10 Simple Ways to Optimise Your Gut Health Naturally
Your Gut the Key to Optimal Health
As a Clinical Nutritionist, I see women in clinic every day who are struggling with menopause symptoms or unexplained health concerns. Many have accepted bloating, constipation, fatigue, brain fog or weight gain as just part of getting older. However, one area that is frequently overlooked that can elad to these symptoms is the health of the gastrointestinal tract.
Your gut is home to trillions of bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms collectively known as the gut microbiome. While invisible to the naked eye, these microbes play an essential role in almost every aspect of health—from digestion and immune function to hormone balance, metabolism and mental wellbeing. A healthy, diverse microbiome helps produce vitamins, strengthen the gut lining, reduce inflammation and create beneficial compounds called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), while a less diverse microbiome (known as dysbiosis) has been linked to digestive symptoms and many chronic health conditions.
The encouraging news is that your microbiome responds remarkably well to positive lifestyle changes. Small, consistent habits can create meaningful improvements over time. In this guide, we'll explore practical, evidence-based ways to support your gut naturally and explain how personalised microbiome testing with Microba can help tailor your nutrition plan.
Why Gut Health Matters
Your gut is much more than a digestive organ. It's home to trillions of microorganisms—including bacteria, fungi and viruses—that make up your gut microbiome. These microbes influence many aspects of your health, including digestion, immunity, metabolism, hormones and even your mood. When your microbiome is diverse and balanced, it helps your body function at its best. However, when this balance is disrupted (known as dysbiosis), it may contribute to digestive symptoms and chronic health conditions.
Digestion
Your gut bacteria help break down dietary fibre and resistant starch that your body can't digest on its own. In doing so, they produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as butyrate, which nourish the cells lining your bowel, support regular bowel function and help maintain a healthy gut barrier.
Nutrient Absorption
A healthy gut helps you absorb essential nutrients from food. Your microbiome also produces important nutrients, including vitamin K (essential for bone health, blood clotting, heart health) and several B vitamins, and supports the absorption of minerals such as calcium and magnesium.
Immune Health
Around 70% of your immune system is associated with the gut (Gut-Associated Lymphoid Tissue). Beneficial bacteria help train your immune system, strengthen your gut barrier and protect against harmful microbes, while also helping to regulate inflammation.
Blood Sugar Regulation
Your gut microbiome influences metabolism and blood sugar control. SCFAs produced by beneficial bacteria may improve insulin sensitivity, support appetite regulation and contribute to healthier metabolic function.
Mood and Brain Health
Your gut and brain communicate through the gut-brain axis. Gut bacteria produce signalling molecules that influence mood, stress resilience, sleep and cognitive function, highlighting the close connection between digestive and mental health.
Hormone Metabolism
Your gut microbiome plays a role in regulating hormones, including oestrogen. A group of bacteria known as the estrobolome helps control how oestrogen is metabolised and eliminated, making gut health particularly important during perimenopause and menopause.
Inflammation
Beneficial bacteria help regulate inflammation by producing SCFAs, especially butyrate, which strengthen the gut lining and support a balanced immune response. When the microbiome becomes less diverse, chronic low-grade inflammation may increase.
Ten Simple Steps for Healthier Gut
1: Aim for 30 Different Plant Foods Every Week
One of the simplest and most effective ways to improve your gut health is to increase the variety of plant foods you eat. Different species of gut bacteria thrive on different types of fibre and plant compounds, so the more diverse your diet, the more diverse and resilient your microbiome becomes.
Rather than focusing on eating large amounts of the same vegetables every day, challenge yourself to include 30 different plant foods each week. Every plant counts, including: vegetables, spices, fruit, legumes, herbs, wholegrains, nuts and seeds.
Top Tip: Keep a weekly tally of the different plant foods you eat—you might be surprised how quickly you can reach 30 by adding herbs, spices and mixed seeds to your meals.
2: Feed Your Gut with Fibre
Fibre is one of the most important nutrients for a healthy gut microbiome. Unlike carbohydrates that are digested in the small intestine, fibre reaches the large bowel where it becomes food for your beneficial gut bacteria. As these bacteria ferment fibre, they produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), including butyrate, acetate and propionate, which help reduce inflammation, strengthen the gut lining and support immune and metabolic health.
3: Include Prebiotic Foods Daily
Prebiotics are specialised fibres that selectively feed beneficial gut bacteria. Unlike probiotics, they don't contain bacteria—instead, they nourish the bacteria already living in your gut.
Including prebiotic foods each day helps promote microbial diversity and increases the production of beneficial compounds that support gut barrier function and reduce inflammation.
Excellent prebiotic foods include: garlic, onions, leeks, asparagus, oats, pearl barley, chickpeas, lentils, green bananas, jerusalem artichokes.
Top tip: Try adding garlic and onion to cooking, swapping white rice for barley occasionally, or including legumes in soups, salads and curries throughout the week.
4: Add Fermented Foods
Fermented foods naturally contain live microorganisms and beneficial compounds produced during fermentation. While they don't permanently colonise your gut, regular consumption may help support microbial diversity and overall digestive health.
Top Tip: Aim to include 2–3 serves each week of foods such as: natural yoghurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, tempeh, miso.
5: Eat More Colour
The brighter your plate, the happier your gut bacteria are likely to be.
Colourful plant foods are rich in polyphenols—natural compounds that act like fertiliser for beneficial gut bacteria. They encourage microbial diversity while also providing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.
Aim to include a rainbow of colours throughout the week, such as: berries, red cabbage, leafy greens, Bbeetroot, tomatoes, purple carrots, herbs, extra virgin olive oil, green tea and Cocoa.
Top Tip: Rather than eating the same fruit and vegetables every week, rotate your choices to expose your microbiome to a wider variety of beneficial plant compounds.
6: Reduce Ultra-Processed Foods
You don't have to eat perfectly, but regularly consuming ultra-processed foods may reduce microbial diversity and promote inflammation. Many packaged foods are low in fibre and high in refined sugars, unhealthy fats and food additives that may negatively affect the gut microbiome.
Research also suggests some emulsifiers, commonly used to improve texture and shelf life, may alter the gut barrier and encourage inflammation in susceptible individuals.
Examples include:
Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)
Polysorbate-80
Carrageenan
Top Tip: Choosing foods that are as close as possible to their natural form is one of the simplest ways to support a healthier microbiome.
7: Prioritise Sleep
Your gut microbiome follows a daily rhythm, just like the rest of your body.
Poor sleep and disrupted circadian rhythms have been linked with reduced microbial diversity, increased inflammation and changes in metabolism.
Top Tip: Aim for 7–9 hours of quality sleep each night by:
8: Manage Stress
Your gut and brain are constantly communicating through the gut-brain axis.
When you're stressed, this communication changes. Chronic stress can affect digestion, slow or speed bowel movements, alter gut bacteria and increase intestinal permeability.
Top Tip: make stress relief part of your daily routine rather than waiting until you feel overwhelmed. Even five slow, deep breaths, three times a day can help activate your body's relaxation response, calm the nervous system and support the gut–brain axis.
9: Exercise Regularly
Movement isn't just good for your heart and muscles—it also benefits your gut microbiome.
Research has shown that regular physical activity is associated with greater microbial diversity and increased production of beneficial short-chain fatty acids.
Top Tip: Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate activity most days, the best exercise is one you enjoy and can maintain consistently.
10: Use Supplements Wisely
Supplements can sometimes play a helpful role in supporting gut health, but they shouldn't replace a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Probiotics: are live microorganisms that may provide health benefits when taken in adequate amounts. However, most probiotic strains are temporary visitors—they don't permanently colonise the gut.
Different Strains Have Different Jobs: One probiotic strain may help reduce bloating, while another may support immune function or gut-brain health. This is why choosing a probiotic should be based on your individual health concerns rather than marketing claims.
Top Tip: There Is No "One-Size-Fits-All" Probiotic - Get Advice
Remember: Supplements can support gut health, but they work best when built on the foundations of a diverse, fibre-rich diet, quality sleep, regular movement and effective stress management. Your daily habits have the greatest impact on creating a healthy, resilient microbiome over the long term.
How Can Microba Testing Help?
While the general gut health strategies in this article can benefit almost everyone, there is no such thing as a "perfect" microbiome. Your gut microbiome is as unique as your fingerprint, shaped by your diet, lifestyle, medications, environment and health history. This means that two people with similar symptoms—such as bloating, constipation or IBS—may have very different microbial imbalances and therefore benefit from different nutrition strategies.
Microba Gut Microbiome Testing uses advanced metagenomic DNA sequencing to analyse the microorganisms living in your gut. The report provides detailed insights into your microbial diversity, beneficial bacteria, key functional pathways (such as short-chain fatty acid production) and evidence-based dietary recommendations.
As a Microba Certified Healthcare Practitioner, I use these results alongside your health history, symptoms and clinical assessment to develop a personalised nutrition and lifestyle plan. Rather than relying on trial and error, microbiome testing can help identify targeted strategies to support your unique gut ecosystem and optimise your long-term health.
About the Author
Lorraine English, BHSc Clinical Nutritionist - MRC Certified Healthy Gut Practitioner - Microba Certified Healthcare Practitioner
Lorraine is a Clinical Nutritionist dedicated to helping people improve their health through evidence-based nutrition. She has a special interest in:
Gut Health & the Gut Microbiome
IBS and Digestive Disorders
Menopause & Women's Health
Metabolic Health
Fatty Liver Disease
Personalised Nutrition
Functional Testing
As a Microba Certified Healthcare Practitioner, Lorraine uses advanced gut microbiome testing to help understand each client's unique gut ecosystem and develop personalised nutrition strategies based on their individual microbiome profile.
She is passionate about translating complex microbiome science into practical, achievable nutrition advice that empowers clients to make sustainable lifestyle changes.
Book a complimentary 15-minute discovery call to learn how personalised nutrition and gut microbiome testing may support your health goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can probiotics fix my gut?
Not necessarily. Probiotics are live microorganisms that may provide health benefits, but they are usually temporary visitors rather than permanent residents of your gut. Different probiotic strains have different effects, meaning there is no "one-size-fits-all" probiotic.
The foundation of good gut health is feeding your existing beneficial bacteria with a diverse, fibre-rich diet. In some cases, probiotics may be appropriate, but they work best as part of an overall nutrition and lifestyle plan developed with a qualified healthcare practitioner.
Are fermented foods better than probiotic supplements?
Fermented foods and probiotic supplements each have their place, but they are not the same.
Fermented foods such as yoghurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, miso and tempeh contain naturally occurring beneficial microorganisms along with bioactive compounds produced during fermentation. They also provide valuable nutrients as part of a healthy diet.
Probiotic supplements contain specific strains of bacteria selected for particular health outcomes. Their benefits depend on the exact strain, dose and the reason they are being taken. Supplements should ideally be chosen based on individual needs rather than marketing claims.
Does sleep affect the gut microbiome?
Absolutely. Research suggests poor sleep quality and disrupted circadian rhythms can reduce microbial diversity and contribute to increased inflammation. Adults should aim for 7–9 hours of quality sleep each night to support both gut health and overall wellbeing.
Is Microba testing suitable for everyone?
Microba testing can be particularly valuable for people experiencing ongoing digestive symptoms, recurrent bloating, IBS, food intolerances or those wanting a more personalised understanding of their gut health. It may also be useful for individuals managing metabolic health, autoimmune conditions or menopause as part of a comprehensive assessment by a qualified healthcare practitioner.
What does a Microba gut microbiome test measure?
Microba uses advanced metagenomic DNA sequencing to analyse your stool sample and identify thousands of microorganisms living in your gut. The report provides information about:
Microbial diversity
Beneficial and less beneficial bacteria
Short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria
Functional pathways within the microbiome
Personalised dietary recommendations
Evidence-based insights into how your microbiome compares with current scientific research
Rather than guessing which foods or supplements may help, the results allow your nutrition plan to be tailored to your individual microbiome.
Medical & Nutrition Disclaimer
This article is intended for educational purposes only and should not replace personalised medical or nutrition advice. If you have persistent digestive symptoms, significant changes in bowel habits, unexplained weight loss, rectal bleeding, or other concerning symptoms, please consult your GP or healthcare provider for appropriate assessment. Nutrition recommendations should be tailored to your individual health needs in consultation with a qualified healthcare practitioner.
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