Improving Gut Health and Digestion Through Movement & Exercise

Sergio Rojas, FAFS, CSCS, CNS

Certified Functional Health, Fitness, & Nutrition CoachMindset - Mindfulness - Leadership - High Performance

“Gut-health” has been a very popular term in the health and wellness space over the past decade. Most people connect it to bloating, discomfort, or in more extreme cases, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).

But there’s so much more to gut health, including immune system regulation, hormone signaling, even brain function and mood. Poor gut health can lead a weakened immune system or auto-immune diseases, hormone imbalances, as well as anxiety, depression, and other emotional or behavior issues through the gut-brain axis. 

Poor gut health can also lead to colon cancer, since the colon is part of the digestive tract. 

So, what causes poor gut health? 

The main key factors include poor diet (lack of fiber, high fat, processed meats, processed foods, sugar, artificial sweeteners, chemicals, and dyes), excess weight or obesity, lack of physical activity or exercise, as well as regular alcohol and or tobacco use.

Today, I want to focus on exercise and how it benefits your gut health, plus share some specific exercises that have an even greater impact your gut health and digestion. 

There are two main aspects of exercise that improve gut health and digestion. 

First is circulation. The more oxygen and blood you have flowing through your body, the better your body will break foods down and digest them (absorb nutrients and extract waste). 

Since low to moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise increases oxygen and blood flow, it plays a big part in keeping your gut, and therefore your colon, healthy. 

Activities such as brisk walks, cycling, dancing, swimming, skipping, roller skating are all great cardiovascular exercises. Get at least 30 minutes of any of these or other cardiovascular activities 5 or more days per week.

To get the maximum gut health benefit, as well as help with fat loss and energy, do at least 10 (ideally 20) minutes or more of light cardiovascular activities immediately after lunch and after dinner. I had a client lose 60 pounds in less than a year by simply adding this habit to her daily routine.

Taking a brisk walk or bike ride after lunch will also help prevent the afternoon energy crash and keep you focused throughout the afternoon.

Taking a brisk walk after dinner also helps reduce fat storage while you sleep, improves sleep, and is a great way to connect with loved ones after a meal. A far better and healthier way to spend the evening compared to watching television or scrolling on social media.

The second aspect of exercise that boosts gut health is rotation of the torso and pelvis in opposite directions, as in walking or running, which increases motion in your digestive tract and gets food moving. 

Yoga, dancing, swimming, and or hitting a punching bag also great for creating this opposing rotation motion that benefits gut health. So, in addition to getting low to moderate cardiovascular exercise in, here are a few specific yoga poses and stretches you can do in the morning and evening for 5 minutes to boost your gut health.

Triangle Pose: Hold position for 8 slow breaths on each side. Repeat 2X on each side

Wide Leg Opposite Arm Reach: Hold position for 8 slow breaths on each side. Repeat 2X on each side

Seated Twist: Keep spine tall and rotate. Hold position for 8 slow breaths on each side. Repeat 2X on each side

If the weather doesn’t permit you to walk outside, you can march in place twisting and reaching opposite elbow towards opposite side knee. You can do this while watching a television show or listening to music.potential, honor our bodies, and empower our community to thrive!