Welcome to the Day -3 of my 3-Day Free Challenge that you can do anytime of the year. Today, we are going to talk about trying new food and that is suitable for your gut health.
DAY 3: TRY NEW FOOD
Confused about what to eat and what not to eat?
With so much information online about healthy eating, it can be tricky to be sure about what’s best for a healthy gut.
What you eat directly influences the makeup of bacteria in your gut—known as the microbiome—which in turn impacts your health. A healthy gut helps keep chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer at bay, and also can reduce inflammation, keep your brain healthy and help you maintain a healthy weight. It’s never too late to change your diet to support better bugs in your gut. Research shows that switching from a mostly animal-based diet to a mostly plant-based diet (and vice versa) can change the makeup of your microbiome in as little as 24 hours.
So how do you do it—The short answer?
Eat more: Probiotics, prebiotics, fiber, polyphenols and fermented foods
Eat less: Artificial sweeteners, red meat, processed foods and alcohol.
Probiotics are the “good bugs” and can be found in fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, miso and yogurt. Eating probiotics adds good bacteria to your gut. The most common are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. In addition to helping balance your gut bacteria, probiotics can help if you have diarrhea, boost your immunity and keep your heart and skin healthy (learn more about the health benefits of probiotics).
Once you’ve got good bugs in your gut, you need to feed them so they can flourish to keep making more good bacteria. Focus on a variety of whole foods. “It’s all about diversity, getting as much variety of plant-based foods as possible and hitting our recommended fiber intake of 30 grams per day,” says Megan Rossi, Ph.D., B.H.Sc., RD, APD, The Gut Health Doctor. Apricots, dried mango, artichokes, leeks, almonds, pistachios and legumes, as well as polyphenol-rich foods, such as blueberries, strawberries, prunes, apples, flaxseed, olives and extra-virgin olive oil, are extra-high in prebiotics, she writes in her book, Eat Yourself Healthy.
DAY 3: Workout Challenge
H.I.I.T Workout
A HIIT workout consists of short bouts of intense work lasting anywhere from 10 to 60 seconds, followed immediately by a period of active recovery of the same length or longer. This cycle of hard work and recovery is repeated anywhere from 3 to 10 times, depending on the workout
Even if you’re short on time, a quick at-home workout (see: micro-HIIT workouts, which can be anything from 3-20 minutes) — maybe in-between meetings — can blow off steam and boost your metabolism.
Cardio H.I.I.T Workout
A quick burst of movement to fire you up with energy and endorphins. Tag onto the end of a workout or perform alone. Just make sure to work hard during the ‘on’ periods – it’s only five minutes, after all!
Duration: 5 minutes
Equipment: None
Follow some of the daily H.I.I.T Workouts and see the difference in your fitness regime!