your breakfast.
• When you eat whole seasonal fruits as your first meal, you would get the essential healthy sugar, vitamins and fibre for your day.
• Most of the fruits are alkaline, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.

#17 – Finish your last meal of the day around Sunset.

• As discussed earlier regarding Circadian rhythm, our body systems follow and respond to a rhythm which is sensitive to light (sun light).
• Our body does not respond to the human clock.
• So, we need to maintain that rhythm to maintain overall wellness.
• Our digestive fire is strongest during midday and weakest during night.
• So, it is recommended to finish our last meal of the day during or immediately after the sunset.

#18 – Sleep according to your body’s clock for better gut health.

• Another part of the Circadian rhythm is the sleep cycle.
• Our internal systems need to rest according to a rhythm.
• We should be in deep sleep by 10 PM and wake up during sunrise.
• We need to maintain this rhythm on a daily basis.
• Please avoid working during night shifts if you can.
• Our bodies are not meant to work during night shifts.

#19 – Keep Moving to prevent diseases.

• Human beings were not meant to sit.
• Our bodies were meant to do a lot of physical work.
• The least we can do if we have a desk job is to walk a lot frequently during the day.
• It does not help if you workout for an hour or so in the gym and sit for 8 hours.
• You need to keep moving.
• If you have a desk job, please get up from your desk at least 30 minutes once and walk around your floor or climb up the stairs.
• Just get up and move, frequently throughout the day.

#20 – Spend quality time with loved ones and friends to beat the stress.

1. People who spend quality time with their loved ones and friends are usually happy.
2. Get together with family or friends to bust stress.
3. Human beings are social animals, meaning we are meant to go out and actively engage with people.

#21 – Engage in happy habits.

1. Each of us have different hobbies or interests.
2. Some of us like music, some of us like adventure, some of us like photography, some of us cooking etc.
3. Whatever makes us happy and worthwhile, we need to engage in them as frequently as possible.

Reference

Inflammation with respect to Diet and external stressors

Conclusion

So, those were the 21 lifestyle habits to restore gut health and improve immunity.

What do you think about the Lifestyle habits shared in this blog post?

Have you used any other habit to restore gut health?

Either way, please feel free to comment and share so that others can benefit.