Gut heath important part of healthy lifestyle

If you’re looking to get healthy this summer, you may want to start by improving your gut health.

Gut health can impact your immune system, risk for chronic conditions and your ability to manage weight.

"Gut health is really important. I think people for many years didn’t really pay attention to it, but now we’re seeing the gut as perhaps the second brain," said Kristin Kirkpatrick, RD, registered dietitian for Cleveland Clinic. "It’s so important because the studies that we have in the past 10 years really do indicate that our gut health plays a huge role in our overall health."

Here are some easy ways to improve your gut health:

• Rotate the types of fruits and vegetables you’re eating.
• It’s also important to get enough fiber.
• Consider more probiotic-rich foods or taking a probiotic supplement.

Improving your gut health isn’t something that takes years. You may start to see some benefits in just a couple of weeks.