Excerpt:健康的人类肠道环境包含许多不同类型的有益细菌，有助于更好的整体健康和更长的寿命。定期锻炼，积极的社交生活，富含纤维、益生菌和益生元的营养饮食，可以改善和恢复肠道健康。更好的肠道健康有助于提升情绪，敏锐你的头脑，提高免疫力。
The human microbiome, or gut environment, contains many different types of beneficial bacteria that are essential to a person’s health and well-being. A 2021Nature Metabolismstudy reported that better gut health—a more diverse array of bacteria in the gut—is associated with healthier aging and longer life.* The researchers found that older adults with more diverse gut environments walked faster and had better mobility, had lower levels of cholesterol and inflammation, higher levels of vitamin D, and participants with less diverse gut environments were nearly twice as likely to pass away* during the study period.
Here are some important ways improving gut health can support better overall health and healthy aging:
- Regular exercise promotes better gut health.A University of Illinois study found that people who exercised three times a week for six weeks showed an increase in beneficial gut microbes and a decrease in harmful ones.* Participants who continued exercising maintained the gains, while those who became sedentary reverted to less bacterial diversity.
- Lift your mood with gut-friendly foods.Eat plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and other whole foods, and limit packaged or processed foods, which are high in food additives and preservatives that disrupt the healthy bacteria in the gut toimprove your mood,* advises Harvard University.
- High-fibre foods stimulate a heart-healthy gut.A high-fibre diet encourages growth of short-chain fatty acids, which help control blood pressure and blood sugar.*
- Microbiome diversity is good for the mind.People with gut microbial diversity performed better on standardized tests of thinking skills and memory, reported a 2022JAMA Network Open study.
- Socializing makes your gut happy.People with broad social networks enjoy better gut health, and social interactions promote a more diverse gut community,* according to a University of Oxford study.
- Nourish healthy bacteria with probiotics and prebiotics.Eating probiotics regularly, such as yogurt, helps prevent the gut environment from being overrun by unhealthy bacteria.* Probiotics can improve digestive health and may help treat gastrointestinal problems including irritable bowel syndrome and chronic constipation,* according to McMaster University. Prebiotics such as beans, bananas, onions, asparagus, and yams stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria in your gut,* says Mayo Clinic.
- Fermented foods improve immune response.A diet rich in fermented foods, such as yogurt, kefir, fermented cottage cheese, sauerkraut, and kombucha tea, enhances gut bacteria diversity and improves immune response, while decreasing inflammation,* reported a Stanford School of Medicine study.
- Manage stress to restore gut health.Chronic stress causes the gut microbiome to be disrupted and become unstable,* according to aNature Microbiomestudy.Managing stressthrough mindful eating, better sleep, and mind-body practices such as yoga and tai chi can help ease the impact of stress on microbiome diversity* and restore gut health, according to Ohio State University.