Best Gut Health Supplement: Our Top Pick for 2024

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!)

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 disorders

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.

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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.

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.

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.  

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.