The topic of microbiome health is everywhere in the wellness world. Scientists, health professionals, and wellness enthusiasts alike have discovered just how closely the microbes that live in and on our bodies affect things like weight, mood, metabolism, skin appearance, the immune system, and more.

With so much new information being released about the microbiome all the time, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Add in a bustling holiday season, and you might feel downright lost. Where do you start? What is necessary, and what isn’t? And how can you stay on top of yet another wellness demand when the season is already so busy?

Luckily, keeping your microbiome healthy doesn’t require drastic lifestyle changes. A few simple adjustments to your daily routine can help you prioritize wellness this season so you can enjoy the benefits of a healthy, balanced microbiome.

Here are 8 of our best tips for keeping your microbiome thriving, along with suggestions for simple things you can do to support and nourish your microbiome, no matter how busy your holidays are.

Start with a clean slate.

The holiday season is not always conducive to a healthy, balanced gut. Processed or sugary foods, high stress, and other environmental factors can create less-than-ideal circumstances for your microbiome to thrive. And when you consider that your body has been exposed to these things for years, it makes sense that your microbiome (and your overall wellness) could be struggling.

Ideally, when you are ready to jumpstart your microbiome health, you can create a “clean slate” that allows you to start good habits and set the stage for a more gut-friendly lifestyle.

Keep it simple: Get back on track this holiday season! You can do it in just 3 days with Plexus Reset™. This supported fast is designed to revitalize your system with a metabolic reset while providing optimal nutrition, so you can reimagine your health, remove roadblocks, and reset your course toward lasting Hope, Health, and Happiness. (Now there’s a worthwhile gift!) You might like: 3 Top Advantages of Plexus Reset.

Watch what you eat.

Few things affect your microbiome more than your diet. A diverse microbiome is a healthy microbiome, and a balanced diet helps diversify your microbiome¹. It isn’t always easy to choose healthy foods over indulgent sweets during the holidays, but you have more options than you might think. Foods that benefit your gut microbiome include:

• Fruits and berries
• Vegetables
• Legumes
• Beans
• Fermented foods (like yogurt, kimchi, kombucha, and sauerkraut)
• Whole grains (Choose gluten-free options if possible, like buckwheat, quinoa, and oats.)
• Foods rich in polyphenols (like dark chocolate, broccoli, almonds, and blueberries)

Keep it simple: Find easy ways to enjoy gut-friendly snacks throughout the season. Keep chopped fruits and vegetables in your fridge for easy, grab-and-go eating. Make sure to include vegetable trays on your party menus. Find creative ways to add gut-healthy foods to traditional holiday favorites.

Need some inspiration? Read this: Simple Seasonal Food Swaps

Stay hydrated.

Water intake is another important factor in overall health. When you don’t drink enough water, it can affect your mood, your digestion, your ability to think clearly, and your body’s ability to regulate temperature properly.² And yes — hydration is just as important in cold weather as it is in warm weather!

While the effects of proper hydration on the microbiome are still being studied, there is some evidence that indicates that the amount of water a person drinks is correlated with microbiome composition, hinting at the idea that water consumption and gut health could be directly

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Keep it simple: Take baby steps toward drinking more water. Substitute one non-water drink (e.g. soda, juice, or coffee) with a glass of water each day, or keep a tumbler or water bottle with you at all times. Choose to drink water with your meals, and save other drinks for a special treat. You can also do things to make drinking water more enjoyable or beneficial. For example, mix Plexus Slim^® Microbiome Activating into your water to feed your gut with prebiotics for an extra gut-health boost.*

Don’t stress.

The holidays are supposed to be a joyful time of year, but they often bring a lot of stress. The gut-brain connection emphasizes the importance of managing stress to help keep the gut healthy. Stress triggers the body’s “fight or flight” response, which slows digestion and can ultimately lead to stomach discomfort or other gastrointestinal issues (which no one wants to deal with during the holidays!).

It works the opposite way, too: An imbalance in the gut can lead to an “off” mood. Keeping stress in check and keeping your gut balanced are the best ways to keep your microbiome — and your mood — feeling jolly.

Keep it simple: Incorporate simple solutions to manage stress, like 5-10 minute guided meditations, deep breathing techniques, or any activity that relaxes you. Spend quality time making positive memories with friends and family. Try adding VitalBiome^® to your daily routine; it includes diverse probiotic strains that reduce feelings of stress and tension, while also helping rebalance your gut microflora.*

Move your body.

It isn’t always easy to squeeze in a workout this time of year, but it is important to try. Exercise is linked to a healthy gut microbiome. Moving your body can alter the composition of the gut microbiome, causing beneficial microbes to multiply more and encouraging the presence of more diverse microbes.⁵

Keep it simple: You don’t have to be a professional athlete for exercise to benefit your microbiome. A brisk walk or jog, a dance class, a yoga session, or any type of movement for just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, will be beneficial. Add in small strength training exercises (like pushups, situps, squats, and/or lunges) for some extra benefit. You can even do these while watching your favorite holiday movie!

Get plenty of sleep.

Is your “long winter’s nap” feeling a little short these days? It is time to figure out healthier sleep patterns. Sleep and gut health are inextricably linked. The better your sleep, the healthier your gut microbiome will be. And unfortunately, the reverse is true as well. Sleep deprivation can affect gut flora and disrupt your microbiome.⁶ In short, good sleep isn’t just restful; it’s restorative.

Keep it simple: These simple hacks for sleep disruption can help you drift off to dreamland (visions of sugarplums not guaranteed). Additionally, try Plexus Sleep^®. These delicious gummies each contain 5 mg of melatonin to help regulate sleep and wake cycles, along with 1.7 g of prebiotic fiber to help maintain a balanced gut microbiome.* Learn more about Plexus Sleep.

Be skin smart.

Your microbiome doesn’t exist only inside your body; it also exists on your skin. And the microbes on your skin can have a big impact on how your skin looks and feels. A balanced skin microbiome will help defend the skin against dryness, restore the natural skin barrier, reduce irritation, and protect the skin from damaging age accelerants. In other words, it may just be the secret to more radiant-looking skin.

Colder temperatures often cause skin to look and feel more dry, so if your skin is feeling a little parched this holiday season, it could be time to zero in on your skin microbiome.

Keep it simple: Don’t expect great skincare to just show up in your stocking. Reach for Joyōme^®, the beautifully simple skincare line designed with the skin microbiome in mind. Featuring a cleanser, AM and PM serums, and a collagen complex, Joyōme helps defy the signs of aging in less than 5 minutes per day.

Take the right probiotics.

Probiotics are the beneficial bacteria your gut microbiome needs to thrive. While you can get natural probiotics from certain foods (like the fermented foods mentioned above), you may also benefit from adding probiotic supplements and other gut-friendly products into your daily routine. The good news: The right probiotic products help give your gut what it needs, quickly and conveniently.

Keep it simple: Start with Plexus TriPlex^™, a powerful, 3-product system that helps weed, seed, and feed your gut with beneficial probiotics and prebiotics.*

• Help reduce unwanted microbes and create space for beneficial microbes with Bio Cleanse^®.*
• Seed the gut with ProBio 5’s powerful probiotic strains.*
• Nourish beneficial microbes with the prebiotics found in Slim Microbiome Activating.*

Caring for your microbiome during the holidays doesn’t have to be complicated. Simple swaps and additions can help you easily get on track with a gut-friendly routine, so you can make wellness a priority and support your gut microbiome well into the new year! Try these simple tips today, and start enjoying the benefits of a healthier microbiome and a happier holiday season.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

1. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/improve-gut-bacteria#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2
2. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/healthy_eating/water-and-healthier-drinks.html
3. https://www.gutmicrobiotaforhealth.com/is-water-the-forgotten-nutrient-for-your-gut-microbiota/#
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34642755/
5. https://prohealth.com.mt/13-great-hacks-to-improve-gut-health-microbiome/
6. https://www.drnorthrup.com/how-to-improve-your-gut-microbiome-in-a-day/