Three Must-Have Ingredients to Support Gut Health

You are what you eat. This common phrase is so true, but not in the way you might think.

More accurately, the phrase should be: You are what your microbiome eats. The trillions of bacteria and yeast in the gastrointestinal tract are fueled by what you eat, which can impact health beyond digestion (including your immune system, brain and cognitive function, and hormones).

Dr. Will Cole says: Instead of focusing on foods and nutrients you should avoid for a healthy gut, refocus on the ones you can and should be eating.

1. Resistant Starch

Resistant starch is a tool I recommend for patients who need a little extra help with gut health. This type of starch can resist the digestive process and act as food for good gut bacteria. It can also help support overall wellness by improving metabolic health by stabilizing blood sugar levels.

Resistant starch is found in legumes, potatoes, green bananas, cooked rice, and oats. It’s found in potato starch and hi-maize-resistant starch powders, which easily blend into smoothies and other recipes to make adding resistant starch even more convenient.

2. Fatty Acids

Certain foods like olive oil, flax seeds, and almonds have high polyphenol and fatty acid content that help facilitate the growth of good bacteria in your microbiome. Flax seeds and almonds are also good sources of fiber (fiber helps support regularity and added gut/intestinal comfort). Try getting in more olive oil by drizzling it over a finished meal or use in homemade salad dressings as an added nutrient boost.

3. Herbs

Herbs like ginger and turmeric are powerful free-radical scavengers.* Turmeric is actually part of the ginger family. Ginger has more recently been shown to support digestive health and helps to temporarily relieve mild nausea and upset stomach.*  In addition to supplementing with ginger, try eating dried ginger slices or sipping on this ginger mint comfort tea.