Your Gut is the Source of Your Immune System. Trust It.

Your gut isn’t just the home base for your instincts. It’s also a major player in many important body processes, from digestion to immune system stimulation. 

Behind every shining example of health, there’s a well-balanced gut microbiome doing the good work of keeping that body running. If you’re consistently sick or backed up, you may have a gut problem on your hands. Fear not! There are easy ways to do a digestion detox at home.

Effective Home Remedies to Clean Out Your System

Your body wants to efficiently remove waste, and the digestive system is designed to do just that! But some of our habits can mess with the natural healthy inner-workings of our bods -- like that 4th cup of coffee or stress. It’s not always easy to nip at the bad habits, but good habits are powerful counters to the bad ones, and relatively easy to implement. 

Here are a few digestion detox practices to adopt into a daily regime if you want to get your gut in gear:

Wake up and...

Drink More Water

The body is 60% water, and dehydration is a common culprit for constipation. If you want to help your body detox, pure premium water is a wonderful place to start. Up your water intake to a minimum of 8 glasses a day is a no brainer. Consider sticking to only water, which will reduce artificial sweeteners in drinks, which are known to mess with your gut microbiome. Opt for high-quality H2O! 

Get Moving

There are 100 good reasons to exercise, and a recent study added gut health to the list. Exercise can help promote the growth of healthy bacteria called butyrate, or for our purposes - Booty-rate -- with some pretty major health benefits. Booty-rate reduces inflammation and can help prevent diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes.

Plus, exercise-induced adjustments in your gut microbiota can help guard against obesity and upgrade your metabolism. These sorts of changes are available with as little as 3 hours of light exercise per week. 

Include Fiber in Your Breakfast

Fiber-ful foods like whole grains are fantastic for your gut. Why? Because whole grains contain bunches of fiber and beneficial carbs like beta-glucan, which get digested by gut bacteria to boost your resistance to cancer, diabetes and weight gain. 

By Lunch Time...

Try a Cleaner Diet

The Mediterranean Diet is an all-around winner for whole body health. Veggies, fruits and grains? Heck yeah! A diversity of food types helps promote gut diversity, in a good way. Fermented foods are another winner for GI health. We’re talking yogurt, kombucha, sauerkraut and kefir! Because they all contain healthy bacteria and can help take down the amount of disease-causing species in the gut. How easy is this cleanse!

Ditch the Smokes

I mean… if you’re still smoking, you’ve got your reasons. We’re obligated to mention that even vaping messes with the microbial diversity in their gut. Quitting smoking is hard as heck. If you’re ready for support, here’s a guide to get you started.

Get Outside

Can you believe that something as delightful as lying on grass can help your gut? Being outside lowers your stress right off the bat. And recent research suggests that contact with dirt is good for the gut microbiome. A great reason to get your hands dirty.

At Dinnertime Try...

Changing Up Your Drinking Habits

Going hard on drinks can take a toll on your gut health. In a not-so-surprising study that compared alcoholics and healthy non-drinkers, the non-drinkers were clear health winners. 

Slinging back gin and juice simply isn’t great for your GI health. Hard liquor can decrease the amount of happy healthy gut bacteria. 

Red wine, on the other hand, does the opposite. It boosts happy bacteria and even decreases the number of harmful gut bugs in your system. If you are looking to take the edge off, party like Christ and err on the side of vino.

Going Meatless Weekly

Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut may be able to throw down on hotdogs by the dozen, but there’s no way to know what their gut flora is like. Based on research on meat consumption, it’s probably pretty iffy! Chemical compounds in red meat alter your gut health, causing an increased risk of heart disease.

Scale back your meat consumption, and try meat-free days each week (we’re meatless Monday stans). On those days, take care to eat enough iron and protein, which is easy to do with a healthy dose of fish, poultry and legumes. Eat up!

Focusing on Sleep

If you’re waking up on the wrong side of the bed, imagine how your gut feels! Quality sleep gets your body into “rest and digest” mode, where the parasympathetic nervous system takes charge. In these times, healing, regeneration, detoxifying and regeneration occur. Rest and relaxation is critical to overall health, so plan to give your body the 7 to 9 hours it needs.

Wrapping Up

Happy gut, happy life! Feeling healthy and at home in your body is an A1 priority. And these gut-improving home remedies are an easy way to clean out your system, upgrade your immunity and improve overall body function. 

If thinking about these habits like a short-term cleanse is helpful, then start there! Try these detox home remedies for a week or two and see if you can get a couple to stick. 

If you think of your gut health as a marathon, not a sprint, your gut will take care of you for the long haul. And if you want someone or something to take care of your booty while you detox your digestive system, try a TUSHY bidet attachment.