A healthy gut is essential for optimal digestive functions, energy production, nutrient absorption, a balanced immune system, and even mental health.
Choosing the right foods can help improve your gut health by feeding beneficial bacteria, supporting regular bowel movements, protecting the intestinal lining, and encouraging the natural flow of digestive fluids.
Explore some of the best foods for gut health and how they support a resilient digestive tract, and discover beneficial lifestyle habits to promote optimal digestion.
How diet affects gut health
Your diet has a direct and lasting impact on your gut–and by extension, your overall health.
A healthy gut not only breaks down food and absorbs nutrients, but it also houses most of your immune cells and communicates with the brain through the gut-brain axis, influencing hormone balance, appetite, metabolic processes, and mood.
Each meal can either supply the nutrients, fibers, and beneficial compounds that strengthen these functions or introduce low-quality ingredients that can create imbalances and gradually stress gut tissues.
A diet centered on whole, organic, non-genetically modified (GMO) foods rich in nutrients helps maintain a strong and healthy gut lining, supports optimal digestive fluid secretions, encourages a diverse microbiome, and strengthens overall immune defenses.
In contrast, diets high in ultra-processed foods, refined sugars, industrial seed oils, and artificial additives lack nutrient density and can disrupt digestive processes, energy levels, detoxification, and regularity.
Over time, these foods can feed harmful microbes, weaken the intestinal barrier, strain the liver, and reduce populations of beneficial bacteria, potentially affecting digestion, nutrient absorption, metabolic balance, and waste elimination.
Following a Healthy Keto® diet naturally emphasizes the nutrient-dense, low-carb foods that profoundly benefit the body while minimizing exposure to gut-disrupting ingredients.
Watch the video below to discover how to promote a healthy gut microbiome.
5 best foods for gut health
Choosing the right foods can naturally support digestion by delivering nutrients that feed beneficial bacteria, promote balanced hormonal responses, stimulate healthy digestive secretions, and help maintain immune balance.
Here are five of the best foods for gut health.
1. Plant foods
Incorporating a variety of plant foods into your diet, such as garlic, onions, leeks, asparagus, leafy greens, and seeds like chia, mustard, and flax, provides prebiotic fibers and phytonutrients that feed good bacteria and protect the gut environment.
Leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale, and collard greens are rich sources of magnesium, folate, and chlorophyll, a green plant pigment with antioxidant properties that can help protect intestinal cells and support detoxification processes.
Certain seeds also contain mucilages, which are gel-like fibers that nourish the gut lining, support regularity by lubricating stool, and encourage microbial diversity.
A study published in Future Foods found that mucilages from certain seeds, such as flax, chia, okra, and basil, may promote the growth of beneficial bacteria and help to reduce strains associated with microbial imbalance.1
2. Fermented foods
Fermented foods provide live cultures that help replenish gut microbes and support microbial diversity. These include low-sugar dairy options such as plain yogurt or kefir, as well as vegetable-based ferments like sauerkraut and kimchi.
“Fermented vegetables provide a dual benefit as they supply friendly microbes and the fibers those microbes feed on, which helps maintain a balanced gut environment and supports healthy digestion,” explains Dr. Berg.
In addition, raw sauerkraut is an exceptionally rich source of vitamin C, vitamin K2, and glutathione. These nutrients help maintain the integrity of the intestinal lining, support healthy calcium balance in soft tissues, and help defend gut cells from oxidative stress.
3. Grass-fed and pasture-raised animal products
Pasture-raised animals generally contain higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and fat-soluble vitamins than conventional grain-fed options. These nutrients help support the intestinal microbiome and promote steady bile flow needed for optimal fat digestion.
Bone broths made from grass-fed beef or pasture-raised chicken provide collagen, amino acids, and essential minerals that support gut lining integrity. When combined with non-starchy vegetables and herbs, they deliver both hydration and critical nutrients to help maintain a healthy body and a balanced gut environment.
4. Nourishing fats
Choosing foods rich in health-promoting fats helps maintain the gut lining, promote steady bile flow, and support the growth of anti-inflammatory gut bacteria.
Excellent options include extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, grass-fed butter or ghee, coconut oil, and traditional animal fats from pasture-raised sources such as beef tallow.
Fatty fish, including salmon, sardines, and mackerel, are also valuable sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which promote balanced inflammatory responses, support cell membrane integrity, and help reinforce the gut barrier.
5. Apple cider vinegar and low-sugar citrus fruits
Maintaining healthy stomach acid levels is crucial for optimal protein breakdown, mineral absorption, and stimulating the release of bile and digestive enzymes.
Apple cider vinegar, as well as low-carb citrus fruits such as lemons and limes, can help support gastric acidity, thereby supporting efficient digestion and nutrient uptake.
The high concentration of acetic acid in apple cider vinegar also stimulates stomach acid production and digestive enzyme release, while lemons and limes provide citric acid, vitamin C, and antioxidants that support gut health and blood sugar regulation.
For maximum health benefits, use fresh citrus instead of pasteurized juices, and consider blending organic and unwaxed whole lemons or limes, including their peel, for added nutrients.
Taking a simple drink of 16 ounces of water with 1 to 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar, 1 to 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice, and a pinch of mineral-rich sea salt in the morning or with meals can be an excellent way to support gut health.
Other lifestyle factors that support gut health
While a diet rich in high-quality foods lays the foundation of a healthy gut, your daily habits can also play a powerful role in maintaining digestive health and gut microbiota balance.
Here are five lifestyle tips that may help improve gut health.
1. Reduce stress
Ongoing stress shifts the body into the fight-or-flight state, which slows digestive muscle activity and alters the balance of bacteria in the intestines.
Incorporating light physical activities, spending time in nature, or practicing gentle stretching or deep breathing routines can help calm the nervous system and allow it to return to a relaxed state, supporting steady digestion.
2. Prioritize quality sleep
Consistent, restful sleep and regular sleep and wake times are vital for digestion and overall well-being. Lack of sleep can disrupt microbial activity, digestive enzyme concentrations, and gut motility.
Research published in StatPearls notes that sleep is essential for tissue repair, hormone release, and metabolic regulation, and that short sleep duration is linked to reduced leptin, elevated ghrelin, and increased appetite.2
Aim for 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep each night to help support digestion, maintain microbial diversity, and encourage optimal metabolic function.
3. Practice intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting allows the digestive tract to rest between meals, which may support balanced gut bacteria, reduce bloating, and promote a healthy intestinal lining.
By extending the gap between eating periods, fasting allows the digestive tract to reset, restore, and repair, and may also help regulate appetite and improve digestive efficiency.
4. Limit alcohol consumption
Alcohol consumption can contribute to an unhealthy gut environment by promoting inflammation and irritating the intestinal lining, making it more permeable to harmful substances.
Additionally, alcohol is processed exclusively by the liver, and consistent alcohol use can create liver damage and strain the gut’s immune defenses, potentially compromising the digestive system.
Key takeaways
The best foods for gut health provide nutrients that feed beneficial bacteria and nourish the body, support digestive fluids, protect the gut lining, and encourage balanced immune function.
Prebiotic and fermented foods, pasture-raised proteins, healthy fats, and low-sugar citrus fruits each contribute to maintaining microbial diversity and digestive efficiency.
A consistent, nutrient-dense diet and supportive lifestyle habits, including stress management, quality sleep, intermittent fasting, and limiting alcohol, can strengthen digestive functions and support overall well-being.
FAQ
What foods are the best for gut health?
Fermented foods, prebiotic vegetables, leafy greens, pasture-raised proteins, healthy fats, mineral-rich broths, organic produce, and small amounts of apple cider vinegar or low-sugar citrus fruits can help support digestion and microbial balance.
What supports healthy gut bacteria?
A diet that includes nutrient-dense, whole foods, fiber-rich vegetables, regular intake of pre- and probiotic foods, while limiting highly processed foods, helps support and sustain populations of good bacteria in the gut.
What are the worst foods for gut health?
Ultra-processed foods, refined sugars and starches, artificial sweeteners, and processed seed oils can weaken the intestinal barrier, promote inflammation, disrupt gut microbiome diversity, and strain digestive function.
Over time, these foods may contribute to gastrointestinal and metabolic disorders such as leaky gut, insulin resistance, and irritable bowel syndrome.
Are fermented foods good for gut health?
Yes, fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and yogurt contain live cultures that help replenish good bacteria and support a balanced gut environment.
Promoting gut microbiome diversity with fermented foods aids digestion, contributes to the production of beneficial compounds like short-chain fatty acids, and supports the microbial synthesis of certain vitamins, including some B vitamins and vitamin K2.
