Although shunned for some of his ideas, the findings and benefits from following Dr. Joseph Michael Mercola’s prescribed practices cannot be denied. Two of Dr. Mercola’s findings, which are agreed upon by numerous health experts, are that a healthy gut and making exercise a habit early in life both have a huge impact on your overall well being.

Why You Should Move Your Body

Those who have made exercise a part of their life will usually have better overall health than their non-exercising counterparts. However, this goes beyond just going to the gym two or three or even five times a week. If your job requires that you sit at a desk for hours on end, then you should get up as often as every 20 minutes to stretch and get your blood flowing again. The longer you sit for an extended period of time, the shorter your lifespan. This is even more so for those who do not exercise at all or who began exercising later in life.

Exercise For a Healthy Gut

One of the best ways to insure your gut health is to exercise at a young age because this will set the foundation for its health later in life.

Signs of a Healthy Gut:

• Daily bowel movements
• Clear skin
• Fresh breath
• Food is eliminated within 18 to 24 hours

Signs of an Unhealthy Gut:

• bad digestion, such as diarrhea
• Eczema, rosacea
• Autoimmune disease
• Bad memory, poor concentration
• Diabetes

Foods to Avoid

To improve your gut heath at any age, avoid doing things, which might have adverse affects, like drinking coffee or alcohol, eating spicy foods and taking drugs. If you have bad gut health, then staying away from dairy products for a little while if you are sensitive to them might help.

Foods for a Healthy Gut

In addition to strengthening your gut by exercising regularly, drink plenty of water, eat yogurt without sugar, kimchi, miso, kombucha, kefir and other fermented foods. Onions and garlic are beneficial too. If you are not sure whether you get enough fiber, then taking a fiber supplement, such as psyllium husk will help with gut health.

The Importance of Gut Health

There are five feet of intestines in the human body, and 100 trillion micro organisms living in them, if you have a healthy gut that is. With the gut positioned right in the center of your body, it can wreak havoc on your entire body and cause great discomfort if it is not healthy. People have gone so far as to think they were having heart problems or had an extra terrestrial being living inside of them when it was just discomfort due to bad gut health. So you can see why taking the necessary steps to maintain gut health is so important.

Cardio and Weight Training

Cardio exercise is the least you can do, to ensure great gut health. If you haven’t yet built up the strength to jog for 45 minutes or swim for an hour, then High Intensity Interval Training, will work just as well. This is where you do as many reps as you can of a specific exercise in a certain amount of time. You could start off with 15 seconds of bending down and touching your toes and then standing straight back up. Do as many reps as you can in 12 to 15 seconds. Rest for 30 seconds and then repeat. There is also speed walking, sprinting, brisk walking, butt kicks, squats, etc. However, none of these will take the place of two or three weight training sessions each week, which you should do in addition to your cardio exercise.

Basically, if you lead an active lifestyle, get adequate rest and follow a balanced diet where you eat foods as close to their natural state as possible, then you have a good chance of having a good mix of gut microbes. All of this will have you feeling less stressed and ultimately improve your overall health.

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