The easiest way to get enough prebiotics into your diet is by eating plenty of vegetables and fruit. So if you are getting your five servings of vegetables and fruits every day, you are probably doing OK with prebiotics," says Williams.

Artichokes are an excellent source of inulin, a type of fiber that acts as a prebiotic. Additionally, artichokes provide other benefits , such as improving bone health, protecting your brain and supporting your blood pressure.

Dragon fruit isn't just a beautiful, brightly colored fruit but also provides health benefits , including gut-related ones. Dragon fruit is rich in fiber and is one of the best fruits to help relieve constipation. Try including dragon fruit in a morning smoothie for a beautiful, delicious, gut-healthy treat.

Garlic works overtime for gut health as a prebiotic, providing food for the good bacteria in your gut. It also has antibacterial and antiviral properties that help support your immune system. There are tons of ways you can add garlic to your diet, from delicious melting potatoes to cozy casseroles.

High in prebiotic fiber, mushrooms also contain several compounds that may have medicinal properties. A study published in the Journal of Functional Foods indicates that consuming mushrooms may positively influence your blood sugar and help prevent gastrointestinal diseases and even some types of cancer.

Improving your gut health can begin with one of your favorite breakfasts. Oats are one of the best prebiotic foods to quickly impact your gut's health. Oats provide a balanced source of complex carbohydrates, plant-based protein and fiber, making them an excellent choice for gut health.

Like with probiotic yogurt, you'll want to limit oatmeal high in added sugars. Instead, look for plain instant oatmeal or use old-fashioned or steel-cut oats to make your own oatmeal and add fresh or dried fruit for added sweetness. Beans are often touted for their nutritional value.

They are a plant-based source of protein and provide complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Because of this nutrient mix, consuming beans, such as soybeans , may be one of the best ways to improve gut health with prebiotics. Further, research published in Molecules noted that soybeans are one of the well-known sources of prebiotics, positively impacting your gut health.

Knowing the foods to limit may be just as important as knowing which foods to include when it comes to your gut health. Ultra-processed foods, artificial foods, added sugar, preservatives and additives can wreak havoc on your gut. Williams shares that both mental and physical stress are detrimental to your gut health, and that it's important to focus on managing stress in your life.

Further, studies, such as a review published in Frontiers in Nutrition , indicate that focusing on a healthy lifestyle by including moderate-intensity exercise and managing stress are also essential in promoting gut health.

To truly improve your gut health overnight and positively impact your overall health, focus on eating a diet rich in probiotic and prebiotic foods daily. Building consistent, daily practices to include these probiotic and prebiotic foods will make the most significant impact over time.

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It also helps boost the growth of healthy gut bacteria. Good sources: salmon , trout, sardines, eggs, and vitamin-D-fortified milk, mushrooms portabella, white, crimini, maitake. There are plenty of good reasons to minimize refined sugar intake.

One compelling reason is that too much sugar eliminates healthy gut bacteria, which can cause inflammation in the body—opening the door to bigger health problems.

Also, refined sugars are rapidly digested by the first part of the small intestine, spiking your blood sugar and leaving the rest of your gut microbes hungry.

Refined sugars include sucrose table sugar , high-fructose corn syrup, agave syrup despite its marketing , sweetened beverages like soda. Industrial meat producers routinely administer antibiotics to their livestock to treat disease in the confined, crowded spaces where the animals are raised.

For this and a variety of other reasons, we recommend steering clear of meat produced factory-style on a massive scale, including: industrial beef, industrial poultry, industrial pork you get the idea.

Simple carbs, empty calories, processed carbs—call them what you will, refined grains are stripped of their fiber, and most of their vitamins and minerals too. Some common refined grains: white flour, white bread, white rice; pastries, pastas and snacks made with white flour.

A study in the UK found that artificial sweeteners can promote pathogenic changes in certain gut bacteria. Another study explored the effect of a dozen different sweeteners on the gut microbiome, and concluded that many were highly likely to raise the risk of both inflammation and glucose intolerance, which increases risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Steer clear of artificial sweeteners, including saccharin, sucralose and aspartame, as well as artificially sweetened drinks. Eat too much meat and high-fat dairy and the microbes in your gut will change.

That might not be the best thing for your gut health. According to a Harvard study , volunteers who ate an animal-based diet started to develop an abundance of Bilophila—microbes that like bile—to adapt to the bile needed to break down all that fat.

Kind of gross, to be sure, but also a problem because Bilophila can cause inflammation. Try to minimize animal products, especially fatty meats bacon, ribs, salami, pork rinds and cheeses. They may also be rough on your microbes, according to a study reported in Diabetes Care.

In the study, a test group that ate fried meat ended up with less diverse gut microbiota than the control group, with impaired blood-sugar balance and higher toxin and inflammation levels.

Hang on to those microbes by avoiding fried meat, like chicken-fried steak; french fries; corn dogs; doughnuts and other fried desserts. Variety is the spice of life—and the preferred diet of your various gut bacteria.

Skip to content. Patagonia Worn Wear Provisions. We're in business to save our home planet. View all results. The Best and Worst Gut Health Foods. In The Article. But how, exactly? Here are some guidelines for the best and worst foods to eat for an optimum gut-health diet.

The 6 Best Foods for Gut Health. Illustration by Ilka Hadlock. Seafood with Omega-3 Fatty Acids Omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to greater microbial gut diversity.