Want To Improve Your Gut Health? Get Into This Habit, Research Says

The benefits of meditation are widely known but predominantly focus on the mental health benefits. In this study, researchers wanted to find out whether meditation could have some gut health benefits as well.

To do so, they analyzed stool and blood samples from Tibetan Buddhist monks and compared them to controls who did not meditate. These monks were avid meditators and also did not take anything that would alter their guts like antibiotics, antifungals, or probiotics.

Compared to the control group, the monks had more of the good bacteria strains that are associated with positive mental health, like Prevotella, Bacteroidetes, Megamonas, and Faecalibacterium species. The findings also indicated that anti-inflammatory pathways and metabolic health were stronger in the meditation group.

The blood samples also revealed that the monks had "significantly lower" levels of agents like cholesterol and apolipoprotein B, which are associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease risk.

If you're a seasoned meditation practitioner, take this as good news that your practice is benefiting not just your mind but your gut health too.

And even if you're not planning on becoming a Buddhist monk anytime soon, making time for meditation in your day-to-day life has so many benefits beyond your biome.

Along with picking up a meditation practice, some other ways to support optimal gut health include eating a wider variety of nutrient-dense foods—particularly fermented ones—and getting enough sleep and exercise.

The more we learn about the gut biome, the more it becomes abundantly clear that the body thrives when we treat it like a whole system of interconnected parts.