Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes. Make an appointment with your doctor if you are dealing with symptoms or you plan to implement big changes in your lifestyle.

The question is, how can we do this safely when advice is constantly changing? What are we supposed to do when one half of Instagram is intermittent fasting and the other half is telling us we should never skip breakfast?

Thankfully, it’s easier to access personalized advice than we think. We have constant feedback about our health all day; we just forget to listen! Lethargy, vitality, hunger, fullness, sadness, discomfort; your body is communicating with you all the time, thanks to this amazing thing called your gut microbiome. 

Everybody has a gut microbiome that affects their immune system. Each microbiome is totally unique to them, like a fingerprint. If you want vast improvements in your energy and well being, you’ve got to support that microbiome. It’s easier than you might think; through exercise alone, you increase your level of good gut bacteria by more than 20% – how cool is that?

Read on to see how your OneFit membership makes it easy to keep that immune system stronger than ever.

What is a gut microbiome?

In scientific terms, the gut microbiome is the totality of all of your microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, and fungi all living happily in your gut. 
It sounds gross, right? Actually, the more bacteria the better: a healthy and energetic adult harbors over 1000 different types of bacteria.

Do you know how they say playing in the mud was good for you when you were young? They were right; it exposed you to a multitude of germs that added diversity to your individual microbiome. Diversity in your microbiome strengthens your immunity to viruses and germs. Those HIIT workouts in the park or SUP sessions down the canal may even be better for you than you think!

Why should I pay attention?

Good gut health plays a key role in regulating inflammation. Inflammation – our body’s response to stress, infection, or toxins – is beneficial in short term situations. However, long term stress (equating to long term inflammation) has been shown to be the root of almost all diseases. Therefore, a healthy microbiome with a diverse range of bacteria, all doing their bit to regulate your stress responses equates to a healthy immune system. How to get there? Easy:

Move!

Regular exercise affects the gut microbiotica positively. The more exercise you do, the more beneficial bacteria you have. The more beneficial bacteria, the less inflammation and therefore, a reduction in inflammatory symptoms: we’re talking unexplained fatigue, swollen joints, mood disorders, gastrointestinal complaints. 

With OneFit, you can get moving straight away. Cardio, the act of getting your blood pumping around your body and to your heart, is one of the most efficient ways you can support your gut health! Several studies noticed a relationship between the gut microbiome and cardio fitness that accounted for more than 20% of the diverse bacteria in the gut. That’s a huge percentage of your gut health that you can take control of just by doing cardio!

With your OneFit membership, cardio is never boring. Try a spinning class at City Alps! You could even take up that boxing class at Lucie with the Six Punches you’ve been thinking about for a while, or book a dance workout with our new OneFit Presents teacher Fiona Dekkers and get that heart rate up! “Hey, where you are going so early in the morning”? “I’m off to a HIIT class to increase my gut bacteria, you?”

Another thing that is highly beneficial for your gut health is conscious rest, such as Yoga Nidra or Restorative Yoga. How so? These timeless practices of deep rest calm your nervous system, allowing you to digest what’s happening to you externally. The calmer your nervous system, the less your body is running in fight or flight. 

When you uncoil the tight strings of your frazzled nervous system through yoga Nidra or restorative yoga, you access your parasympathetic state of relaxation. This greatly reduces inflammation. A relaxed nervous system equates to a happy gut. See for yourself: book a soothing Nidra class at Bluebirds or Beautiful Yoga’s relax ritual. A healthy balance of regular movement and conscious rest will see fast improvements in your gut health. 

So; listen to your gut, get that heart rate up, and make room for rest! You’ll find that with your membership, keeping your immune system strong and your microbiome diverse and healthy is easy – just book a class today.

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