You’ve heard me say it before and I’ll repeat myself again here today: Gut health is a cornerstone of overall wellness, especially for women.

A healthy gut influences everything from your digestion to your skin, to your mood, and more. This is why I believe it’s important, essential even, to prioritize daily habits that support and promote gut health.

Here are 3 non-negotiable daily practices you can incorporate into your routine for optimum gut health.

1. Crowd out foods that irritate and stress your body with colorful, fiber-rich foods, and plenty of water. One of the easiest and most effective ways to support your gut health is to remove the foods that are wreaking havoc on your gut. Most of us know which foods these are, simply because when we eat them we don’t feel good, or we suffer with symptoms that sideline us – either the day we eat those foods, or the following day or two.

One great example of this is to replace dairy-based cheeses with nut-based vegan alternatives. Or to replace gluten containing foods with a gluten-free version. There are so many delicious options available today, you won’t even miss the dairy or gluten!

Crowding out the foods your body doesn’t respond well to with colorful, fiber-rich alternatives does several beneficial things all at once. The colorful foods nourish your gut (and your entire body) with antioxidants and more, all of which help to stave off inflammation and help your gut to heal. Fiber promotes regular bowel movements and prevents constipation. Drinking plenty of water helps your body to break down food. It also increases nutrient absorption and helps flush out toxins so your digestive system can do its job with ease.

My top tips for how to accomplish this are to:

• Eat a breakfast that is high in fiber – a green smoothie is a simple, easy and delicious way to accomplish this.
• Make sure you’re eating fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds throughout the day. Make them a part of your meals and include them as yummy snacks where needed.
• Pick 2 specific times of day when you are going to drink water. I like to drink in the morning before breakfast, and between 3-4:30pm in the afternoon. I also sip throughout the day. Aim to drink at least half your body weight in ounces every day.

2. Take a probiotic supplement and/or eat probiotic rich foods every day. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria in a capsule, powder or liquid form. Sauerkraut, Kim Chee, beet kvass, kombucha, KeVita, coconut based yogurts and certain brands of salsa are examples of different foods and drinks that are rich in healthy probiotics. So, you can eat or drink your daily dose of healthy bacteria, too. (Plus, fermented foods are delicious!)

For a variety of reasons, most women are walking around with an overgrowth of unhealthy bacteria in their guts. The longstanding idea behind taking probiotics is that they help you populate your gut with the healthy bacteria your body needs to thrive. Over time, the healthy bacteria will outnumber any unhealthy bacteria in your gut, which will lead to better gut health and function over time.

It’s been my personal experience that, in addition to #1 and #2 here, doing things that help you to evolve your consciousness can act a bit like a “natural” probiotic. As your consciousness evolves, it becomes a requirement for the microbes in your body to evolve, too. The level of your consciousness will feed and nourish the same level of bacteria in your gut. A higher vibe will support a higher vibe.

My top tips for how to accomplish this are to:

• Find a probiotic supplement that contains several billion CFUs of different bacterial strains and do your best to take it regularly. Rotate probiotic brands to continuously introduce different varieties of healthy bacteria into your system.
• Experiment with different fermented foods and add them to your daily menu.
• Find ways to reduce stress and increase the peace in your life. This includes addressing long-held trauma and emotions, that when left unaddressed, create pressure in your body that registers as stress.
• Experiment with meditation, ecstatic dance, breathwork, psychedelic therapies and other ways to evolve your consciousness and raise your vibration.

3. Move your body in ways that bring you joy. Exercise gets tossed around as an important part of any healthy routine, but it’s seldom talked about in the context of gut health. When you move your body, it stimulates the peristaltic action of your intestines, which helps to move food along your digestive tract and reduces the time that food is in transit inside of your gut.

The longer the transit time, the more the food in your digestive tract will sit and ferment, which creates a lot of uncomfortable and unwanted symptoms, like gas, bloating, and constipation. Going for walks, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking your car further away from the door – these are all simple ways to move your body more.

But let’s take it up a notch! Movement can feel good if we choose to move in ways that we enjoy. For some, it’s a simple stretching routine, or maybe a gentle yoga class. For others it’s swimming, golfing, spinning, or running. I love to dance, do Pilates, and hike.

My top tips for how to accomplish this are to:

• Find a time of day that you will choose to exercise on most days. Block that time off for yourself and your body.
• Lay your workout clothes out the night before so you can’t talk yourself out of moving your body the day of. Remind yourself WHY you’re choosing to move your body. You will never regret doing it, but you might regret it if you don’t.
• Experiment! Take a Nia class, or a Yin Yoga class. Try a HIIT workout. Explore what feels good to you. It can be super helpful to have different activities to meet your different energy levels so that when you’re tired or don’t feel like moving, you have something you can still do that feels good to you.

Incorporating these 3 daily non-negotiables into your life can greatly enhance your gut health and deepen your connection to your body. The more connected you are to your body, the better you will be able to respond to what your body is asking for.

Prioritize these habits. Your gut health and overall vitality will thank you!