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How to support your gut after a holiday
With life slowly returning back to normal, and the chance to go on holiday coming ever closer, we thought we’d provide you with a few ways to support your gut health after a holiday. Whether this be a long weekend in the English countryside, or a wild week on a Greek island, the change in diet, sleep and routine can put our guts out of whack and potentially cause a few tummy upsets.
So what can you do to get your gut back in tip top shape so you can feel alive and well again?!
- Rehydrate!
Hydration is such a key pillar of health for many reasons, including:
- Keeping skin healthy
- Lubricating joints and eyes
- Optimum function of the digestive system
- Excreting waste products
- Carrying essential nutrients around the body
Often we can be very dehydrated after a holiday (mainly due to a larger consumption of alcohol than usual and that beautiful sunshine). Therefore, it’s important to try and drink 2-3 litres of water a day to refresh and rehydrate.
Some people find it a bit tricky to drink this amount of water but I have a few tips to help you out:
- Keep a water bottle with you all day
- Add lemons or other fruit to your water
- Eat foods with a high water content like cucumber or watermelon
- Remember that tea and coffee also add you your water intake!
- Eat some probiotics and fermented foods
Probiotics are our gut friendly bacteria. We want to balance our microbes to make sure that the majority are gut friendly bacteria (as opposed to bad gut bacteria) and this can be done by eating fermented foods and drinks containing probiotics. Research shows that incorporating probiotics in your diet improves the health of your gut, reduces gut inflammation and supports your immune system.
Probiotics can be found naturally in many foods and drinks including: fermented vegetables, kefir, kombucha, miso, sauerkraut, some yoghurts, kimchi and of course our lovely apple cider vinegar.
All of our ACV is raw, organic, unfiltered and ALIVE with ‘The Mother’. ‘The Mother’ is a natural part of the fermentation process and is full of the gut-friendly probiotics. Therefore, by having your daily dose of Willy’s you are helping to support your gut health and overall well-being. Head over to the shop section of our website to get your hands on some.
- Fill up on prebiotic fibre
Often we can be a tad indulgent when on holiday, and this is great but often means our guts aren’t in tip top shape. So to rectify this, incorporating some more prebiotics into your diet can help.
Prebiotics feed our good gut bacteria so we need this in order to have optimum gut health and happy gut friendly bacteria. Prebiotic fibre can be found in various different whole foods and are very easy to incorporate into your diet.
Some prebiotic foods include: leeks, onions, garlic, apples, artichokes, bananas, berries, chicory, asparagus… just to name a few!
Add a banana to your morning porridge or smoothie, have an apple as a mid morning snack, pop some grilled asparagus or artichokes to your lunchtime salad, the options are endless!
- Practice mindfulness
Studies have shown that by reducing stress and practicing mindful techniques, gut friendly bacteria will be more prosperous and healthier, leading to a happier and healthier you!
Some mindful techniques I try and incorporate into my daily routine include breath work, mediation, yoga and mindful eating. All of these help get my body (and gut) into a relaxed state so that optimum function is achieved.
And on a similar note, make sure you’re getting adequate quality sleep. I don’t know about you but I often don’t sleep amazingly when on holiday – maybe this is due to the change of scene or all the holiday excitement, I don’t know?! But sleep is super important as it allows our guts and bodies to relax and reset. Try and get a solid 7-9 hours a night by sticking to a good routine of going to bed at the same time each night.
I hope you found these tips useful! Let me know what you think by commenting below or emailing me at willywillysacv.com.
Yours truly,
