Healthy Eating for Gut Health: Foods and Everyday Habits

What you eat can strongly influence your gut microbes and gut health, but there’s no one best diet for gut health.  According to Healthdirect, what you eat can strongly influence your gut microbes and gut health, but there’s no one best diet for gut health. Healthdirect suggests that dietary fibre helps good bacteria grow, so including plenty of high-fibre foods is one way to improve your gut health.

This article offers a practical look at what gut health means, which foods the guidance points to, how fibre and prebiotics fit in, and when it's time to talk to your doctor.

What Does Gut Health Mean?

Your gut is home to a community of tiny living microbes. Healthdirect and the Better Health Channel explain that your gut is full of them, and that these bacteria, other micro-organisms and their products make up what’s called the gut microbiome. 

When people talk about a gut health diet, they're usually talking about the microbiome. There's no ideal bacterial profile to aim for, and no test you need to take.

How Does Food Relate to Gut Health?

What you eat strongly influences your gut microbes. Foods that are high in fibre help good bacteria grow, and the examples Healthdirect gives are:

• vegetables;
• fruit;
• beans and legumes;
• whole grains.

That's a reassuringly ordinary list! No special, exotic or expensive foods there! Most of us already know them well and eat them regularly. No special foods repair or 'heal' the gut. Instead, you can build good gut health by making good choices every day.

Food Groups to Include

The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend eating a wide variety of nutritious foods from five food groups every day, and those groups align neatly with Healthdirect's high-fibre list.

Vegetables and Fruit

Fresh produce features highly on Healthdirect's high-fibre list, and the Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend plenty of vegetables and fruits, including different types and colours in rotation. Fresh is great, and frozen or canned options are a practical way to keep a variety of fruit and vegetables on hand.

Wholegrains

Whole grains are on Healthdirect's list too, which recommends mostly wholegrain or high-cereal-fibre varieties, such as:

• breads, 
• cereals, 
• rice, 
• pasta, 
• oats, and 
• barley.

Beans and Lentils

Healthdirect and the Australian Dietary Guidelines include beans and legumes as important high-fibre foods. You can soak and cook them from scratch, or keep a stock of canned chickpeas, lentils, and beans in the pantry for quick, easy and tasty meals. 

Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds are important sources of fibre, fats and nutrients and fit into the balanced eating patterns set by the Australian Dietary Guidelines.

Other Foods That Complete a Balanced Diet

The remaining groups that complete healthy eating guidelines also include:

• lean meats
• poultry, 
• fish, 
• eggs and tofu, and
• reduced-fat milk, yoghurt, cheese, or their alternatives. 

The Australian Dietary Guidelines also recommend drinking plenty of water and limiting foods high in saturated fat, added salt, added sugars, and alcohol.

But that doesn't mean everyone should eat the same way. Allergies, intolerances, preferences, and any plan you've agreed with a health professional should also shape what’s on your plate. 

The Better Health Channel suggests eating at least 30 different types of plant-based foods a week, including fruit, vegetables, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, tofu, and other plant-based foods. Rather than being a set target, it’s a helpful guideline, so there's no need to keep a tally. 

Fibre, Prebiotics and Resistant Starch

These three terms are often used interchangeably, so it's worth understanding what each means. 

• Dietary fibre: Better Health Channel explains that dietary fibre is found in the indigestible parts of cereals, fruits and vegetables. It has two categories: soluble and insoluble.
• Resistant starch: While not traditionally considered a fibre, Better Health Channel notes that it acts similarly in the body. We find resistant starches in grains, seeds, and legumes, and in higher amounts in cooked and cooled potatoes, rice, and pasta.
• Prebiotics: According to Healthdirect, prebiotics are specific fibres in foods that feed good bacteria and help them grow.

How much fibre is recommended? For adults, Better Health Channel gives the recommended daily fibre intake as:

• Men: 30 g of fibre,
• Women: 25 g of fibre.

If you're eating less than that now, there's no rush to increase your fibre. Better Health Channel recommends sticking to the recommended intakes and increasing fibre slowly.

Practical Ways to Build Balanced Meals

You don't need to overhaul everything at once. A simple approach to increasing fibre is to add something from the high-fibre list to meals you already eat. Here are a few everyday examples and how to adapt them:

• Breakfast: choose porridge or switch to a wholegrain cereal, adding a piece of fruit or frozen berries. 
• Lunch: choose wholegrain bread for your sandwich or wrap, adding extra salad vegetables.
• Dinner: add extra vegetables to your soup, stir-fry or pasta sauce, along with a can of beans or lentils stirred through. Start with smaller portions if legumes are new to your diet.

When General Gut-Health Advice Needs Adapting

If you have a diagnosed digestive condition or a health professional has given you specific dietary guidelines for your situation, that advice comes first. Healthdirect reminds you that your doctor can refer you to a dietitian if you need help with your nutrition.

When Should Digestive Symptoms Be Assessed?

Healthdirect's advice is clear: see your doctor if you have symptoms of poor gut health or digestive problems. Changing what you eat can’t tell you what's behind your symptoms, so if you’re concerned, it's better to have it investigated than to keep adjusting your diet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there one best diet for gut health?

There’s no one established best diet for gut health.

The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend a wide variety of foods from the five food groups, and Healthdirect specifically recommends high-fibre foods such as vegetables, fruit, beans and legumes, and whole grains for gut health.

How can I increase fibre without changing everything at once?

Go gradually. 

The Better Health Channel recommends using recommended fibre intake guidelines and slowly introducing fibre into your diet. In practice, that could mean making one change at a time, like switching to whole-grain bread or adding a serve of vegetables to dinner each night, and seeing how you feel before adding another higher-fibre food.

Should I cut out foods if I often feel bloated?

Take that to your doctor rather than trying to work it out alone.

Healthdirect advises seeing your doctor if you have symptoms of poor gut health or digestive problems, and you can ask for a referral to a dietitian if you need help with your diet. Cutting out specific foods or whole food groups on a hunch is not recommended.

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