Best Foods for a Healthy Gut Microbiota

When you choose foods that are friendly to your body, you’re not only nourishing yourself and every cell in your body—you’re also feeding the nearly 2 kilograms of microorganisms that live in your gut. These microorganisms have beneficial effects on your overall health, from supporting your immune and digestive systems to influencing your bowel movements and even your mental health.

In this article, you’ll find tools to help you restore your microbiota by feeding it with foods that are friendly to you.

What Is Gut Microbiota?‍

Gut microbiota, previously called intestinal flora, is the vast community of microorganisms that live in the intestines and play an irreplaceable role in intestinal health and human life (Yinwei Chen et al., 2021).
It influences both health and disease, as well as your immune system response, mood, metabolism, and hormones (Green M et al., 2020).
It’s present from birth—especially in those born vaginally—and changes throughout life depending on your diet, because it feeds on what you eat.

The Importance of a Healthy Gut Microbiota‍

Because of the sheer number and variety of microorganisms and their many functions, having a healthy and diverse microbiota is extremely important. It’s like having a group of friends with different personalities who all help protect you—your friendly microbiota is key to maintaining the integrity of your gut.

When there’s an imbalance in the number and variety of these microorganisms, it leads to intestinal dysbiosis. This can increase your risk of developing symptoms such as:

• Diarrhea or constipation
• Fatigue
• Mood swings, as the microbiota also produces neurotransmitters and may be linked to depression, anxiety, and even Parkinson’s over time
• Long-term metabolic or immune changes, with a higher risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, or other cardiovascular conditions

Factors That Harm Gut Microbiota‍

Since your microbiota feeds on what you eat, consuming “enemy foods” (those that are hard for you to digest) allows harmful microbes to ferment them, triggering inflammation. These foods include:

• Excess carbohydrates: sugar, brown sugar, artificial sweeteners
• Whole or refined grains, flours, and their derivatives
• Cow’s milk dairy
• Ultra-processed foods: which may contain hard-to-digest ingredients like grains, dairy, sugars, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives
• Indiscriminate use of antibiotics: while sometimes necessary, they can also wipe out beneficial microbes
• Environmental pollution and tobacco: can also disrupt your microbiota
• Stress: since your gut microbiota is connected to your brain via the vagus nerve, psychological stress also affects it

Foods That Improve Gut Microbiota‍

All easily digestible, non-inflammatory foods are ideal for supporting your microbiota. Vegetables, fruits, seeds, and tubers are particularly helpful because of their dietary fiber, which these microorganisms use as a nutrient.

You can replenish your microbiota with plant-based foods rich in fiber and polyphenols, depending on your individual tolerance. These act as prebiotics, feeding your beneficial gut bacteria. Examples include:

• Asparagus
• Beets
• Garlic, onion
• Artichokes
• Bananas
• Olive oil
• Nuts
• Leafy greens: lettuce, spinach
• Cruciferous vegetables: broccoli, kale, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts

You’ve probably also heard of probiotic supplements containing live beneficial bacteria or probiotic foods and fermented vegetables like sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, kefir, or kombucha. However, keep these three key points in mind:

1. Cow’s milk dairy products can still be inflammatory due to casein, a difficult-to-digest protein
2. Fermented foods aren’t always well tolerated by individuals with an already imbalanced microbiota
3. Fermented foods may worsen allergy symptoms in people with histamine intolerance

We invite you to book a personalized online consultation with our team of NutriWhite Ambassadors. In this session, you'll gain the tools to evaluate your gut microbiota and restore it through the 3R Immunonutrition Protocol, which we recommend as a long-term lifestyle.

References:

• Chen Y, Zhou J, Wang L. Role and Mechanism of Gut Microbiota in Human Disease. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2021 Mar 17;11:625913. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.625913. PMID: 33816335; PMCID: PMC8010197.
• Green M, Arora K, Prakash S. Microbial Medicine: Prebiotic and Probiotic Functional Foods to Target Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Apr 21;21(8):2890. doi: 10.3390/ijms21082890. PMID: 32326175; PMCID: PMC7215979.
• Gut microbiota and hypertension: association, mechanisms and treatmentZhihua Yanga #, Qingchun Wangb#, Yangxi Liuc#, Lin Wangc, Zhao Gec, Zhenzhen Lia, Shaoling Fengc, and Chongming Wu
• Green M, Arora K, Prakash S. Microbial Medicine: Prebiotic and Probiotic Functional Foods to Target Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2020; 21(8):2890. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21082890