EATING 4 HEALTH
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foods & meals that heal
Six Surprising Ways You’re Hurting Your Gut Sneaky lifestyle routines that may be upsetting your stomach and damaging your intestinal microbiome.
❶ Your Type-A tendencies. Fast-paced, highstress living can seriously impact your belly. Chronic tension and anxiety reduce blood flow to the gut and disrupt digestion. Plus, studies link ongoing stress with reductions in microbiota diversity, fewer beneficial bugs, and higher levels of potentially harmful bacteria. Fueling your fast-paced lifestyle with a steady stream of triple lattes can make things even worse. Caffeine hampers digestion and boosts stomach acids, leading to heartburn or acid reflux. Too much coffee also interferes with sleep (which go-getters are probably lacking anyway), which is also bad for your belly. Lack of restful shut-eye increases the risk of gastrointestinal illnesses and impairs intestinal bacteria. Even two nights of sleep deprivation can impact the microbiome, decreasing beneficial bugs and promoting strains linked with weight gain, obesity, and diabetes.
❷ Your couch potato proclivities. Rest and relaxation benefit your belly—but being too laid back can disrupt gut health.
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Your digestive system needs regular physical activity and good muscle tone to move waste through the colon, and a sedentary lifestyle is linked with a higher likelihood of constipation, IBS, and other digestive issues. Some studies also suggest that physical activity supports the microbiome, increasing bacterial diversity and boosting beneficial bugs. Other research links changes in microbial diversity with improved metabolism and cardiorespiratory fitness, and lower insulin resistance. Plus, exercise lowers stress and improves sleep, both of which support your gut.
❸ Your supplement regimen. That daily dose of vitamins, minerals, protein powders, and other supplements may
be impacting your gut. Some supplements contain FODMAPs— short-chain carbohydrates that aren’t completely digested, leading to bloating, gas, and stomach pain in sensitive people. Sugar-free gummies, chewables, and liquids are often sweetened with sugar alcohols that can wreak havoc on your digestive system. Surprisingly, even some supplements targeted for digestive health contain these irritating ingredients. And if you think your daily probiotic is making your belly worse, it might not be your imagination. Some research suggests that probiotic supplements can evolve in the gut, damaging the lining of the intestines and interfering with the repopulation of the body’s natural microbes. And probiotics with added prebiotics, especially FOS (fructooligosaccharides) or inulin, can cause bloating, gas, cramping, and pain.
❹ Your speedy eating routine. If you gulp down lunch at your computer or approach dinner like it’s a sprint to the finish line, you’re hurting your gut. When you eat too fast, food isn’t adequately broken down into smaller particles by chewing, and digestive enzymes in saliva don’t have time to start their work. Inhaling meals also means
Photo: Getty Images
You take probiotic supplements, eat a healthy diet, and avoid gluten like the antichrist—but your belly’s still not better? Check out these six surprising habits that might be harming your gut:
• SEPTEMBER 2021
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7/26/21 12:39 PM
Photo: Pornchai Mittongtare, Food Styling: Claire Stancer
BY LISA TURNER
