If you’re trying to get to the bottom of why you’re not feeling that great even with plenty of sleep and a good dose of exercise, you might want to look to your gut.
Maybe you’ve tried a variety of different diets and fads that promise to back up your immune system and boost energy levels to no avail, and you’re wondering what’s next.
Your gut health directly influences how you feel from day to day, and you can feel the benefits of protecting and nourishing it with the proper diet.
The foods that you eat impact the makeup of your microbiome, or the bacteria in your gut, and maintaining a healthy balance of both good and bad bacteria is essential for proper functioning. In order to do this, there are foods that you should be staying away from and foods you should be increasing your intake of. Luckily, with a proper diet, you can create a very healthy environment for your gut microbiome to thrive in.
What About a Healthy Gut?
Having a healthy gut can influence the way a person might feel daily.
For those that struggle with digestion and inflammation issues, it’s understood that when your gut health is off, the rest of your body is as well. People that struggle with gut health might have Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcerative colitis, or diverticulitis, and finding foods that appease the gut microbiota and lessen the pain is a way for them to find treatment.
Improving your overall diet and eating some of the foods listed below can promote a healthier gut and lessen any symptoms you might have.
Even without a GI condition, gut health is still massively impactful in how you feel in your day to day. From the gut-brain connection to the influence of gut microbes on your ability to absorb nutrients, it’s important to do what you can to keep everything running as best as it can.
In order to help restore the balance in your gut, you should be consuming plenty of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotic foods in your daily intake, and staying away from processed foods and artificial ingredients like artificial sweeteners as much as you can.
The Best Foods for Gut Health
When it comes to your gut, you want to make sure that you are considering that you are not only feeding yourself, but also the good bacteria that exist in your gut and along your digestive tract.
Probiotics are the good bacteria that naturally occur in your body, but also can be consumed through a variety of foods like fermented food. These little guys are there to help you, but in order to do so they need to have fuel provided to them in the form of prebiotics. When these two work together, they help to create a balance in your gut that promotes proper functioning throughout your body.
Prebiotic Foods
Prebiotics are found in many foods that you probably consume daily anyways, making it easy to include more of them in your diet. Prebiotics are carbs like fiber that can’t be broken down by anything other than a probiotic, making them essential nutrition for the probiotics. There are plenty of foods that make it easy to get your recommended daily intake!
Onions
Onions are rich in the prebiotics inulin and fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which both help to strengthen both gut and immune health. These prebiotics also help to lower cholesterol and ease constipation, which make onions a great source of good fiber. Onions are also very versatile and can be added to a variety of dishes, including salads, soups, and sandwiches. Leeks, a cousin of the onion, are also a great option!
Raspberries
A serving of raspberries is going to give you a decent amount of fiber (8 whole grams of fiber) as well as half the recommended daily intake of vitamin C. Raspberries also contain antioxidants called polyphenols which are eagerly consumed by the bacteria in the gut. You can easily snack away on a cup of raspberries, or you can include them in your yogurts and desserts!
Garlic
For those of you garlic lovers (and let’s be real, who doesn’t love garlic?), now is a time to celebrate! Not only is it a great ingredient to use in many different dishes, but garlic is also a food that is rich in prebiotics and can help you obtain a healthier gut. Add a bit extra the next time you are cooking and you will boost the amount of inulin and FOS that you consume. Of course, eating it raw would have more benefits to it, but cooking it is a great option for those of us who don’t quite consider raw garlic a yummy anytime snack.
Beans, Lentils, and Legumes
There is a wide variety of legumes out there, so you are bound to find some dishes that you like that also include them. Preparing them is rather easy, and finding dishes to include them in is even easier. Beans, lentils, and other legumes will stay intact until they reach the large intestine, where the gut microbiota then feed off of them. Beans provide both dietary fiber and complex carbohydrates that are needed by the bacteria in your gut to properly function. While green peas aren’t technically part of the beans and lentil family because they’re nutritionally more similar to starchy vegetables, they do still provide a great source of fiber!
Jerusalem Artichokes
Also known as sunchokes, a Jerusalem artichoke is one of the best sources of prebiotics when it comes to food. Sunchokes have 47 grams of fructans in one serving, which is 8 times more than the amount that regular artichokes have. Most of the carbs that come from this source are called inulin, which your bacteria loves to snack on. By eating the Jerusalem artichoke more often, you can increase the overall amount of healthy bacteria in your body.
Probiotic Foods
Prebiotics feed the probiotics in your body, otherwise known as the living microorganisms that help to maintain a balance in your gut. These probiotics are naturally occurring in your body, but there are foods that you can consume to add more into the mix, which better supports your gut health and bacterial balance. At most, if you are consuming way too many probiotics (more than 10-20 billion CFUs per day), you might be a little gassy or feel bloated.
Probiotic foods have become more popularly promoted around the grocery store as more people realize their beneficial effect on gut health. Because probiotics are live cultures of bacteria that often have gone through the fermentation process, you need to make sure you’re getting the most “raw” version of the food to gain the probiotic benefit — for example, canned, processed, pasteurized sauerkraut doesn’t offer the gut benefits as freshly made sauerkraut, which needs to be refrigerated to keep.
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is fermented, thinly sliced (and often salted) cabbage that you often see as a topping for hot dogs or sausages, or as a side to your schnitzel. It is sour because of the fermentation process that it goes through. Not only does sauerkraut contain probiotics, but it also contains vitamins C, K, and B, which all add an additional boost to your immune system.
Kombucha
If you are into the idea of getting your probiotics through liquid and enjoy tea, kombucha might be for you! Kombucha is fermented black or green tea, which gives you an easy way to stock up on probiotics throughout the day without needing to cook! The taste is a little strong for some people, who relate it to a vinegary, bitter flavor, but some people love it, so it’s definitely worth a try at least once, even with all the different flavors and brands now available.
Kefir
Another probiotic-packed liquid you can find is kefir. Kefir is a fermented milk drink and it can also be made plant-based. Kefir grains are cultures of lactic acid bacteria and yeast that are added to milk to make the drink. You can add kefir to your smoothies instead of milk or find different flavored versions of it to drink by itself.
Tempeh
Not only is tempeh a plant-based protein that is enjoyed by many, but it also is rich with probiotics. Tempeh is fermented soybeans that have been packed together and provide the consumer with loads of nutrients that promote gut health and serve as a meat substitute for many.
Yogurt
One of the most common and easiest ways to consume probiotics is through yogurt! You get yogurt when you add good bacteria to milk and lactic acid is formed. Yogurt comes in so many different flavors, and there is now the ability to get vegan yogurt as well that still contains probiotics! Just make sure to double check the nutrient facts to make sure your yogurt isn’t packed with sugar and artificial flavors or sweeteners.
The Worst Foods for Gut Health
Foods that you should stay away from when it comes to your gut health are typically not whole foods and are not created naturally. The composition of these items can negatively impact your gut health, and cutting them out from your diet, or at least decreasing your intake of them, can greatly benefit your gut microbiome.
1. Artificial sweeteners
Certain artificial sweeteners like saccharin and sucralose pass through the body without providing any nutritional value, yet when they come into contact with the microflora in the gut, they have a negative impact. You can often find them in granola bars, protein bars, and even some yogurts, so it’s important to read the labels of foods before you buy them.
These sweeteners shift the populations of gut microbiomes and can cause imbalances if you are overconsuming them without eating probiotics regularly. Understanding what ingredients have certain effects on your gut health can help to improve it, so keep an eye on those nutrient fact labels!
2. Red meat
For those of you who consume red meat, you might want to reconsider just how much you are eating. Red meat has been found to not only disrupt good bacteria, and a compound found in red meat called carnitine interacts with the gut bacteria to create trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO). TMAO has been associated with the build up of plaque in arteries, and too much of it can cause cardiovascular problems. Consider choosing white meats or try more plant-based sources of protein!
Eat For Your Gut with Thistle!
If you need help choosing more whole foods and healthy options to support your gut but aren’t sure where to start, consider signing up with Thistle. We offer a rotating menu with nourishing meals and snacks from breakfast to dinner so that you can stay fueled and focused for the entire day.
We care about nutrition. Our products are plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free, so that you have the option to try out the plant-based lifestyle without going into it completely blind.
If you want to improve your gut health, you should consider eating the foods we outlined above — it’s no coincidence that many of these ingredients can be found on our menu!
Sources:
Bean Nutrition Overview | The Bean Institute
Trimethylamine-N-Oxide (Tmao)-Induced Atherosclerosis Is Associated With Bile Acid Metabolism | NCBI
If you’re trying to get to the bottom of why you’re not feeling that great even with plenty of sleep and a good dose of exercise, you might want to look to your gut.
Maybe you’ve tried a variety of different diets and fads that promise to back up your immune system and boost energy levels to no avail, and you’re wondering what’s next.
Your gut health directly influences how you feel from day to day, and you can feel the benefits of protecting and nourishing it with the proper diet.
The foods that you eat impact the makeup of your microbiome, or the bacteria in your gut, and maintaining a healthy balance of both good and bad bacteria is essential for proper functioning. In order to do this, there are foods that you should be staying away from and foods you should be increasing your intake of. Luckily, with a proper diet, you can create a very healthy environment for your gut microbiome to thrive in.
What About a Healthy Gut?
Having a healthy gut can influence the way a person might feel daily.
For those that struggle with digestion and inflammation issues, it’s understood that when your gut health is off, the rest of your body is as well. People that struggle with gut health might have Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcerative colitis, or diverticulitis, and finding foods that appease the gut microbiota and lessen the pain is a way for them to find treatment.
Improving your overall diet and eating some of the foods listed below can promote a healthier gut and lessen any symptoms you might have.
Even without a GI condition, gut health is still massively impactful in how you feel in your day to day. From the gut-brain connection to the influence of gut microbes on your ability to absorb nutrients, it’s important to do what you can to keep everything running as best as it can.
In order to help restore the balance in your gut, you should be consuming plenty of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotic foods in your daily intake, and staying away from processed foods and artificial ingredients like artificial sweeteners as much as you can.
The Best Foods for Gut Health
When it comes to your gut, you want to make sure that you are considering that you are not only feeding yourself, but also the good bacteria that exist in your gut and along your digestive tract.
Probiotics are the good bacteria that naturally occur in your body, but also can be consumed through a variety of foods like fermented food. These little guys are there to help you, but in order to do so they need to have fuel provided to them in the form of prebiotics. When these two work together, they help to create a balance in your gut that promotes proper functioning throughout your body.
Prebiotic Foods
Prebiotics are found in many foods that you probably consume daily anyways, making it easy to include more of them in your diet. Prebiotics are carbs like fiber that can’t be broken down by anything other than a probiotic, making them essential nutrition for the probiotics. There are plenty of foods that make it easy to get your recommended daily intake!
Onions
Onions are rich in the prebiotics inulin and fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which both help to strengthen both gut and immune health. These prebiotics also help to lower cholesterol and ease constipation, which make onions a great source of good fiber. Onions are also very versatile and can be added to a variety of dishes, including salads, soups, and sandwiches. Leeks, a cousin of the onion, are also a great option!
Raspberries
A serving of raspberries is going to give you a decent amount of fiber (8 whole grams of fiber) as well as half the recommended daily intake of vitamin C. Raspberries also contain antioxidants called polyphenols which are eagerly consumed by the bacteria in the gut. You can easily snack away on a cup of raspberries, or you can include them in your yogurts and desserts!
Garlic
For those of you garlic lovers (and let’s be real, who doesn’t love garlic?), now is a time to celebrate! Not only is it a great ingredient to use in many different dishes, but garlic is also a food that is rich in prebiotics and can help you obtain a healthier gut. Add a bit extra the next time you are cooking and you will boost the amount of inulin and FOS that you consume. Of course, eating it raw would have more benefits to it, but cooking it is a great option for those of us who don’t quite consider raw garlic a yummy anytime snack.
Beans, Lentils, and Legumes
There is a wide variety of legumes out there, so you are bound to find some dishes that you like that also include them. Preparing them is rather easy, and finding dishes to include them in is even easier. Beans, lentils, and other legumes will stay intact until they reach the large intestine, where the gut microbiota then feed off of them. Beans provide both dietary fiber and complex carbohydrates that are needed by the bacteria in your gut to properly function. While green peas aren’t technically part of the beans and lentil family because they’re nutritionally more similar to starchy vegetables, they do still provide a great source of fiber!
Jerusalem Artichokes
Also known as sunchokes, a Jerusalem artichoke is one of the best sources of prebiotics when it comes to food. Sunchokes have 47 grams of fructans in one serving, which is 8 times more than the amount that regular artichokes have. Most of the carbs that come from this source are called inulin, which your bacteria loves to snack on. By eating the Jerusalem artichoke more often, you can increase the overall amount of healthy bacteria in your body.
Probiotic Foods
Prebiotics feed the probiotics in your body, otherwise known as the living microorganisms that help to maintain a balance in your gut. These probiotics are naturally occurring in your body, but there are foods that you can consume to add more into the mix, which better supports your gut health and bacterial balance. At most, if you are consuming way too many probiotics (more than 10-20 billion CFUs per day), you might be a little gassy or feel bloated.
Probiotic foods have become more popularly promoted around the grocery store as more people realize their beneficial effect on gut health. Because probiotics are live cultures of bacteria that often have gone through the fermentation process, you need to make sure you’re getting the most “raw” version of the food to gain the probiotic benefit — for example, canned, processed, pasteurized sauerkraut doesn’t offer the gut benefits as freshly made sauerkraut, which needs to be refrigerated to keep.
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is fermented, thinly sliced (and often salted) cabbage that you often see as a topping for hot dogs or sausages, or as a side to your schnitzel. It is sour because of the fermentation process that it goes through. Not only does sauerkraut contain probiotics, but it also contains vitamins C, K, and B, which all add an additional boost to your immune system.
Kombucha
If you are into the idea of getting your probiotics through liquid and enjoy tea, kombucha might be for you! Kombucha is fermented black or green tea, which gives you an easy way to stock up on probiotics throughout the day without needing to cook! The taste is a little strong for some people, who relate it to a vinegary, bitter flavor, but some people love it, so it’s definitely worth a try at least once, even with all the different flavors and brands now available.
Kefir
Another probiotic-packed liquid you can find is kefir. Kefir is a fermented milk drink and it can also be made plant-based. Kefir grains are cultures of lactic acid bacteria and yeast that are added to milk to make the drink. You can add kefir to your smoothies instead of milk or find different flavored versions of it to drink by itself.
Tempeh
Not only is tempeh a plant-based protein that is enjoyed by many, but it also is rich with probiotics. Tempeh is fermented soybeans that have been packed together and provide the consumer with loads of nutrients that promote gut health and serve as a meat substitute for many.
Yogurt
One of the most common and easiest ways to consume probiotics is through yogurt! You get yogurt when you add good bacteria to milk and lactic acid is formed. Yogurt comes in so many different flavors, and there is now the ability to get vegan yogurt as well that still contains probiotics! Just make sure to double check the nutrient facts to make sure your yogurt isn’t packed with sugar and artificial flavors or sweeteners.
The Worst Foods for Gut Health
Foods that you should stay away from when it comes to your gut health are typically not whole foods and are not created naturally. The composition of these items can negatively impact your gut health, and cutting them out from your diet, or at least decreasing your intake of them, can greatly benefit your gut microbiome.
1. Artificial sweeteners
Certain artificial sweeteners like saccharin and sucralose pass through the body without providing any nutritional value, yet when they come into contact with the microflora in the gut, they have a negative impact. You can often find them in granola bars, protein bars, and even some yogurts, so it’s important to read the labels of foods before you buy them.
These sweeteners shift the populations of gut microbiomes and can cause imbalances if you are overconsuming them without eating probiotics regularly. Understanding what ingredients have certain effects on your gut health can help to improve it, so keep an eye on those nutrient fact labels!
2. Red meat
For those of you who consume red meat, you might want to reconsider just how much you are eating. Red meat has been found to not only disrupt good bacteria, and a compound found in red meat called carnitine interacts with the gut bacteria to create trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO). TMAO has been associated with the build up of plaque in arteries, and too much of it can cause cardiovascular problems. Consider choosing white meats or try more plant-based sources of protein!
Eat For Your Gut with Thistle!
If you need help choosing more whole foods and healthy options to support your gut but aren’t sure where to start, consider signing up with Thistle. We offer a rotating menu with nourishing meals and snacks from breakfast to dinner so that you can stay fueled and focused for the entire day.
We care about nutrition. Our products are plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free, so that you have the option to try out the plant-based lifestyle without going into it completely blind.
If you want to improve your gut health, you should consider eating the foods we outlined above — it’s no coincidence that many of these ingredients can be found on our menu!
Sources:
Bean Nutrition Overview | The Bean Institute
Trimethylamine-N-Oxide (Tmao)-Induced Atherosclerosis Is Associated With Bile Acid Metabolism | NCBI
