How to Improve Your Gut Health

There are trillions of busy microbes in your digestive tract, helping you break down food and absorb the nutrients you need. Your body relies on these tiny organisms for proper nutrition, smooth digestion, and running an efficient metabolism. So when the population of these “good bugs” is too low, or becomes challenged by invading bad bugs, you feel it. Bloating, constipation, or just a general feeling of unease related to digestion could signal unbalanced gut health.

Surely you’ve heard the buzz about these good bugs, also known as probiotics, because they are a hot topic among health researchers. Scientists are checking out connections between probiotics and nearly every aspect of health. Researchers don’t understand the full picture just yet, but there’s clear evidence that the microbes in your digestive system play a role in multiple aspects of your well-being. Balanced gut health can:

• help your body maximize your nutrient intake.


• support stable and healthy digestion every day.


• help you feel more comfortable while you work, work out, and enjoy life.

Your diet and habits can make a difference in how you feel and function by helping you maintain enough “good bugs.”


Prebiotics: Food for the “Good Bugs”

To maintain a healthy population of probiotics, you have to feed them! Prebiotics ¹ are the microbes that encourage the growth of probiotics. They are derived from certain kinds of fiber in your diet, and can also be ingested as supplements.

A fiber-rich diet helps all aspects of digestion. Insoluble fiber—the kind that doesn’t break down during digestion—works as a natural laxative to help maintain consistent bowel habits. Soluble fiber—the kind that ferments when it gets to your gut—creates prebiotics. Those, in turn, foster the growth of probiotics.

Foods that are good sources of prebiotics include: legumes, bananas, onions, asparagus, sugar beet, garlic, chicory, onion, Jerusalem artichoke, wheat, honey, banana, barley, tomato, rye, soybean, peas, beans, seaweeds, and microalgae.


Probiotics: The Good Bugs

Probiotics² are naturally-occurring bacteria that have direct benefits including healthful digestion, creating vitamins, countering invading bad bacteria, and helping to support the cells that line your gut to prevent bad bacteria from entering your bloodstream.

Fermented foods like yogurt, pickles, kombucha, and kefir contain probiotics. One challenge when introducing probiotic-rich foods is that the levels of probiotic organisms cannot be guaranteed. You can’t be sure of the quantity of probiotic microbes you are ingesting when you eat these foods.


What Ingredients to Look For

Although prebiotic and probiotic ingredients are microscopic, their scientific names are absolutely huge! Even so, it’s important to carefully check the label on any food or supplement intended to support your gut health. Here are some quick tips.

• Prebiotics: Look for fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), and inulin. You may want to consider XOS since that’s starting to pick up.


• Probiotics: Look for Saccharomyces boulardii, various strains of Lactobacillus and various strains of Bifidobacterium, and spore-based probiotics like Bacillus coagulans or Lactobacillus sporogenes.

Top Tips for Adding Prebiotics and Probiotics to Your Routine

Improving your gut health doesn’t happen overnight. Here are some tips to help you succeed as you make this transition in your routine.

• Drink lots of water w​hen adding prebiotics and/or probiotics to your routine.


• Get plenty of exercise, which also revs up your metabolism and keeps regular digestion on track.


• Focus on stress management. The stress response ³ can trigger digestive upset.


• If you have to take a course of antibiotic medication for an illness, ask your doctor about following up with a high-potency probiotic supplement to help reset your gut microbe balance.


• Pay attention to your sleep habits. Healthful sleep ⁴ is also connected to your gut health.


• It may take a little while for your system to adjust. Ginger is known to help settle the stomach (and is an ingredient in GNC’s Probiotic Solutions with Enzymes).


• If you like, you can also mention it being an option in the Routine of someone who travels a lot and has to eat out frequently. Just a suggestion but not a requirement.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.