Inside: You’ve heard that gut health is important–but how do you get a good gut? Here are 7 things you can do to improve your children’s gut health (and your own!).
Love a good makeover? Me too.
Consider these next seven moves a makeover for your microbiome, the trillions of microbes (including bacteria and viruses) that live there.
Why is that important? Because the health of your gut (aka your GI tract, including the stomach and intestines) has a huge impact on overall health, affecting everything from your risk for certain diseases and how strong your immune system is to your body weight and mental wellbeing.
Good kinds of microbes in your gut help your body digest your food, make vitamins, absorb nutrients like calcium, and crowd out harmful microbes that can make you sick. The goal is to have a healthy balance between the two, with the healthy outnumbering the unhealthy.
Luckily, that’s partly in our control. Though the gut microbiome forms at birth and is affected by genetics, it’s constantly changing–and there are a lot of things we can do to change ours for the better.
7 Ways to Be Good to Your Gut
1. Add Plants To Everything
We know eating plants is good for us. But eating a greater variety of plants is super-good for us because it leads to a bigger variety of bacteria in your gut, says research.
Why that’s good: A more diverse gut microbiome has been shown to reduce the risk for issues like obesity, diabetes, and IBD (inflammatory bowel disease).
Ready to geek out? Researchers say that eating at least 30 different plant foods per week led to the best results. When they looked at stool samples from more than 1500 adults, they found that the number of different kinds of plant foods eaten had an even bigger impact than whether the person was vegan!
Makes sense, since different plant foods have different kinds of nutrients and natural plant compounds, which help a variety of good bacteria flourish in the gut.
Maybe 30 seems like a big number. But loads of foods count as plants, including fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, seeds, and even herbs and spices.
I’m generally not a fan of tracking when it comes to nutrition, since it can cause an unhealthy fixation for some people (like me!). But this tracking can be kind of fun: Stick a post-it on the fridge or a cabinet and make a tick mark for every different kind of plant food your family eats this week and see where you come out. You could even make a game of it, trying to top your total number each week.
Here are 15 ideas for adding more plants:
- Slice strawberries onto cereal and add frozen blueberries to oatmeal
- Make a smoothie for a mid-morning snack
- Place a bowl of fruit like oranges and apples on the counter so you can easily grab them
- Serve a plate of sliced fruit after dinner
- Buy a bag of pre-washed spinach each week and toss it into things like smoothies, soups, pastas, and salads
- Assemble a veggie tray each Friday with the leftover odds and ends from your produce drawer and add a dip
- Roast a baking sheet of veggies on Sundays to reheat during the week
- Add some canned beans to soup and chili
- Use hummus as a spread instead of mayo
- Top salads with chickpeas
- Munch on lightly salted edamame for a protein-rich snack
- Make a batch of stovetop popcorn as a snack
- Toss walnuts into a bowl of boxed breakfast cereal
- Sprinkle your salad with pumpkin or sunflower seeds
- Top stir-fries and rice bowls with chopped peanuts and green onions
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2. Put More Focus On Fiber
Fiber has a bunch of health benefits like helping to prevent constipation (1 in 20 visits to the doctor among kids is due to constipation!). It also keeps us full so we’re satisfied at meals and snacks. A high-fiber diet can help lower cholesterol levels and the risk for developing diabetes.
But fiber is also food for the gut. While the body can’t digest fiber, the healthy bacteria in your gut can. And that helps the good bacteria thrive.
Unfortunately, adults get about half the fiber per day that they should, and kids are falling short too.
Some ways to eat more:
- Try to serve fruits and/or vegetables at every meal and snack (or close to it). Some that are particularly rich in fiber include raspberries, pears, carrots, and broccoli.
- Work in at least one bean-based meal every week.
- Eat oatmeal for breakfast. No matter what kind you buy (old-fashioned, quick, or steel-cut), they’re all rich in fiber.
- Choose whole grain versions of bread and pasta when you can. If your family doesn’t like the stronger flavor and denser texture, go halfsies by combining half whole-grain pasta with half white and half whole-grain cereal with regular. For sandwiches, use one slice white bread and one slice of whole wheat. Cut into a grid, flip over every other piece, and call it a “checkerboard sandwich.”
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3. Balance Out Processed Foods
Packaged foods are a fact of life. I use plenty of them to get meals on the table, too.
The issue is more with ultra-processed foods, the kind that are more heavily processed and contain more additives, fat, sugar, and sodium (think cookies, frozen pizza, and chicken nuggets).
The research is still evolving, but there’s evidence that ultra-processed foods impact the gut microbiome, tilting it in favor of unhealthy bacteria.
Unfortunately, ultra-processed foods make up as much as two-thirds of children’s diets.
You don’t have to swear off anything in a package (as if!). But here’s a good first step I try to do: When you serve something that’s more processed for a meal or snack, ask yourself how you can add whole foods to it. For example:
- Serve fruit and a big tossed salad with frozen pizza.
- Add peas and chicken to boxed mac-n-cheese.
- Slice strawberries and bananas on top of boxed cereal
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4. Include Some Fermented Foods
Foods that are fermented are naturally preserved by bacteria, and that helps beneficial bacteria flourish in the gut–which leaves less room for unhealthy microbes.
They may not all be foods you typically stock, with the exception of yogurt, but they’re definitely ones to consider having more often.
Fermented foods include:
- Yogurt: Choose a kind that says “live and active cultures” on the label. Even if you have lactose intolerance, you may be able to handle yogurt, since the lactose is partly broken down by bacteria.
- Sauerkraut: Look for kinds that contain just cabbage and salt (and sometimes other flavoring).
- Kefir: This is a tangy, fermented milk drink that’s typically stocked with the other dairy products. You can drink it straight-up or use it in smoothies.
- Miso: It’s a paste made from soybeans that you can stir into soup, salad dressing, and sauces.
- Tempeh: This is made from soybeans and similar to tofu. Slice and bake it like tofu to serve in rice bowls.
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5. Feed The Healthy Bugs
Probiotic foods can help increase the population of good bacteria in the gut. Prebiotic foods actually work like “food” or “fertilizer” for good bacteria, helping them grow and flourish in the gut.
Here are some examples of prebiotic foods:
- Onions and garlic: Whether you eat them raw or cooked, they help feed the healthy bacteria in your gut.
- Bananas: Very ripe bananas are sweeter, but less ripe bananas will have more prebiotic power.
- Sweet potatoes: They work as a prebiotic and are a great source of fiber.
- Apples: These contain pectin, a starch that acts as a prebiotic. (Bonus: They’re one of the most filling fruits, so they’re good at satisfying hunger.)
- Chicory root: This is an ingredient made from plants that you’ll see on food labels, and it’s often added to foods marketed as healthy or low-carb to add fiber. (Note: Some people can be sensitive to chicory root–learn more here.)
When you eat probiotics and prebiotics together, you create what’s called a “synbiotic”–like yogurt and bananas or garlic and miso in a dressing.
What about “gut-friendly” soda?
Gut health is one of the biggest trends in food and drinks, and sodas that claim to promote good gut health are trendy right now.
They usually contain fruit juice, carbonated water, and sugar or sweeteners like stevia. They may be billed as “probiotic sodas”, which mean they help healthy bacteria to grow in the gut, or “prebiotic sodas” which contain a type of fiber that feeds that healthy bacteria and creates a healthy gut microbiome.
One good thing about these is that they are typically lower in sugar than regular soda. A can might have just a few grams of added sugar, while a can of regular Coke has almost 40 grams.
Just keep a few things in mind:
- If you have gas or abdominal pain after drinking them, you may be sensitive to the prebiotic fibers (usually inulin) in prebiotic sodas.
- All carbonated drinks, even unsweetened sparkling water, can be hard on tooth enamel if you drink them frequently.
- They tend to be pricier than regular soda.
Obviously the best way to get probiotics and prebiotics is from food, since you get a bunch of other nutrients too. But if you want to drink soda anyway, these sodas aren’t a bad choice.
6. Find Ways To Ease Stress
We can’t avoid stress. It’s everywhere. And some stress, like anticipating something exciting, is good!
The problem is that stress levels also affect the gut.
Stress hormones and responses like inflammation can lead to an imbalance of “good” and “bad” bacteria, called gut dysbiosis. Poor gut health has been linked to a higher risk for conditions like IBD and SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). Stress can also decrease the diversity of gut bacteria, which is one sign of an unhealthy gut.
And obviously, chronic stress is even worse because it has a sustained impact on our gut health.
I know all too well that managing stress is easier said than done. For me (and my teen), physical activity is a natural stress-reliever. Other things that even small kids can learn: Deep breathing, visualization, and positive self-talk.
7. Be Picky About Antibiotics
Yes, sometimes antibiotics are necessary to fight infections caused by bacteria. They literally save lives! Yet there’s no doubt they’re also overused.
The problem with antibiotics where the gut is concerned: When antibiotics wipe out harmful bacteria, they take healthy bacteria with it. That messes up the makeup of the microbiome. If you’ve ever had diarrhea during a course of antibiotics, you’ve seen firsthand how that can affect your digestive system.
A good rule to remember: While antibiotics help relieve bacteria-related infections (like strep throat), they don’t treat viral infections, like basic colds and flu.
And when you and your kids do need antibiotics, include plenty of gut-nourishing foods like yogurt.
Should You Take a Probiotic SUPPLEMENT?
Maybe. There are many different brands and strains of bacteria, and some are more well studied than others. As of now, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium seem to be the most-studied kinds. But there are sub-species and strains of those that are studied for different benefits, like supporting digestion, immunity, and even vaginal health.
Generally, probiotic supplements are considered safe for most healthy people. The most common side effect of probiotic supplements is short-term gas and bloating.
But it’s always smart to ask your doctor to dietitian. Probiotics may not be advised for some kids and babies, people with weak immune systems, or those with certain conditions or taking certain medications.
If you decide to try a probiotic supplement, here are some tips for choosing and using one from the American Gastroenterological Society:
- Look on the label for the bacteria group, species, and strain as well as how many of the microorganisms will be be alive by the use-by date (bacteria are only helpful if they’re alive).
- Stick to well-established companies, such as Culturelle, which tend to do more research on their product.
- Read the label for how to store it–some need to be refrigerated–and use by the expiration date.
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