'I tried 3 things over 3 weeks for a healthier gut. Here's what actually worked.'

I’ve gone on a big journey with my health over the past few years. 

While I’ve always been a health-conscious person, there’s nothing like a cancer diagnosis at a young age to force you to take a good look at how you’re treating your body, and what you’re putting into it.

While I am luckily in remission from my cancer, my body is a lot more sensitive and easily run down than it was before I got sick.

Despite this, I’ve still been able to live a very busy and fulfilled life. I recently went back to full-time university for the first time since my chemo, and started interning at one of the fastest growing tech companies in the world. On top of this, I’m a reformer Pilates instructor and also run a small lady startup. So, yes… it’s been a big few months.

All was going well to begin with. I was settling into my new routine, I felt motivated and excited. But then, in my first week at my new job I got a horrid bout of food poisoning that had me throwing up for days, and completing a course of some strong antibiotics. Unfortunately, some of my side-effects from the antibiotics, my stress from navigating all these life changes, my eating habits and some poor quality sleep over the last few months I think has impacted on my gut health.

Gut health is SO important for our general sense of health and wellbeing, and has a flow-on effect that impacts everything from mental health and mood to our immune system and bowel regularity. When our gut health is off it can manifest as a constellation of unpleasant symptoms.

Some of the symptoms I felt included a sense of being fatigued and bloated, I was struggling to fall and stay asleep, and let’s just say my toilet movements weren’t like my usual self most days. It honestly felt like that groggy feeling you get on the first day of your period, except it lasted WAY longer than one week. These are only some of the symptoms that can indicate poorer gut health, but are good to keep a note of, and raise with your GP, in case you’re experiencing the same.

I knew I wanted to take action to improve my gut health, because my body simply wasn’t keeping up with the busy life I’m leading. So, with some research, I found 3 things to try daily over 3 weeks to help support a healthier gut.

Here’s what actually worked. 

1. Prebiotic powder

In my efforts to support my gut health, I included a daily gut prebiotic. I tried the daily Wanderlust Prebiotic Gut Goodness Powder.

Image: Supplied.

I chose this one, as it’s naturopathically formulated and also 100 per cent plant powered, so an alternative to mainstream prebiotic powders which often contain avoidable synthetic filler ingredients. This was important to me as ever since I got sick, I’ve become really conscious about keeping ingredients as natural as I can in the supplements I consume.

Image: Supplied.

Their product heroes organic Jerusalem artichoke as a natural source of inulin (a type of prebiotic that helps certain beneficial bacteria to grow), and also organic green banana as a natural source of resistant starch (to keep your gut happy and maintain bowel regularity).

Every morning for the 3 week stint, I was mixing one and a half teaspoons of the powder into my coffee or morning smoothie or juice. The taste of the powder is quite subtle to be honest, and I could barely taste it, so made it really easy to consume. 

My bowel movements and I, let's say, were in a much better rhythm together because of it – which I was relieved (literally) about! Big fan of regularity here.

Image: Supplied.

Image: Supplied.

2. Meditating

Trust me when I say I was a huge sceptic about meditating, and have tried (and failed) many times to adopt this habit.

But, there is a strong link to show that elevated stress levels contribute to poor gut health, and with so much going on in my life I knew I needed all the stress relief I could create for myself. Unfortunately, living in this fast-paced digital world (which is also related to my work) makes it hard to completely switch off and find time to truly relax. 

Carving out that special time each day to meditate felt like a bubble bath for my brain.

For 3 weeks, I did a 15-minute meditation on my morning commute into the office each day, either on the train or in my parked car.

Image: Supplied.

While the first few sessions felt very... odd (particularly with windows. And I may or may not have fallen asleep on the train once and missed my stop), after the 2 week mark, I definitely felt a difference from this routine. 

For me, I felt like meditation has helped me create more of a ‘pause’ before I react to something, which has improved my mood throughout the day, and balanced the stress levels before they get on top of me during chaotic mornings.

3. Fermented foods

The last thing I tried was making a concerted effort to regularly include more fermented foods into my diet. Foods like sauerkraut, kombucha and kimchi are rich in beneficial microbes, and are great for promoting greater diversity of beneficial bacteria in the gut. 

So, in turn, they really do help to improve digestion and overall gut health.

Luckily for me, I find all of these foods very delicious, so it was super easy to incorporate these into my everyday diet – my problem before I set this challenge was often having them readily available. But I pre-planned and purchased them for this 3 week stint, to include some (particularly the kimchi) as a part of my lunches. 

I made sure I had at least one glass of kombucha every day, as I love the stuff, and coupled it with an accompanying glass of water (because I'm hopeless at remembering to drink enough of that too). Two birds, one stone.

Image: Supplied.

Incorporating these gut-loving foods helped to lessen the bloating I was experiencing after each meal and overall helped my stomach feel more settled after eating (particularly when sleeping) and less ~uncomfortable~ throughout the day.

I’ve learnt that improving gut health really is a marathon, and not a sprint. It takes a lot of time and consistency, but you get to feel good knowing you’re doing a great thing for your body. 

We only get one body in this life, so it’s important to do our absolute best to take care of it.

Looking to get your gut back on track? Nourish your gut with 40 per cent off Wanderlust’s naturopathically formulated Gut Health range until the end of October 2022. Enter GUTHERO40 at checkout.

Feature Image: Supplied.