The village of microorganisms living inside your gut begs you to help them become balanced. Every food you put in your mouth affects them.
Your food choices, such as eating the right foods for gut health, or not, can help the good microorganisms or strengthen the bad ones.
It’s a balance, similar to how many massage clients you see in a day before your work becomes subpar. There is room to overdo it, but your body pays the price afterward. Let’s look at the symptoms of an imbalanced gut and how you can heal your gut with food.
The conditions of an unhealthy gut can range from simple food sensitivities to a chronic diagnosis like Crohn’s disease. Keeping a food journal can shed light on which foods your body doesn’t tolerate well and which contribute to symptoms.
Digestive distress can begin with cramping, bloating or irregular bowel movements, leading to conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is two distinct gastrointestinal disorders: Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. These are more serious and have no cure but can be managed.
The goal is to catch early signs and listen to your body. Find the foods your body is sensitive to and eliminate them from your diet. Remember: The body changes as we age, and what wasn’t a sensitive food in your 20s can become one later in life. This leads to periodic food journaling to stay on top of changes.
Food for Gut Health
Many cultures throughout history have used food as medicine. Herbs, teas and root vegetable remedies have healed digestive ailments for centuries. From easing constipation to soothing an upset stomach, reach for natural foods before over-the-counter aids.
Some indigestion remedies include ginger for an upset stomach, apple cider vinegar, peppermint or chamomile tea, and fennel.
The gut microbiome is an enormous collection of microbial organisms in your body. As we mentioned, this microbiome can be thought of as its own village, made up of good and bad bacteria. You might think getting rid of all the bad bacteria is the goal, but in reality, you want some bad bacteria inside the gut. The microbiome needs a balance of both good and bad bacteria.
The diet over years of eating will often lead to a person’s unhealthy gut. When symptoms begin, the delicate balance inside the gut has shifted—either too many bad bacteria or insufficient good bacteria.
Some ways to naturally kill bad bacteria in the gut include eating colorful foods since they contain polyphenols. Green tea also is polyphenol-rich and should be added to your diet to heal your gut.
Fiber is your Friend
Eat plenty of fiber to heal your gut. It’s common knowledge that fiber is beneficial for digestion. The recommended daily intake is 20-35 grams. Most people eat half of that, making it an excellent place to begin healing your gut.
Eating fiber acts as food for the good bacteria in the gut and promotes their growth. Fiber is found in fruits and vegetables. Fiber-rich bread, tortillas and pasta can be substituted for the white varieties of these foods. Fiber-enriched cereals are a better choice than their sugar-filled counterparts.
Chia seeds can be added to salads, drinks and baked goods to increase fiber. Chia seed pudding is easy to make at home and a fun way to get more fiber in your diet.
Whole wheat, couscous, brown rice and oats are good sources of fiber to add to your diet for a healthy gut.
Pro tip: For a healthy alternative, find packaged foods with more fiber than sugar listed on the nutrition label.
Foods to Eat
Healing your gut includes lowering inflammation within the intestine. This will improve digestion and make bowel movements more regular.
Fiber is the first step to naturally improving digestion, and drinking enough water is the next. After that, though, there are many food changes that will improve your gut health even further. Here are some foods that will make your gut happy:
Fermented foods. Fermentation is a process in which bacteria and yeast break down sugars. Eating fermented foods can boost the number of beneficial bacteria, or probiotics, in your gut.
Try fermented foods like Sauerkraut (fermented cabbage), kefir (cultured dairy product), Tempeh (fermented soybeans), and kombucha, which is a fermented green or black tea. Yogurt, some cheeses and even sourdough bread are good food choices in moderation.
Whole foods. Have plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables around your house. Your body loves these foods, and your digestive system can easily break them down. You will get vitamins, minerals and fiber, all of which help heal your gut. Onions and garlic are two anti-inflammatory superstars that make your gut happy.
Try a variety of whole grains, yogurt, kimchi, pineapple, bone broth and asparagus to branch out your taste buds and heal your gut.
Healthy fats. Eating healthy fats helps protect your intestinal lining to aid in the absorption of nutrients and maintenance of the gut microbiome. You can add healthy fats to your diet with almonds and olive oil.
Foods to Limit
Now that you have a grocery list of foods to grab to help heal your gut, let’s look at which foods to avoid:
Processed foods. Processed foods are anything with a shelf life, meaning they have chemicals and additives. Our body has to work harder to digest processed foods.
High-fat foods. A diet high in fatty foods is harder on your gut because it changes the bacterial ratio and can lead to inflammation.
Sugar. Sugar is addictive. Most of the packaged foods we buy have sugar added to them. Keep an eye on the nutrition labels of your food to see how much sugar it contains.
Alcohol. Alcohol destroys good gut bacteria. Frequent and heavy alcohol consumption can feed bad bacteria, and inflammation occurs when the bad bacteria outnumber the good.
Beyond Food for Gut Health
Other factors affect your gut health, including how much stress the body is experiencing. “The gut is often referred to as the second brain because it has a nervous system with more neurotransmitters than the brain’s central nervous system,” said Tracey Torosian, PhD, a health psychologist who specializes in gastrointestinal health with Henry Ford Health.
Here are some ways to slow down, enjoy your food and let your gut know you have its health in mind:
• Chew your food more
• Get moving
• Manage your stress
• Sleep enough
The large intestine can recover from years of unhealthy eating relatively quickly. Even three days of gut-friendly foods can change your gut microbiome, leaving you feeling better.
About the Author
Angela Lehman is a massage therapist of 25 years turned online educator, promoting fitness and nutrition for massage therapists. She runs The Fit MT. With her kinesiology degree specialized in nutrition, she trains therapists in healthy eating, exercise and body mechanics to prolong their careers.