Best Foods for Gut Health

I will share with you what are the best foods for gut health maintenance and repair if you need to. An animal-based diet should be a major part of improving your gut health. Don’t get me wrong, I love vegetables but animal protein and animal fat should be a priority. Any addition to an animal-based meal such as potatoes, beans, leafy greens, or rice is still nice to have.

So the best foods for gut health are the real, whole foods that come from animals who are raised humanely, live in their natural environment, and eat their naturally appropriate diet. Your gut, which is the whole digestive tract, is made out of flesh. This flesh needs the appropriate substance so it can regenerate itself. 

Every day the human body goes through a cell regeneration process where old cells die and are replaced by new healthy cells. These cells/tissues include connective, muscle, epithelial, and nerve tissues.

Best Foods for Gut Health - Animal-Based Diet

Your gut lining in the small intestine is made of single-layered epithelium and it has a high turnover of 3 to 4 days where epithelial cells (enterocytes) are born, do their job, then die, and get shed off within 3-4 days.

For these cells in your gut to be replaced by new and healthy ones, they need high-quality building materials. Here are the best foods for gut health to build your gut lining, and not to mention your gut flora will thank you too:

• Gelatinous meat stock (fish, lamb, pork, beef, chicken, wild game)
• Bone broth.
• Fermented dairy such as yogurt or kefir. 
• Eggs but don’t overcook the yolk, it should be somewhat runny or soft.
• Fermented vegetables such as sauerkraut and kimchi. 
• Animal fat  

• Olive oil for salad dressing
• Quality cheese
• Cream (preferable raw)
• Whole fat raw milk. 
• Organ meats

Now that you know the foods, let me briefly share with you why they are essential to your gut health: 

1. The composition of animal protein and fat is very similar to human protein and fat so are very compatible thanks to their superior bioavailability. 
2. Meat stock and bone broth provide collagen and other amino acids to build the gut wall.
3. Animal fat contains essential fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, K, and D.
4. Fermented foods like cheese, sauerkraut, kefir, and yogurt, provide an ample amount of probiotics and make digesting protein and carbohydrates easier.
5. Organ meats are a powerhouse, they are nutrient-dense and full of vitamins.

Because of these reasons, that’s why I believe these are the best foods for gut health due to their nourishing and healing properties.

I consume these foods every day and help my clients incorporate these into their diets. Any other whole foods you would like to add such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, grain, and so on would be a nice addition, but the above list will specifically provide the building materials for your gut health, and don’t forget your gut flora because they eat first!

Hi, my name is Mohamed and welcome to this website! I am a nutrition therapy practitioner (NTP) and GAPS diet Coach and I am here to help you succeed! Learn more >

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