by Mia Rigden, board-certified nutritionist, classically trained chef
As a nutritionist, I have a food first philosophy. That probably sounds a little obvious, but on a cultural level we're often focused on (and more excited about) quick fixes rather than doing the work of making real dietary and lifestyle changes. When it comes to gut health, there is no lack of pills, tinctures, and powders for a variety of GI issues; from bloat-specific supplements to probiotics, you name it, it's out there. And while many of them are helpful and supportive of gut and overall health, they’re not a replacement for gut-healthy foods and routines.
Before I dive into some tips about eating for gut health, a disclaimer: Gut issues can be individual and specific. If you have SIBO, for example, fermented foods might make you really uncomfortable. Or, perhaps, you have difficulty digesting raw vegetables, a fructan intolerance, yeast overgrowth, or another condition affecting your gut health. This post is general nutrition for gut health. I'm not addressing specific gut issues here, but if you suspect or know that you have a GI disorder, I recommend getting a diagnosis or working with a doctor or nutritionist to understand how to manage it. Many of the below tips may not be applicable to you.
Why is gut health so important?
The gut plays a critical role in your overall health, and is involved in the function of every organ in your body.
- Digestion and absorption: Food passes through your GI tract and is broken down into nutrients that are transported through the bloodstream to different areas of your body. This is essential for life.
- Immune health: 70–80% of your immune system is housed in your gut. Your gut is exposed to the outside world, so it needs to be ready to respond to potentially harmful microbes in food.
- Mental health: Poor gut health is linked to higher rates of anxiety and depression. Around 30 different neurotransmitters and up to 90% of your serotonin (your happy hormone) is made in the gut. There is a direct connection between gut and mental health. People with IBS, for example, are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety or depression.
- Skin health: The appearance of your skin is often a reflection of what's going on in your gut. There is a constant dialogue between your gut and your skin via the gut-skin axis.
- Nutrient synthesis: Some nutrients, like vitamin K and many B vitamins, are both found in food and synthesized by gut bacteria.
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Heart health: Your gut helps regulate blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, inflammation, all of which contribute to heart health.
How to improve your gut health with nutrition and more
When trying to support and improve your gut health, we need to both remove gut aggravators and add in therapeutic foods and lifestyle routines.
Gut Aggravators
These behaviors, foods, and substances are detrimental to gut health.
- Stress
- Inadequate sleep
- Toxin exposure from cleaning products, cosmetics, water, air pollution, food, etc.
- Foods: sugar, alcohol, processed foods, fried foods, etc.
- Smoking
- Lack of physical activity
- Prolonged medication use, including prescription and over-the counter medications (think ibuprofen, antacids, cold medicine, allergy relief, etc.)
From a lifestyle perspective, I cannot stress enough how important it is to manage stress levels, prioritize sleep, exercise regularly, and reduce toxin exposure as much as possible. These actions will all make a huge impact on your gut and overall health and wellbeing.
What foods can you eat to improve gut health?
For optimal gut health, it’s important to consume both probiotic and prebiotic-rich foods. Probiotics contain live microorganisms that can improve gut health and prebiotics are food (typically fiber) for that good bacteria. If you like analogies, probiotics are the soldiers and prebiotics are the armor.
Examples of Probiotic-Rich Foods (eat one of these a day):
- Sauerkraut
- Kimchi
- Pickles (look for unpasteurized fermented pickle in the refrigerator section, like Bubbie's)
- Yogurt (can be dairy or dairy-free, but make sure it's unsweetened, as sugar is not good for the gut)
- Kefir
- Some cheese (I love cottage cheese!)
- Miso
- Tempeh
- Tamari
So, maybe you have yogurt for breakfast, make a salad dressing with miso or literally just grab a forkful of sauerkraut or a pickle sometimes. It's that easy!
You might notice that I didn't include kombucha on this list. I find that most kombucha has too much sugar, but you may be able to find a local brand lower in sugar, or make your own. Sourdough bread, which is also fermented, is cooked at such a high heat it loses its probiotic value.
Examples of Prebiotic-Rich Foods
- Asparagus
- Avocado
- Banana
- Dandelion greens
- Eggplant
- Endive and radicchio
- Garlic, leeks, and onions
- Jicama
- Sunchokes
- Legumes: chickpeas, lentils, black beans, etc.
- Resistant starch: cooled and parboiled rice, cooked and cooled potatoes, cooked and cooled legumes (soaked or sprouted)
While some of these foods are seasonal and a little niche, focus on increasing your vegetable intake to eat for gut health and incorporate prebiotic-rich foods as much as you can (avocado, banana, garlic, onion, and legumes are easy ones!).
To amplify your gut and overall health, I recommend consuming 20 different vegetables a week. It's not as hard as you think; garlic, onion, ginger, fresh herbs, different lettuces, etc., all count!
Bonus: Bone broth is incredibly therapeutic for gut health. Now that we're entering a cooler season, consider sipping on some broth or using it to cook grains, make rice, or even add seasoning to vegetables (you can freeze bone broth in ice cube trays).
Okay, so here's your homework:
- Focus on sleep
- Manage stress
- Exercise regularly
- Reduce toxin exposure
- Limit gut aggravating foods
- Eat one fermented food a day
- Eat 20 different vegetables each week
- Extra credit: Drink bone broth
While many supplements directly focus on gut health, others indirectly support gut health by supporting sleep, stress response, and detoxification processes. Think Lypo-Spheric® Magnesium for sleep and stress response support*, or antioxidants like Lypo-Spheric® Vitamin C, Glutathione, and Alpha Lipoic Acid to support your body’s natural detoxification processes*.
Mia Rigden is a Los Angeles-based board certified nutritionist, trained chef, and the author of The Well Journal (2020) and Foodwise (2023), a comprehensive, encouraging guide to healthy eating with 100 original, nutritionally-balanced and flavor-enriching recipes. Learn more about working with Mia on her website, check out an online course, and follow on Instagram @mia_rigden for science-backed, practical nutrition advice.
