If you’ve spent much time on our blog or social media pages, you’ve probably noticed we talk about gut health regularly (pun intended 🙂 ). In the past, we’d get loads of requests from our clients and from our readers asking for our advice on how to get rid of unsightly gut bulges—we’d hear complaints that dinner from the night before was taking a toll on their belly and making them look (and feel) like they were six months pregnant. That’s no fun! So, we’ve loved sharing our favorite hacks to give you instant relief to beat that bloated feeling, whether it’s coming from stomach irritants, constipation or too much salt.

And great news–our hacks to get you that flat-belly have been simultaneously helping you to improve your overall gut health! As you may have seen us mention before, the science showing the connection between the health of your gut and your total well-being becomes stronger every day and we now know that having a healthy gut, also known as a healthy microbiome, plays a part in every aspect of your healthy life including sleep, mood, weight management and in disease prevention—and in getting that flat-belly.

Here, we’ve got even more ways that you can boost your gut health and improve how great you look and feel, and not only is it about flushing out irritants—you can also actually boost the health of your gut so it can do its’ job even better!

What does it really mean to have a healthy gut (healthy microbiome)?

First, you should know that when you hear the words, “healthy gut” or “healthy gut microbiome” it’s referring to the bacteria in your gut. Your body is full of trillions of bacteria, and the bacteria that are specifically in your gut seems to be what’s tied to your overall health and to chronic disease. The bacteria line the entire intestinal wall —they digest food, affect your metabolism, immune system, brain and mood—and so much more. While there are thousands of kinds of bacteria in your gut and most are beneficial to your health, some are not, and getting a healthy microbiome is really about having a healthy balance with a large amount and variety of healthy bacteria and minimizing the bad bacteria since they lead to disease.

Fun fact: A healthy gut microbiome communicates with the intestinal cells, digesting certain foods and stopping disease-causing bacteria from sticking to the intestinal walls.

How can you get a healthy gut (healthy microbiome)?

Guess what? As registered dietitian nutritionists, the answer to this question is happy-dance music to our guts—and if you typically follow our eating recommendations, smile because your gut is already off to a great start and has an upper hand in the healthy gut microbiome game! 🙂

The foods that you eat have a huge impact on the kinds of bacteria that live inside of you.

The best way to maintain a healthy gut is to eat a range of fresh, whole foods, mostly from plant sources like veggies, fruits, pulses and whole grains, as well as being sure to include sources of prebiotics and probiotics, while also staying away from refined, processed, artificial, sugary and fatty foods that kill off some good bacteria and increase disease-causing bacteria.

The good-for-your-gut, plant food sources mentioned above all contain fiber that the body doesn’t absorb and that feeds the good bacteria in your gut—and these foods also minimize disease-causing bacteria. And while you may already be familiar with probiotics, the “good” bacteria found in foods like yogurt, kefir, kimchi and sauerkraut, that are either the same as, or very similar to the bacteria that are already in your body, and that help the good bacteria in your gut to thrive, you may not be as aware of prebiotics, which are an easy way to step up your gut health. We’re excited to help you to get more prebiotics in your life!

Prebiotics 411: What are prebiotics? (In our Nutrition Twins’ world, we call them RSFGH, [Rock Stars for Gut Health]  🙂 )

Prebiotics (not to be confused with probiotics) are types of dietary fiber that feed and nourish your “good” gut bacteria and help it to thrive; they’re a power player when it comes to keeping the balance of “good” bacteria more than the “bad” bacteria. Prebiotics boost immunity, improve digestion, prevent constipation and bloating and prevent bad bacteria from growing. It’s important to note that while all prebiotics are fiber, not all types of fibers are prebiotics.

This means that even if you have a high fiber diet, you may not be getting much prebiotic fiber.

FYI: You may be familiar with some prebiotic fibers like inulin and oligofructose (OF), lactulose, and resistant starch (RS).

Below are some good sources of prebiotic fiber including our one of our new loves ❤️ Wonder Drink Prebiotic Kombucha❤️ which we love to sip on instead of water when we want something with flavor. (See below to find out why we love this super bionic prebiotic!) 😉 :

• Garlic
• Onions
• Jerusalem artichokes
• Barley
• Green bananas
• Oats
• Apples
• Wonder Drink Prebiotic Kombucha

We do love these pre-biotic containing foods, and our clients tell us that although they do too, they find it can be a challenge to get enough of them on a daily basis. That’s why we were so excited when we found Wonder Drink Prebiotic Kombucha because it’s such a fantastic and easy way to get prebiotics.

Here’s why we love Wonder Drink Prebiotic Kombucha:

• It’s organic, which as many of you know, is a big deal to us, since we like to keep pesticides and chemicals out of our bodies. In fact, it’s the first and only kombucha with not only a Certified Organic, but also a plant-based, prebiotic fiber called Xylooligosaccharides (or XOS Fiber) known to selectively nourish certain naturally occurring probiotic bacteria in your gut.

• It’s non-GMO, gluten free, vegan and guaranteed non-alcoholic
• A 12-ounce can contains only 10 g of sugar
• We get it delivered directly to our doorstep via amazon!

We are such huge fans of the brand that we’ve partnered with Wonder Drink Prebiotic Kombucha for this post because we want to let you—and our clients—know about this easy, tasty way to get your dose of prebiotic fiber! And while this post was sponsored by our new bestie, all of the opinions here are our own, as always.

Get Social with Wonder Drink Prebiotic Kombucha!

Instagram: @wonderdrink
Facebook:@wonderdrink
Twitter: @wonder_drink

Fun fact: Exercise helps to maintain a healthy microbiome by increasing bacteria diversity, and only taking antibiotics when necessary is also helpful for your gut health.

Pssst… Looking for more easy ways to get a healthy gut? Feel free to try any of the meal recipes on our site!

Have you tried Wonder Drink Prebiotic? Please let us know in the comments and if you love it like we do!