Nutritionist in Residence: 3 Ways to Nourish Gut Health this Spring
With every new season, it’s important to shift your health practices to support your body through the seasonal changes. Spring, for some, can be a beautiful awakening time. It’s when the days start getting warmer and our hibernation shifts. But for others, it can be a real battle due to the increased pollen in the air, hello hay fever season. That is why, in spring, for the hay fever sufferers it’s important to support your gut health. All health starts in the gut, so focusing your energy on your gut health will make the season more enjoyable.
Bone broth
Bone broth, whilst it is trending at the moment, it is worth its time in the spotlight. Bone broth contains many healing qualities for our bodies, such as supporting our gut health, reducing inflammation, improving skin quality, promoting a healthy immune system and many more.
This is because it's packed full of nutrients. It is naturally high in collagen and protein and contains calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and zinc. Additionally, it contains the amino acids arginine, glutamine, proline, alanine and glycine. Glycine has been found to decrease inflammation and improve the integrity of the tissue cells within the gut. Amino acids, as a whole, are used for vital functions throughout the body such as protein synthesis, tissue repair and nutrient absorption.
Meal diversity
When discussing the health of our microbiome and how diet can influence the microbes within the colony - meal diversity is something that can be a wonderful tool in aiding this. The more diverse your diet is, the more diverse your microbiome will be. A diverse microbiome is beneficial for our health as it will help fend off pathogens, unwanted bacteria and any other infection that comes our way. It will strengthen the defence of our immune system as the good bacteria will be over-populating the bad. A healthy microbiome further supports our mood, as up to 90% of serotonin is produced in the gut, the healthier the gut is, the healthier our mind will be.
Collagen
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body, it can be found in the skin, muscles, tendons, bones, ligaments, connective tissue and intestinal lining. Research has shown that it has a powerful action of supporting the integrity of the gut wall by sustaining its strength and repairing it when necessary. Our natural collagen production starts to decrease by our late 20’s, and with the decline can come a decrease in integrity within the connective tissue in our body. Ensuring we are eating foods rich in Collagen or including a collagen supplement in our daily routine is essential for our gut health.
Nutritionist Note: Simple everyday nutritious tips that you can include in your daily routine is what supports the health of your gut the most. Health doesn’t have to be complicated, keep it simple.
Written by our Spring Nutritionist in Residence Georga Holt.