July 12, 2024 | Owl Venice

Gut Heath: Achieving Your Best Quality of Life

The essence of good health originates in your gut. If you notice something is off in relation to your everyday health, it might be your gut telling you to pay attention. This could manifest in unwanted skin conditions, fatigue, stomach issues, issues concentrating, depression, anxiety, and more.

Your gut contains millions of species of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Many of these microorganisms are beneficial to your health, but there are some that can leave you feeling less than amazing. When gut imbalances go unresolved, the results can wreak havoc on your health. From autoimmune diseases, to chronic illnesses, even some cancers - your gut controls so much of your body’s ability to find harmony. When your gut is compromised, your health is left vulnerable.

Luckily, gut health is our specialty. We know several ways to ensure you maintain a balanced environment on the inside, so you can feel vibrant on the outside. Let’s dive in!

6 Steps to Cultivate Your Gut Flora

Gut Sweep

1. Promote a balanced microbiome

A flourishing microbiome needs diversity. The more diverse your gut flora is, the better your gut and body will function. Feeding your good gut flora plenty of fiber is a solid way to improve your diversity. Fiber breaks down into short chain fatty acids that allow good bacteria to multiply. This will in turn thicken the mucosal lining of your intestines, decreasing sickness-related inflammation throughout your body¹. Talk about a chain reaction!

Foods to increase your fiber intake include:

Black beans
Chickpeas
Almonds
Pistachios
Oats
Quinoa
Apples
Berries
Peaches
Asparagus
Broccoli
Fermented foods (plain yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha)

Perhaps you’re looking for a high quality supplement to help you meet your fiber goals. OWL’s Gut Sweep is a digestive aid that promotes digestive health, heals the gut lining, and soothes the digestive tract. Made with wild-crafted herbs, this is a perfect option to help you balance your microbiome and regulate your digestion.

2. Allow for Smooth Sailing

Bloating, inflammation, and slow digestion can really put a damper on your quality of living. Moreover, when these symptoms persist, they can lead to unwanted health complications. A great way to combat poor digestion is to include a wide variety of whole foods in your diet. Whole foods are rich in the nutrients your gut needs to promote smooth digestion, keep inflammation in check, and ensure all your bodily functions are operating at optimal levels.

Adding healthy fats should also be a focal point for top-notch digestion. Healthy fats are what allow you to absorb vital nutrients like Vitamin A, D, E, and K. Studies show that foods high in omega-3 fatty acids can lower your risk of developing inflammation-related gut issues such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease². Foods rich in omega-3’s include:

Walnuts
Salmon
Mackerel
Tuna
Flaxseeds
Chia seeds

Sometimes, your body needs a little bit of help. Our Digestive Bitters supplement can help restore your gut to its shining self with a few quick sprays. Bitters trigger your digestive system to jump into action by stimulating your natural digestive enzymes. Inside each bottle you’ll find:

Dandelion root - prebiotic fiber that promotes the movement of food through the digestive system
Chamomile flower - has muscle relaxing properties within the intestines to fight against indigestion and cramping
Gentian root - contains bitter plant compounds that can stimulate gastric juices
Oregon Grape Root - contains berberine that can soothe inflammation in the gut

3. Balance Your Blood Sugar

A diet high in sugar, processed foods, and refined carbohydrates can spike your blood sugar levels and lower your insulin response. These kinds of foods also decrease the helpful bacteria in your gut which lowers the diversity of your microbiome. This can slow digestion and cause an overgrowth of yeast. While some yeast is good for you, too much can lead to fatigue, joint pain, an upset stomach, nail fungus, and skin issues.

To lower your risk of yeast overgrowth and gut dysbiosis, it’s best to avoid processed sugars and refined carbs³. Instead, focus on lean meats, high fiber veggies, healthy fats, prebiotics (think apples, bananas, & flax seeds), and fermented foods.

For extra firepower against yeast overgrowth, we suggest our herbal supplement derived from an ancient remedy meant for maintaining bacterial balance. OWL’s Yeast Buster is a proprietary blend that contains antibacterial and antifungal properties. Add this to your daily routine to help your body maintain a healthy internal environment for a balanced microbiome.

Yeast Buster

4. Stress Less, Sleep Better

The Gut-Brain axis sends signals from your brain to your gut through the vagus nerve, which is why stress can have a major impact on gut health. Experiencing stress can prevent the right signals from traveling along this nerve and cause disruptions in bodily functions. This can result not only in a reduction in the production of digestive acids, but also a hormone imbalance, specifically excessive cortisol. With too much cortisol entering your system, you can experience disrupted sleep and vice versa⁴.

There is plenty of research to support that imbalances in your gut bacteria and poor sleep are linked together⁵. This can eventually lead to chronic fatigue and chronic inflammation which opens the door to many other health problems. One study showed that a mere two days of poor sleep changed the gut flora in participants, on top of increasing the types of bacteria related to type 2 diabetes, and obesity⁶.

Restorative sleep is crucial to both your gut health and your stress levels. Creating a routine to relax your mind and body will help you on your way to better balance mentally and physically.

5. Move Your Body

Physical activity looks different for everyone. Walking, cycling, running, swimming, lifting - the list goes on. Where the similarity for us all comes into play is that physical activity can alter the makeup of your gut microbiome⁷. Research shows a strong connection between athletes and more diverse gut flora. Whatever movement suits your lifestyle, take the opportunity to celebrate what your body can do to improve your quality of life.

OWL Reset

6. Ready, Set, Reset

Our last and most powerful tip for achieving the best bacterial balance is by giving your gut a fresh start. Our OWL Reset Cleanse combines the practices of Ayurvedic medicine and the wisdom of Chronobiology to achieve optimal gut health, no matter what season of life you’re in. Three Broth Elixirs paired with three Hemp Mylkshakes per day will nourish your body while giving your gut a rest. This will allow for healing and promoting a healthy balance within your microbiome.

Diversify Inside, Flourish Outside

There’s no doubt that when your insides are working smoothly and in sync, the way you feel on a daily basis improves exponentially. Imagine how your life can change for the better when you wake up feeling energized, focused, and in a state of balance. Don’t delay achieving your most vibrant self. Embrace full body health and watch how you transform on the inside and the outside.

Julie Weller

Julie is a self-made writer on a forever journey of fitness and health. As a high school music teacher, she has seen and experienced the challenges of maintaining good health while simultaneously balancing a career and healthy relationships.

Julie has always lived a healthy and active lifestyle. She loves the outdoors, hiking, and camping. Over the years she has continued to learn smarter and better ways to take care of her body while continuing to do the things that make her smile. Naturally, all of her teacher friends wanted to know how she did it - what was her secret?

Julie found herself explaining over and over everything she'd learned in her research, and sharing her experiences through trial and error. Her friends would take her advice, try some new things, and then come back to ask how to take it to the next level.

"You should charge for this kind of information!" Became a constant phrase, and so began her career of writing to share her knowledge with the world through health and wellness companies looking to spread healing and healthy habits within their communities. Now Julie gets to combine two of the things she enjoys most - writing and wellness - and use them to affect change in a real way.

When not making music with her kiddos, or writing wellness tips for a higher quality of life, you can find her reading, hiking, drumming, and fitnessing

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Tags: digestive bitters, gut health, Gut Sweep, reset, Yeast Buster