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Poor gut health has been traced to cancer, brain disease and cardiovascular disease but a good diet can go a long way to offsetting health issues.
A healthy microbiome – meaning the trillions of bacteria living in the intestine – fights risk factors for these illnesses, experts say.
“Once the gut is healthy, it’s easier to maintain a normal weight, for example. There are less psychiatric disorders. Your mood would be better if your gut is healthier. Less heart disease, just about anything,” Dr. Ronnie Porat Jankelson, a gastroenterologist at New York’s Maimonides Medical Center, said.
A diet packed with fiber, vitamin- and mineral-rich foods is what doctors recommend.
And you don’t need to spend your life savings to get what your gut needs.
Fans of fermentation
Eating fermented foods like yogurt, sauerkraut and kimchi provides probiotics that benefit the gut, Harvard Health researchers say. The friendly microorganisms block harmful pathogens.
These products can be fairly cheap, too – a jar of sauerkraut or kimchi is around $4.
If you don’t like the sour taste of the cabbage-based foods, a sweetened probiotic milk beverage, like Yakult or Calpico can provide a major probiotic boost. A pack of five 2.7-oz bottles is under $5 and contains more probiotics than regular yogurt.
Though not all yogurt has probiotics, you can get gut-healthy Icelandic Skyr yogurt or kefir drinks for just over $2 for a single serving.
Varied vegetables
A diet rich in vegetables, fruits and nuts fosters good gut bacteria at a low cost.
Fiber in these foods feeds gut bacteria. Nutritionists recommend 25-30 grams of fiber every day as part of a healthy diet.
Beans are a superior choice – Navy beans and black beans have 20 and 15 grams of fiber, respectively, with 15oz cans under $2.
Peas, Brussels sprouts and broccoli are also high in fiber. A 12-oz bag of frozen peas is as cheap as 99 cents, frozen broccoli is under $2 and Brussels sprouts sell for less than $4.
Each of these products has just shy of 20g of fiber in the whole bag.
Fruit is also high in fiber and raspberries in particular. An 8oz container of the berries has 16 grams of fiber for around $4.
Pantry perfection
Some pantry staples are great for the gut due to their antioxidants: the vitamins, minerals and compounds that slow cell damage and feed good bacteria.
Green tea has vitamin C which boosts the immune system, and vitamin B which provides energy.
Black tea is rich in polyphenols – plant chemicals that are a major group of antioxidants.
Coffee lovers can see similar benefits because the beans contain polyphenols. It doesn’t matter if you’re drinking decaf, either.
“Polyphenols are found in both caffeinated and decaf beans, but the roast matters because heat degrades these micronutrients,” Gabrielle Judd, a dietitian at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, said in a statement.
Darker roasts have less polyphenols than lighter roasts.
Lastly, chocolate – specifically dark chocolate – is a sweet way to ensure you get antioxidants. It also has plant chemicals called flavanols, another group of antioxidants linked to a lower risk of heart disease, according to U.C. Davis Health.
Hydration game
Drinking enough water plays a vital role in digestive health but the volume varies depending on a person’s height, body mass and activity levels.
Water breaks down food and helps the body absorb nutrients. And the best part? It’s free.
Exercise is another easy way to support your gut health. Being physically active helps the body expel unwanted waste and bacteria and speeds up the metabolism. The latter process both regulates digestion and gut bacteria species.
Working out helps sleep disorders that disrupt gut health, raising the risk of inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer by causing inflammation and a microbiome imbalance.
Going for a jog or walk, practicing yoga or riding a bike are some of the best free exercise for gut health, with benefits often felt in just 10 minutes, medical experts say.
Getting 7-9 hours of sleep a night is critical for adults, according to federal sleep standards. “When you sleep, your body, including the gut, repairs itself, breaks down waste and builds up your immune system,” Dr. Christina Lee, a gastroenterologist at the Cleveland Clinic, said in a statement.
