When we think about health, we often go straight to immune health, heart health, bone health, or brain health—but how many people stop to think about how healthy their gut is?
While we may not be able to feel how healthy our gut is, it’s working overtime behind the scenes to keep everything running smoothly. Yep, you read that right—keep everything running smoothly.The gut may be primarily responsible for digestion, but it’s also involved in energy metabolism, skin health, mental health, hormone balance, immune function, and even detoxification. So, if the gut isn’t healthy and balanced, it’s safe to say other systems will be thrown off-kilter.And if you’ve been experiencing weird symptoms you can’t get to the root of, it may be due to your gut. But how do we turn gut feelings into health solutions?
Although the gut may not be able to give you the answer, it’s essential to understand what’s going on there and what it affects to figure out the best ways to keep it healthy.
In this article, we’re diving into all things gut health. We’ll talk about what the gut is and why it’s important, the basics of dysbiosis and signs that your gut is imbalanced, and what you can do to restore and maintain good gut function.
Plus, we'll also give you the best prebiotic supplement for healthy digestion, better immune health, clear and focused thinking, and a balance of good bacteria in your gut.
In a hurry and aren't sure what the best gut health supplement is? Fear not! (Hint: it's Performance Lab Prebiotic!)
What Is Gut Health?
Do you want to pull your hair out because you’re so stressed? Are you constantly dealing with gas and bloating after eating?
Do you instantly get sick whenever someone sneezes? Are you having difficulty maintaining focus at work?If you’re struggling with symptom after symptom and can’t figure out why, then it could be linked to your gut.
Signs and symptoms of poor gut health are often hard to recognize, as they often mimic the symptoms of other issues.
But because the gut is intricately connected to almost every other system, an imbalanced gut manifests as everything from increased illness t0 poor athletic recovery.Aside from digestion, what is gut health?Most people think about the gut as the stomach—where food goes to be digested and absorbed. But the “gut” encompasses the entire gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus.
However, when we talk about gut health, we’re referring primarily to the stomach and the intestines.Trillions of live microorganisms—bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses—reside in the gastrointestinal tract and are collectively referred to as the gut microbiome.
These bacteria in your gut, both good and bad, have the potential to impact our physiology, both in health and disease 1. They are an essential part of metabolic function, immune defenses, cognition, and they contribute both directly or indirectly to most of our physiologic processes.There is immense crosstalk that serves to maintain host-microbial homeostasis. Still, many other factors contribute to this balance—diet, age, stress, and disease can all increase or decrease the abundance and diversity of certain bacterial strains 2.
When there is a persistent imbalance in the microbiome that favors harmful bacteria, we call it dysbiosis, and it’s been linked to several conditions, some of which include:
- inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)
- irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- diabetes
- obesity
- cancer
- cardiovascular disease
- nervous system dysfunction.
Why Does Gut Health Matter?
You’ve heard that a healthy gut is important, but why should you care? A healthy gut is more than just good digestion. It has massive cross-talk with the rest of the body and is even referred to as your second brain (it houses the enteric nervous system).
While research is still uncovering more and more about the gut and human health, several studies have found links between the health of the gut and the following 3:
- Immune health
- Digestive health
- Mood
- Cognitive function and mental health
- Autoimmune diseases
- Endocrine diseases
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Cancer
- Gastrointestinal issues
So, while maintaining a healthy gut is about digestion, it’s also about so much more.
The gut bacteria have a symbiotic relationship with the host—they supply nutrients, synthesize vitamin D, improve digestive health, support immune health, and provide energy for the host, while the host provides a protective and nutrient-rich environment for them to thrive 4, 5.
However, gut bacteria can become harmful when the gut ecosystem undergoes abnormal changes.
Dysbiosis of the gut can lead to a slew of conditions, including allergy, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), obesity, diabetes, and even cancer, which means that the composition of each individual's gut is indicative of their disease risk.But what is a “healthy gut microbiome”?It’s characterized by the ecosystem's diversity, stability and resistance, and resilience. When the ideal microbial balance is shifted in favor of harmful bacterial strains, dysbiosis is the result, and it will persist until the balance is re-established.
And once you reach a state of dysbiosis, getting out of it proves more complicated than it seems.With that said, the main point here is that microbial balance is essential for disease prevention. When bad bacteria proliferate and outnumber the beneficial species, your body becomes a breeding ground for disease—and it doesn’t just stay inside the digestive tract.
Signs And Symptoms Of An Unhealthy Gut
So, what should you look for when your gut isn’t healthy and you may need to take a probiotic or prebiotic supplement? Some of the most common signs and symptoms of dysbiosis include:
- Gas and bloating
- Bad breath
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Mucus in the stool
- Abdominal pain
- Brain fog
- Fatigue
- Skin symptoms (rashes, acne, dry skin)
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Joint pain
- Food allergies
- Yeast infections/urinary tract infections
The symptoms of dysbiosis are usually general and don’t scream “gut imbalance,” so if you’re experiencing one or more of these symptoms chronically, looking into the health of your gut is recommended.And keep in mind that an unhealthy gut doesn’t just develop out of the blue. In most cases, contributing factors play into gut health, leading to imbalances when these factors pile up.
Some factors that may contribute to or exacerbate dysbiosis include:
- Antibiotic use
- Unhealthy diet
- Lack of fiber
- High in sugar
- High in refined/processed grains
- Alcohol consumption
- Underlying medical condition
- Chronic stress
- Nutrient depletions
The Link Between Fiber and Gut Health
While many factors contribute to gut issues, a lack of fiber is big. Dietary fiber is a massive piece of gut health, as it serves as food for the beneficial bacteria and helps keep things moving along your digestive tract.Whether soluble or insoluble, fiber is essential for optimal bowel health. Just as you need food to survive, so do the microbes in your gut. And while we all know we need fiber, most of us don’t get enough.Before we get into the two main types of gut supplements, let’s take a look at why we need fiber for gut health.
Feeds the good bacteria in the gut
A diet high in sugar is one of the worst things you can do for gut health. Not only does it imbalance blood sugar, but it also feeds the harmful bacteria in the gut.
If you want the beneficial gut bugs to thrive and proliferate, you need to give them the right stuff—and that’s called prebiotic fiber. Prebiotics are specific microbiota-shaping compounds that provide a source of carbon for the growth of the beneficial microbes in the gut 6.
In simple terms, prebiotic fiber nourishes a specific probiotic strain of bacteria already present in the gut, especially bifidobacteria and lactobacilli.
Supports the production of beneficial compounds
When good gut bacteria have what they need to thrive, they confer several benefits to the host, including the production of beneficial compounds called short-chain fatty acids.
SCFAs are linked to several health benefits, including better immunity, heart health, less inflammation, weight loss, better glucose regulation, and more 7.
Some research suggests that short-chain fatty acids can signal your gut to shift its environment to favor the growth of healthy bacteria 8.
Related Post: Gut Health and Weight Loss: How Your Gut Bacteria Can Influence Your Weight
Protects the integrity of the gut lining
The lining of the GI tract acts like a gatekeeper to keep the good bacteria in and the harmful bacteria out.
And because your gut microbiota is involved in maintaining the integrity of the intestinal lining, they need fuel to do so. Prebiotic bacteria nourish these bacteria and stimulate mucous production to strengthen the gut’s protective barrier9.It’s clear that dietary fiber is essential for gut health, but what kind do you need?The main difference between soluble and insoluble fiber is its solubility. Soluble fiber dissolves in water to create a gel that benefits blood glucose, cholesterol, and weight.
Insoluble fiber attracts water to the colon, making the stool softer and easier to pass. It offers health benefits for bowel function and regularity but also supports insulin sensitivity.Of the fiber supplements, we prefer a specific type of soluble fiber: prebiotic fiber.
What You Need To Know About Prebiotics And Probiotics
Prebiotics and probiotics may sound similar, but they’re not.Probiotics are the beneficial bacteria that reside in the gut, while prebiotic fiber is the food that feeds the healthy bacteria—you need both. Probiotic supplements introduce new probiotic strains of bacteria to the gut and exert their effect on the digestive tract, influencing microbiota populations that colonize the area.
They can also exert their effects species-specifically or non-specifically, but the mechanisms vary between bacterial strains. Because they possess a wide range of mechanisms and actions, the beneficial effects are wide-reaching.Prebiotics, however, has a different function—they’re not bacteria but rather a specific type of fiber.Prebiotics target specific probiotic strains of bacteria to improve health. They are a type of fiber that fuels the gut's beneficial bacteria.
In simple terms, prebiotics are nonviable substrates that act as metabolic fuel for beneficial microorganisms inside the host.That said, prebiotics aren't the same as other fiber sources like pectins, cellulose, and xylans, which encourage the growth of live microorganisms and are broadly metabolized 10.
Prebiotics elicit a health-promoting bias towards specific microorganisms, especially Bifidobacterium species.Simply put, probiotics help repopulate the gut with beneficial bacteria that may be missing or imbalanced. At the same time, prebiotics are the food that feeds these bacteria and allows them to exert beneficial effects.Generally, prebiotics are specific complex carbohydrates humans cannot digest; we don’t contain the enzymes required to metabolize the fiber.
Instead, it’s metabolized by microbes to generate short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like acetate, propionate, and butyrate 11. These SCFAs contribute their own health benefits to your body.
4 Ways To Support Good Gut Health
A healthy gut translates directly into a more robust immune system, better mood, more efficient and effective digestion, and a healthy mind and heart—but how do we achieve good gut health?
While it may seem simple—cut out the crappy foods from your diet—it involves more than just dietary changes. To achieve and maintain a healthy gut, we need to pay attention to both diet and lifestyle choices.
De-stress
Stress takes a significant toll on nearly every system in the body, but chronic stress is one of the quickest ways to kill gut bacteria.
Stress can weaken the intestinal barrier and alter the microbiome's composition via stress hormones, inflammation, and autonomic alterations.
In turn, the gut bacteria produce metabolites, toxins, and neurohormones that can affect eating behaviors and trigger mood imbalances, creating a vicious cycle 12.It's unrealistic to say avoid stress altogether, but de-stressing is about learning how to effectively manage stress when it arises. For many people, food is stress-relief—but don’t let it be. Instead, try things like:
- Meditation and mindfulness
- Nature walks
- Exercise
- Deep breathing
- Sauna
- Reading
- Progressive muscle relaxation
- A hot bath
There are several ways to help flip the sympathetic nervous system switch OFF and turn the parasympathetic nervous system switch ON—you just have to find what works for you.
Clean up your diet
Diet is one of the most significant contributors to microbial imbalances in the gut, and what passes your lips can make or break your gut health by reshaping gut microbiota populations.
Simply put, your diet can quickly transform a healthy gut into a diseased one. If you look at the standard Western diet (SAD), you’ll see a few things—it's high in:
- Refined carbohydrates
- Sugar
- Processed meats
- Unhealthy fats
All four of these food groups are not conducive to supporting a healthy microbiome—they feed harmful bacteria 13.
If you want to energize the beneficial microbes and help them thrive, you need to feed them; their food isn’t found in any of those.
Instead, you want to focus on lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, and fermented foods.
Boost your fiber intake
As we discussed, consuming sufficient dietary fiber is crucial for healthy bowel function, but it’s also essential for gut health.
Humans don’t have the enzymes to digest fiber, so it passes through the GI tract untouched, helping to regulate bowel function and feed the gut microbes.
On top of that, the gut microbes produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that regulate host metabolism. They elicit beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity, weight regulation, inflammation, and lipid metabolism.
But SCFAs are also an important energy source for intestinal epithelial cells, specifically those in the colon, and contribute to strengthening the gut barrier 14.
A stronger and healthier gut barrier inhibits microbes from penetrating the gut and entering the bloodstream, thereby mitigating the potential for immune responses and autoimmunity.
Simply put, a healthy gut supports digestive and immune health.Fiber is found in various foods ranging from fruits and vegetables to nuts, beans and legumes, and grains. Pick your poison and load up on it!
Try A Probiotic Supplement
While food should be the primary avenue for improving the health of the gut, dietary supplements can also go a long way to helping re-establish and maintain balance.
As we talked about before, your body requires both prebiotics and probiotics, and supplements are designed to support a healthy microbiome. The probiotics supply the bacteria to re-establish balance, while the prebiotics feeds the beneficial bacteria and allow them to proliferate.
One without the other isn’t going to cut. But if you’re not one to remember to take your supplements, why not combine them into one easy and convenient capsule?
Performance Lab Prebiotic is the ultimate 2-in-1 prebiotic and soluble fiber supplement featuring Orafti® Synergy1 (Inulin-FOS from chicory root), designed to nourish your gut bacteria and support optimal health and well-being - and it's the only prebiotic supplement you'll need.
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- Carlson JL, Erickson JM, Lloyd BB, Slavin JL. Health Effects and Sources of Prebiotic Dietary Fiber. Curr Dev Nutr. 2018;2(3):nzy005.
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- Byndloss MX, Olsan EE, Rivera-Chávez F, et al. Microbiota-activated PPAR-γ signaling inhibits dysbiotic Enterobacteriaceae expansion. Science. 2017;357(6351):570-575.
- Desai MS, Seekatz AM, Koropatkin NM, et al. A Dietary Fiber-Deprived Gut Microbiota Degrades the Colonic Mucus Barrier and Enhances Pathogen Susceptibility. Cell. 2016;167(5):1339-1353.e21.
- Gibson GR, Hutkins R, Sanders ME, et al. Expert consensus document: The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) consensus statement on the definition and scope of prebiotics. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017;14(8):491-502.
- Holscher HD. Dietary fiber and prebiotics and the gastrointestinal microbiota. Gut Microbes. 2017;8(2):172-184.
- Ilchmann-Diounou H, Menard S. Psychological Stress, Intestinal Barrier Dysfunctions, and Autoimmune Disorders: An Overview. Front Immunol. 2020;11:1823.
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- Silva YP, Bernardi A, Frozza RL. The Role of Short-Chain Fatty Acids From Gut Microbiota in Gut-Brain Communication. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2020;11:25.
