Good gut health is linked to weight loss, immunity, energy, cognition, and other crucial processes.
If you don’t have good gut health, then your body struggles to absorb nutrients from the foods you eat.
Poor gut health could also lead to greater intestinal permeability and leaky gut.
Fortunately, some supplements are proven to support gut health, support the intestinal lining, and help with issues like bloating and indigestion.
Keep reading to discover the best supplements for gut health.
Probiotics
Probiotic supplements contain living bacteria colonies called colony forming units (CFUs). These CFUs encourage the growth and balance of bacteria within your gut. A healthy gut microbiome is crucial for gut health. Without a healthy balance of probiotic bacteria, your body struggles to break down the foods you eat, extract their nutritional value, and maintain intestinal permeability, among other issues.
Probiotics are some of the most-studied gut health supplements available today. According to the National Institutes of Health, probiotic supplements help your body maintain a healthy community of microorganisms, influence your body’s immune response, and produce substances with desirable effects, among other benefits.
Look for probiotics with multiple strains of bacteria and high levels of CFUs. To be considered a probiotic yogurt, yogurt must contain a minimum of 1 billion CFUs of probiotic bacteria, so your probiotic supplement should contain a similar number of CFUs.
Fiber
95% of Americans don’t get their daily recommended intake of fiber. That’s unfortunate, because fiber is linked with everything from healthy blood pressure to better digestive health.
Fiber bulks up in your digestive tract, helping you push waste out of your body.
You can find plenty of “detox supplements” advertised online today with dramatic claims. However, many of these supplements simply contain high levels of fiber. That’s their secret.
As the Mayo Clinic explains, a high-fiber diet is linked to:
- Normalized bowel movements
- Maintenance of bowel health
- Lower cholesterol levels
- Better control of blood sugar levels
- Weight loss
- Longevity
The average man needs 38g of fiber per day (age 50 or younger) or 30g of fiber per day (age 51 or older).
The average woman needs 25g of fiber per day (age 50 or younger) or 21 grams of fiber per day (age 51 or older).
Psyllium supplements are affordable, easy to find, and plentiful, and you can easily take a psyllium supplement to get your daily recommended intake of fiber.
Ginger
Used for centuries to help with stomach issues, ginger is popular in traditional Korean and Chinese medicine.
Today, studies show ginger is rich with natural ingredients with adaptogenic and antioxidant properties, which could make it valuable for gut health.
You can buy ginger supplements in powders, capsules, or tablets. Some people with digestive issues take ginger daily to help with nausea and vomiting. Others take it to soothe stomach aches.
Glutamine
Your body produces glutamine naturally, but many take glutamine supplements for added benefits. Today, a growing number of gut support supplements contain glutamine for that reason.
Studies show L-glutamine can help relieve diarrhea, especially if that diarrhea is linked to infections, stress, or a recent surgery.
One study connected L-glutamine supplementation specifically to gut microbiota. Researchers gave an L-glutamine supplement to a group of obese adults, then observed a significant improvement in gut bacteria levels.
Other studies suggest L-glutamine can help with nutrient absorption. If you have poor gut bacteria levels or are taking drugs that impair nutrient absorption, for example, then L-glutamine could support your body’s ability to absorb more nutrients.
Collagen Peptides
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body. Your body needs collagen protein for countless effects all over the body. That’s why many people take collagen peptide supplements daily.
Prized for their anti-aging effects, recovery benefits, and more, collagen peptide formulas can also help support gut health.
In one 2012 study, researchers found collagen peptide formulas had anti-inflammatory properties within the gut. Another study connected collagen peptides to leaky gut, finding collagen peptide supplementation helped prevent further breakdown of the intestinal lining.
Licorice
Many are surprised to see licorice on a list of the best supplements for gut health. It’s true: certain types of licorice have been linked to gut health.
Using licorice for gut health isn’t new: it’s been used for centuries in traditional medicine to support gut health.
Today, you can take a deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) supplement to give your body 75 bioactive compounds to support gut health in various ways.
One study linked licorice to lower inflammation and better mucus production in the gut. Another study found licorice works better when you remove glycyrrhizin (GL) because it has adverse effects in humans, although the other 75 bioactive compounds in licorice support health in other ways.
Take a Blood Test to Spot and Address Deficiencies
Nutritional deficiencies may be silently sapping your energy every day – and many don’t know it.
You may have nutritional deficiencies because of a poor diet. Or, you may have nutritional deficiencies because of poor gut health – even if you eat right, your gut may struggle to absorb nutrients.
Take a Science Nutrition Lab blood test to get the answers you need for your gut health.