How to Fix a Leaky Gut and Improve Gut Health
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Over the past several years, we’ve learned more about the role of gut health in maintaining one’s overall health and wellness. In addition to digestive health, your gut plays a key role in brain function, mood regulation, blood sugar control, stress management, immune health and more.
In fact, in many functional medicine circles, the term “leaky gut syndrome” is used to describe digestive dysfunction that affects several other aspects of your health. If you’re experiencing persistent gut health issues, you may be wondering if there are any natural ways to find relief and support a healthy and balanced digestive tract. In this article, we’ll review supplements, diet changes and other lifestyle factors that may help improve gut health and promote gut healing.
What is a Leaky Gut?
Leaky gut syndrome is an unofficial name for a condition known as intestinal permeability or gut barrier dysfunction. This happens when your gut lining has been damaged to a point that the contents of your digestive tract are able to leak out into the bloodstream.
Leaky gut occurs typically after several years of gut inflammation, and once it happens can cause even more inflammation as partially digested foods, potentially harmful types of bacteria and digestive secretions leak out into the body cavity. According to a 2021 review in Frontiers of Immunology, leaky gut is also linked to autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Likewise, intestinal permeability has been linked to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)—a condition that affects up to 45 million people in the US.
Reversing intestinal permeability requires a two-pronged approach that addresses both healing the damaged gut lining and preventing future damage to the gut lining.
How to Improve Gut Health Naturally
Improving your gut health naturally can be accomplished with changes to your diet and supplement routine, along with some other targeted lifestyle changes—such as reducing stress levels, getting enough sleep and exercising regularly.
What Should I Take Daily for Gut Health?
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Certain supplements may be helpful for a healthy gut. Here are some that have the most robust evidence to support their use:
- Probiotics: Probiotics are supplements that contain up to trillions of live, beneficial gut bacteria. These bacteria can help to restore balance in the gut microbiome, reduce inflammation and promote digestive health and overall wellness. Here are our recommendations for the best probiotic supplements.
- Fiber: Fiber is an indigestible component of plant foods. Fiber may help to regulate digestion, and it also serves as a prebiotic, or a food source for good bacteria in the gut. When bacteria digest prebiotic fibers, they produce short-chain fatty acids, which are responsible for many of the benefits of a healthy gut microbiome. These are the prebiotic supplements and fiber supplements we recommend.
- Glutamine: Glutamine is an amino acid that may promote digestive health. It can positively influence microbial populations by preventing the overgrowth or spread of harmful bacteria. Glutamine supplements can also help increase the production of specialized immune cells in the digestive tract, strengthening the immune system.
- Vitamin D: Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to gut dysbiosis, impaired gut function and a weakened gut lining. If you are vitamin D deficient, supplementation with vitamin D may help support gut health.
Related Post: Prebiotic vs. Probiotic
It’s a good idea to consult a healthcare provider and seek testing prior to investing in dietary supplements. They can be expensive, and testing can help you determine which supplements would be the most beneficial for you.
What Foods Repair Gut Health?
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Diet changes are often a necessary part of restoring gut health. For a gut health-friendly diet, it’s first important to identify foods that you may be intolerant of. These foods can irritate the gastrointestinal lining and cause damage over time.
Food intolerances may differ from person to person, but some of the most common culprits include wheat, milk and eggs. These trigger foods can be identified using elimination diets, or through pursuing testing with a healthcare provider.
It’s important to build your diet around high-quality, nutrient-rich, minimally processed whole foods that support gut health. These may include:
- Protein: High-quality, ethically raised meats such as grass-fed beef and wild-caught fish, may offer additional nutrients and anti-inflammatory benefits over conventionally farmed meats.
- Fat: Healthy, minimally processed fats—such as olive oil, avocado oil and coconut oil—can help boost nutrient absorption in the gut.
- Carbohydrates: Minimally processed whole grains, legumes (like lentils and beans), rice and potatoes contain fiber, which can help regulate digestion and act as a prebiotic food source for the beneficial bacteria in the gut.
- Fruits and vegetables: Fruits and veggies provide nutrients, fiber and antioxidants, which may help to reduce gut inflammation. Try to include a variety of colors in your diet, such as artichokes, blueberries and beets.
- Herbs and spices: Herbs and spices provide several different nutrients and antioxidant compounds that may support gut health. You can include a huge variety of these for the flavor they add to meals and their potential health benefits.
- Fermented foods: Fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, kefir, miso and tempeh contain live probiotics that may help to support microbial balance in the gut.
Related Post: The Best Probiotic Foods for A Healthier Gut
It’s also important to eat a balance of protein, fat and fiber. Protein and amino acids are necessary for healing and building new tissues, and the body requires fat to synthesize new hormones. Carbohydrate-laden foods like grains, legumes, potatoes and fruit—as well as non-starchy vegetables like greens provide fiber, which can help regulate digestion and serve as a food source for beneficial bacteria in the large intestine.
Finally, it will be important to remove other foods that are known to irritate the gut or damage the gut microbiota. These include:
- Ultra-processed foods: Highly processed foods like fast food, frozen food and boxed snacks may trigger gut inflammation, which can affect digestive health, immune health and brain function.
- Refined sugars: Refined sugars may affect the balance of microbes in your large intestine, allowing for “bad” bacteria to crowd out the more beneficial strains.
- Zero-calorie sweeteners: Artificial sweeteners may damage bacteria in the gut microbiome that help with blood sugar regulation. Additionally, sugar alcohols like xylitol can cause severe digestive side effects if you eat too much.
- Alcohol: Excessive alcohol intake can damage the gut lining and cause inflammation, leading to intestinal permeability.
Other Considerations for Gut Healing
In addition to diet, there are some other lifestyle factors that may affect gut health. These include stress management, sleep and physical activity.
Managing stress
Chronic stress can be very detrimental for overall health and wellbeing, and research shows that mental health, stress levels and gut health are intertwined.
The vagus nerve is a key nerve responsible for regulating the body’s autonomic nervous system responses: sympathetic or “fight or flight,” and parasympathetic or “rest and digest.” The same nerve enervates the digestive tract. Being in a parasympathetic state allows your body to—as the nickname suggests—“rest and digest.”
However, chronic stress can keep your body in a near-constant state of “fight or flight,” which can inhibit your body’s ability to heal the gut. Research has shown that stress can directly influence the gut microbiome, too.
Improving your sleep
Getting enough sleep is another important factor for healing and recovery. Researchers have found that sleep deprivation is associated with gut dysbiosis, or an imbalance of good and bad bacteria in the gut microbiome. Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep each night, according to the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
Adding more movement
Finally, exercise may also influence the digestive system. Researchers have found that cardio exercise may help to promote the proliferation of Firmcutes bacteria. They theorize that this family of beneficial bacteria may be one factor in the beneficial role of exercise for overall health.
How Do I Know My Gut is Healing?
Feeling better in general is an overall sign that your gut is healing. You may have fewer digestive symptoms, like gas, bloating, nausea, indigestion, constipation or diarrhea. Your skin may also be clearer if you’ve been dealing with persistent acne, dry skin, eczema or skin rashes. Additionally, you may be dealing with less brain fog, or notice that your mood has improved.
If your healthcare provider has ordered lab testing for you, you may notice improvements in certain lab values as well—especially those that could be influenced by your microbiome—like inflammatory markers, hunger hormones and cortisol (the “stress hormone”).
Finally, because there is so much interplay between the human gut microbiome, inflammation and certain chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, you may notice improvements in these conditions—like lower cholesterol levels or fasting blood glucose levels.
Gut Health FAQs
Does fasting reset your gut?
Fasting may be helpful for gut health in some cases, but the concept of “resetting your gut” isn’t quite as straightforward as it sounds. The logic behind the idea is that fasting allows your gut to rest, and there is some evidence that fasting may improve microbial diversity in the gut.
However, this is only half of the story. If you return to the same diet or lifestyle habits that contributed to your gut damage in the first place after fasting, any benefits you get from a fast won’t last very long. Instead, you need to also address the root cause of the gut damage.
Is coffee bad for probiotics?
Regular coffee consumption may affect your gut microbiome, but it doesn’t appear to be harmful.
In fact, one trial in the International Journal of Food Microbiology found that coffee consumption appeared to increase populations of beneficial Bifidobacterium species.
Another study in Nutrients found that a high self-reported coffee intake was associated with positive changes to the gut microbiome, too.
Researchers theorize that this may be related to the presence of powerful polyphenols (plant chemicals) in coffee.
How often should I detox my gut?
You actually don’t have to “detox” your gut. In fact, your gut itself is one of the body’s major detoxification organs—disposing of toxins, undigested matter and waste through bowel movements.
If you choose to fast, it does offer some health benefits and may offer some symptom relief—allowing your gut time to heal. However, the best “detox” for your gut is to be consistent with diet and lifestyle habits that promote good gut health.
Can you reverse gut damage?
Yes, it’s possible to heal the gut after it’s been damaged. Some important parts of this process of healing your gut damage may include:
- Supplements that can help reduce inflammation and restore a healthy microbial balance, like probiotics
- Avoiding foods that you’re intolerant of, which may be harming your gut lining—such as wheat, milk or legumes
- Avoiding foods that are known to be inflammatory or damaging to gut health, such as ultra-processed foods, added sugar, artificial sweeteners and alcohol
Additionally, it’s extremely important to consult a trusted healthcare provider, like a gastroenterologist, a functional medicine doctor or a registered dietitian who specializes in gut health.
Is apple cider vinegar good for gut health?
Apple cider vinegar may offer some benefits for gut health. Many people report that it helps alleviate or prevent heartburn and other digestive symptoms. However, there’s very little research to support this use for apple cider vinegar.
Additionally, because apple cider vinegar is extremely acidic, consuming too much could harm the digestive tract and it's better to take apple cider vinegar in pill form. One case report noted someone damaged their esophagus after using apple cider vinegar products in excess.
