Expert shares tips to boost your gut health

ATLANTA - If you want to get healthier going into the New Year, gastroenterologist Dr. Julia Liu, a professor of medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine, says start pay more attention to your gut health.

Experts think our gut is driving about 80% of our body's immune system.

"When we are born, our gut is totally clean," Dr. Liu says. "So, when you were a baby, as an infant, you have all these good protective bacteria."

With time, Dr. Liu says, the balance of "good" and "bad" bacteria in our microbiome, or gut, can get thrown off by things like stress, poor nutrition, sleep issues and medications like antibiotics and antacids.

There are warning signs all is not well in your gut.

"If your bowel habits are not normal, if you're having diarrhea, if you're having constipation, if you're having a lot of gas, bloating or burping," Dr. Liu says you may have GI issues.

Other red flags are belly pain, weight loss, or swelling.

"People will notice their belly is getting distended or big, and that's very distressing," she explains. "So, those are all signs that, you know, your body is telling you your digestive system is not good."

Getting back to a healthier gut can take some time and requires both lifestyle and nutritional changes.

You may need to find better ways to manage the stress in your life or work on getting better sleep.

Dr. Liu says fermented foods, like yogurt, can be helpful. They are rich in probiotics, with promote healthy bacterial growth in the GI tract.

"That's putting back in the good bugs that used to be within us, but we no longer have," Dr. Liu says.

When choosing a yogurt, pick the one that says "live and active cultures" on the label.

Other foods and drinks that are good for your gut are kefir, a fermented milk drink, or miso, a fermented Japanese soy paste.

Kombucha, buttermilk, pickles, almonds, olive oil, and sourdough are also gut-healthy.

Increasing your fiber intake can also help boost digestion.

When possible, Dr. Liu says, choose fresh, whole foods over packaged and processed foods, which can trigger inflammation in the gut.

Dr. Liu says she is increasingly moving away from meat towards a less inflammatory plant-based diet.

"So, we really should aim to reduce the amount of inflammation that we actually are causing with the food that we eat," she says.