Free Good Gut: The Ultimate Good Gut Diet to Maintain Good Health and Balance Your Digestive System for Permanent Weight Loss (Good Gut Diet, the Ultimate Good Gut Guide, the Good Gut Guide) by Sara Hughes Page B

healthy microbiota by eating food that is good for your gastrointestinal system and abandoning some unhealthy practices, which will be considered in detail in the next chapter. 

Chapter 2 – What To Do To Have a Good Gut?
     
    This chapter will give you eight pieces of advice about what to do or not to do to have a healthy gut and to restore you gut balance, which will in turn help you lose weight and boost your immune system.
     

1. Take probiotics and prebiotics
     
    Probiotics are a species of good bacteria just like the ones that you already have in your gastrointestinal tract. This is why their consumption aids digestion and increases the number of good gut bacteria.
     
    Prebiotics, on the other hand, are fiber compounds that pass through the upper part of your gut undigested and stimulate the growth of the good gut microorganisms.  Both the probiotics and the prebiotics are found in food and are a powerful combination for a functional and healthy gastrointestinal system.
     
    Probiotics are mostly found in fermented foods of all kinds and in cultured dairy or non-dairy products. Here is a detailed list of foods that contain the largest quantity of probiotics that you should try to include in your daily menu:
     
    1. Fermented foods
    Fermented foods are known to strengthen the intestinal cells, reduce the risk of allergies and large intestine cancer and to improve the immune system. As they are rich in probiotics, you should try to increase your everyday consumption of either purchased or homemade fermented foods. You can choose from among the wide array of fermented vegetables , such as sauerkraut, kimchi, pickled carrots, pickled cauliflower, pickled peppers, pickled cucumber, pickled olives and the like; fermented beans , such as green beans, lentils, chickpea; fermented soybeans , such as miso, tempeh and natto; fermented beverages , such as kefir and kombucha and fermented condiments , such as apple cider vinegar, white or red wine vinegar and soy sauce.
     
    2. Cultured dairy and non-dairy products
    The culture products contain active and live cultures that help your good gut bacteria maintain the balance, keep your digestive system functional and thus boost your metabolism, which will help you lose weight. Cultured products are: yogurt, buttermilk, kefir, and cheese, as well as yogurts and kefirs made from non0dairy products, such as from soy, rice, coconut, and the like. People who drink a lot of cultured products have been proven to lose weight more easily. This is why if you feel hungry late at night or between courses, drink a glass of yogurt or kefir and you will both feel satiated and you will also help your gut flora do its job properly.  
     
    Foods that are rich in prebiotics are the following:
     
    1. Almonds
    Almonds have been proven to be a great prebiotic as they stimulate the growth of the healthy gut bacteria. So make sure you eat at least a handful of almonds three or four times a week.
     
    2. Jerusalem artichoke
    Jerusalem artichokes are rich in an insoluble fiber called inulin that travels from our small intestine to the large one, where it ferments and creates friendly bacteria. Other ingredients that also contain high levels of inulin are that are also listed in this good gut food list are banana, onion, garlic, asparagus and chicory.
     
    3. Bananas
    Bananas maintain the gut harmony and reduce inflammation because they contain great dosage of magnesium and potassium. This is why when you have a stomachache you are often advised to eat a banana.
     
    4. Leafy green vegetables
    All leafy vegetables such as broccoli, leek, spinach, lettuce, cauliflower, and cabbage contain an ingredient called glucosinolates that the microorganism in our gut broke down into substances that suppress inflammation and reduce the risk of gastrointestinal cancer.
     
    5. Blueberries
    Blueberries are rich in fiber, antioxidants and Vitamin K, which help improve your immune system and provide a diversity of the