BISMARCK, ND (KXNET) The foods and drinks that you consume directly influence your gut health, which has an impact on your overall health.

What is gut health you may ask? Gut health is simply the condition of your digestive system or gastrointestinal system. A lot of it has to do with the balance of good bacteria versus bad bacteria. Your gut also houses the majority of your immune system, so maintaining good gut health is crucial. If your gut health is poor, your overall health might be as well and it can show up in a variety of ways such as stomach aches, fatigue, skin rashes and irritations, mood changes, and more.

“We have more bacteria in our gut than cells in our body. Are we taking care of them? Because they in turn take care of us, so we need to pay attention to gut health,” said Tara Kohn, Superfood Nutrition and Wellness Coach.

The standard American diet, with over-processed foods, is not good for the gut. Kohn recommends that when grocery shopping, stick to perishable foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats, which are typically found along the outside aisles of the store. Try to stay away from processed non-perishable foods as much as possible.

“There are a lot of great things we can consume, for example, ‘living food’ (for example) sauerkraut, that fermentation is really good for our gut health. There is also kimchi, kefir, yogurt with less sugar…those things help our gut balance the microbiome,” said Saree Neubauer, Superfood Nutrition and Wellness Coach.

“The things in boxes and bags, our bodies don’t really know what to do with that, it literally does kill our gut,” said Kohn. “One of the things that hurt us the most is a big word called glyphosate. It’s the active ingredient in Round-Up. It kills living things, it’s designed to. Our food is coated with this, we can not wash it off even. It is killing the good bacteria in our gut. It’s been to blame for many health conditions like auto-immune disease, Alzheimer’s, and cancers, especially Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.”

“What we do on the inside, really affects us on the outside,” concludes Kohn.

If you have questions on gut health, you can call Saree Neubauer at 701-390-0635 or Tara Kohn at 701-361-1132.