A graphical image of three intersecting circles, each representing an area affected by gut health with applicable illustrations of that area with text that reads gut health, mental health, metabolic health, immune health.

Gut Health Diet: Nourishing The Gut Microbiome For Better Health

by Dr. Matt Olesiak, M.D.

As the name implies, a gut health diet feeds and nourishes your gut microbiome. But it does more than improve your digestive system. Having a healthy gut is essential to overall physical and mental health.

How a Gut Health Diet Impacts the Gut Microbiome

An image of a small notepad on top of dining plate with fork and knife with text that reads gut health.

The gut microbiome is comprised of trillions of bacteria and other microorganisms. Most of them are located in the large intestine (colon), where they live in symbiosis with the host (you). (1)

These bacteria break down foods, extract nutrients, ferment fibers, produce essential postbiotic metabolites like butyrate, keep the number of harmful bacteria in check, and much more.

The gut microbiome must maintain a diverse balance of good and bad bacteria to function well. Just as you need to eat to survive, your good and bad gut bacteria needs food to survive and thrive.

If you give good bacteria the foods they need, they will grow and prosper within your gut, keeping the harmful bacteria in check. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true -- if you give bad bacteria the food they need, they will grow and become stronger, eventually crowding out the good bacteria.

The latter is called gut dysbiosis, and if not corrected, it can lead to numerous health problems.

The Problem with An Unhealthy Gut Microbiome

A cartoon image of human intestines character with sad eyes.

An imbalanced gut microbiome impacts more than your digestive tract. It affects the health of your brain and body.

How is that possible?

Gut bacteria communicate with the brain via the enteric nervous system (ENS), a mesh-like layer of neurons lining the gastrointestinal tract. Interestingly, more neurons (nerve cells) reside in the gut than in the entire spinal cord. (2).

The ENS communicates with the brain through the vagus nerve that extends from the large intestine to the brain stem. In this way, the gut and brain work together to regulate bodily functions. Indeed, the gut is often called the "second brain."

If the communication between the gut and the brain doesn't go well -- i.e., if dysbiosis occurs -- it can lead to poor digestive health and numerous health problems.

Symptoms of Poor Gut Health

Health conditions associated with poor gut health include:

Chronic gastrointestinal discomfort, i.e., excessive gas, stomach bloating, heartburn, acid reflux
Chronic constipation or diarrhea
Weight gain, obesity
Asthma
Food sensitivities/intolerance
Allergies
Frequent illnesses
Skin problems, i.e., eczema, psoriasis
Leaky gut syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome
Inflammatory bowel disease, i.e., Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis
Immune system dysfunction
Heart disease
Systemic inflammation
High blood pressure
Insulin resistance
Type 2 diabetes
Colon cancer
Depression
Anxiety
Mood swings
Autoimmune diseases
Unexplained weight loss
And more

The Health Benefits of a Gut Health Diet

Eating foods that promote gut health -- and avoiding foods that impair it -- is one of the best things you can do for your health.

Here are the best and the worse foods for gut health.

Best foods for Better Gut Health

Here are some of the best foods for gut health.

High-Fiber Foods / Prebiotic Foods

An image of an assortment of foods high in prebiotics including bananas, strawberries, flaxseeds, oats, onion, garlic, tomatoes, and apples beside a small chalkboard with text that reads prebiotic food.

Eating a high-fiber diet supplies your body with various nutrients, regulates bowel function, and leads to the production of short-chain fatty acids and other essential postbiotic metabolites.

How?

The helpful bacteria in your lower colon ferment the soluble fiber you consume and then excrete postbiotics like butyrate. Experts believe that the health benefits attributed to probiotics come from postbiotics.

Most fiber foods contain both types of fiber -- soluble and insoluble -- so you don't have to worry about finding a highly soluble source. As long as you eat various fiber foods, you should be good to go.

Some great prebiotic food choices include:

Nonstarchy vegetables, i.e., kale, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, artichoke, asparagus
Oats
Beans, lentils
Bananas
Dried peas
Leeks
Onions
Whole grains, i.e., quinoa, brown rice
Wheat bran
Oranges
Blueberries
Strawberries
Nuts
Seeds

Prebiotic Supplements

Fiber-based prebiotic supplements are widely available to help feed the good gut bacteria and support a healthy gut microbiome.

They can be an efficient way to get prebiotic fiber, as it does not rely on you consuming a specific amount of fiber foods each day.

However, it's always best to get fiber by eating a balanced diet, as it provides the nutrients your body needs.

Probiotic Foods

Probiotic foods contain healthy bacteria and other microbes that promote health.

They are created by adding helpful bacteria -- often Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium -- and then subjecting them to a fermentation process. Probiotic foods promote healthy digestion.

Eating these fermented foods can help increase the number and diversity of healthy gut bacteria in your system.

Probiotic-rich foods include:

Kefir (fermented milk)
Sauerkraut (fermented cabbage)
Yogurt
Fermented soy foods, such as miso, natto, and tempeh
Kombucha (fermented tea drink)
Kimchi (fermented vegetables)

Check the labels to make sure they contain active live cultures. Heat-treated (pasteurized) fermented foods will not have live bacterial cultures, making them worthless for gut health.

What About Probiotic Supplements?

Probiotics are also available in supplement form. However, most probiotic supplements don't survive stomach acids and other digestive processes to make it to your lower colon. (3)

There is insufficient evidence that probiotic supplements help balance gut bacteria or improve gut health. In addition, they can be dangerous for some people.

According to a review published in theBiomedicine & Pharmacotherapy journal."

"Some probiotic strains might take advantage of the weak immunity in these vulnerable groups and turn into opportunistic pathogens engendering life-threatening pneumonia, endocarditis, and sepsis. Moreover, the unregulated and rampant use of probiotics potentially carries the risk of plasmid-mediated antibiotic resistance transfer to the gut infectious pathogens." (4)

Synbiotic Foods

An image of a diagram with text that reads probiotic plus prebiotic equals synbiotic.

Synbiotic foods contain probiotics and prebiotics, creating a synergy between them. They also add to the existing gut bacteria colony and feed them!

Sauerkraut is one of the few natural symbiotic foods.

But you can make your own by combining probiotics with prebiotics.

Examples include:

Kefir bowel with a banana
Yogurt with blueberries
Add yogurt to your banana smoothie

Polyphenols

Polyphenols are compounds found naturally in fruits and vegetables. They have long been valued for their antioxidant properties, destroying free radicals and preventing cell damage.

Research shows that they are also crucial for a healthy gut microbiome. In a 2021 editorial published in Frontiers in Nutrition, researchers write:

"Within the gastrointestinal tract, dietary polyphenols have been shown to benefit colorectal tissue integrity and function, gut bacterial growth and activities, and the immune system. Studies have also shown that gut microbes can often convert polyphenols into secondary bioactive metabolites that can influence health." (5)

Cocoa is one of those foods. Several clinical studies found that cocoa consumption enhanced the growth of beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium while reducing the growth of harmful ones. (6)

Foods rich in polyphenols include:

Green tea
Dark chocolate
Strawberries
Blueberries
Cherries
Artichoke
Red onion
Flaxseeds
Vegetables

Worst Foods for Gut Health

There are several foods you should avoid or limit if you want a healthier gut. These foods usually feed bad bacteria and may kill the good kind.

The worst foods for your gut include:

Ultra-processed foods
Genetically modified foods (GMOs)
Industrially-farmed gluten
Fast foods
Foods with added sugar
Red meat
Trans fats
Factory-farmed meat and fish
Convenience foods
Sugary beverages
Fried foods
Artificial sweeteners

What About Postbiotic Foods?

There are no postbiotic foods. Instead, postbiotics are bioactive compounds that probiotic bacteria produce when they ferment fiber in the lower colon.

Thousands of postbiotic compounds have been discovered, each with unique health benefits. These compounds include:

Short-chain fatty acids (butyrate, propionate, acetate)
Glutathione
Antimicrobial peptides
Hydrogen peroxide
Phytoestrogens
Vitamin K
B Vitamins

Although all are crucial to health, the short-chain fatty acid butyrate deserves special mention.

Ivy League Doctors call butyrate the "optimal" postbiotic metabolite, noting that it is more potent and provides more health benefits than the other short-chain fatty acids.

Numerous studies indicate that butyrate:

Defends against gastrointestinal diseases
Supports colon health
Promotes a healthy weight
Prevents gut inflammation
Supports gut barrier
Heals a leaky gut
Combat diabetes
Supports the immune system
And more

The Best Diet for a Healthy Gut

So, the best diet for a healthy gut microbiome is one that includes:

Fiber and prebiotic foods, and perhaps prebiotic supplements
Polyphenol foods, i.e., plant-based foods high in polyphenols
Probiotic foods, i.e., fermented foods that contain live strains of good bacteria
Postbiotic supplements containing butyrate

How to Get More Postbiotics

The only way to get probiotics naturally is to eat a variety of fiber foods. However, eating a high-fiber diet can result in painful and embarrassing gas, bloating, heartburn, and other digestive issues.

How About Postbiotic Supplements?

Postbiotic supplements are available now, and the ones with the most incredible health benefits contain butyrate.

There is a big problem with creating butyrate supplements. Butyrate is destroyed by the digestive process long before it gets to your colon, where it's needed to provide incredible health benefits.

So, working around the clock, researchers developed a breakthrough process that efficiently transports butyrate to the colon fully intact.

Introducing: Viscera-3™ Postbiotic Clinical Research Formulation

Viscera-3™ is a groundbreaking multi-factor postbiotic supplement containing Corebiome Tributyrate™ that allows butyrate to be directly delivered to your lower colon!

It can help improve digestive health, boost immunity, defend against numerous health problems, promote weight loss, and more!

Clickhere to learn more and to place your order TODAY!!!

References

1- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7670/
2- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11097/
3- https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-scientists-coated-probiotics-effectively-human.html
4- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30597307/
5- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8520993/
6- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7400387/