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 and the promise of supplements 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.
Don't get me wrong, I take a daily probiotic along with a slew of other supplements (more on that in another newsletter), but today's email is about food and lifestyle solutions. These should always be your first thought. Supplements, as beneficial as they can be, are not a replacement for healthy diet and lifestyle practices.
Before I dive in to some gut-boosting tips, a disclaimer. Gut issues can be very 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 email is highly generalized - 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 your 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. Here are a few facts:
Digestion and absorption: Food passes through your GI tract and is broken down into nutrients that are transported through the blood stream to different areas of your body. This is essential for life.
Immune health: 70% of your immune system is in your gut.
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 (this is your happy hormone) is made in the gut. There is a direct connection between gut and mental health. People with IBS, for example, are 2x 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.
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.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:Here are a list of behaviors, foods, and substances that 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, tums, cold medicine, allergy relief, etc.)
From a lifestyle perspective, I cannot stress enough how important it is to manage your stress levels, prioritize your sleep, exercise regularly, and reduce your 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 your gut health? Okay, gosh, I really need to work on brevity, but this is a loaded topic. Now, finally, we're at the good part:food.
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 the the good bacteria. If you like analogies, probiotics are the soldiers and prebiotics give the soldiers the support they need.
Examples of Probiotic-Rich Foods (eat one of these a day)
Sauerkraut
Kimchi
Pickles (I like Bubbie's pickles best!)
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
I literally just grab a forkful of sauerkraut or a pickle sometimes. It's truly that easy!
You might notice that I didn't include kombucha. I find that most kombucha has too much sugar. Sourdough bread, which is also fermented is cooked at such a high heat it loses it 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 improve your gut health and incorporate prebiotic-rich foods as much as you can (avocado, banana, garlic, onion, and legumes are easy ones!).
To really 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 isincrediblytherapeutic 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 in ice cube trays).
Okay, so here's your homework:
Focus on your sleep
Manage stress
Exercise regularly
Reduce your toxin exposure
Limit gut aggravating foods
Eat 1 fermented food a day
Eat 20 different vegetables each week
Extra credit: Drink bone broth
If this seems like a lot, I get it, but I can say with near 100% certainty that if you focus on these things you will see unbelievable improvements in your health and general wellbeing (including your physical and emotional health).
And if you're looking for some recipe inspo, this veggie noodle stir fry has both probiotic and prebiotic-rich foods, along with 8 of the 20 vegetables you need for the week. It tastes good too, I promise.
xx Mia
I just filled out my Well Journal. So happy to see you here Mia❤️