{"id":57460,"date":"2023-03-13T09:30:56","date_gmt":"2023-03-13T13:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=57460"},"modified":"2026-01-21T20:23:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T01:23:11","slug":"how-to-improve-gut-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/how-to-improve-gut-health\/","title":{"rendered":"9 ways to improve your gut health"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you think your stomach\u2019s only job is to digest food, think again. The human gut plays a major role in your immune system and mental health. Meaning, when your gut is unhappy, there\u2019s a good chance the rest of your body will be, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

An unhealthy gut, or dysbiosis, can cause inflammation in the gut, says physician and registered dietitian Amy Burkhart, MD, of <\/span>The Celiac MD<\/span>. This may lead to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), depression, autoimmune diseases, and a host of other symptoms, like diarrhea, constipation, bloating, headaches, and fatigue.<\/span><\/p>\n

While improving your gut health can\u2019t solve <\/span>all <\/span><\/i>of your problems, it might be a good place to start if you\u2019ve been living with a range of symptoms with no clear cause. Here\u2019s what you need to know about gut health, <\/span>how it affects the rest of your body<\/span><\/a>, and how you can make your gut happier.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is gut health?<\/span><\/h2>\n

The \u201cgut,\u201d as we commonly refer to it, includes <\/span>everything in your gastrointestinal system<\/span><\/a>, from your mouth and throat, through your esophagus, stomach, and intestines, and down to your rectum. But what does it mean to have good gut health?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a healthy gut means that a person doesn’t have gastrointestinal symptoms like abdominal pain or diarrhea, that they are free from gastrointestinal diseases like colon cancer or inflammatory bowel disease, and their system is free from inflammation,\u201d says <\/span>Lauren Manaker<\/span><\/a>, MS, a registered dietitian and author of <\/span>Fueling Male Fertility.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It also means, Manaker adds, that a healthy gut <\/span>microbiome<\/span><\/i> (the entirety of the bacteria that live within our GI tract) has a balance of <\/span>beneficial bacteria<\/span><\/a>. Unfortunately, it\u2019s pretty easy for us to accidentally throw the balance of good gut microbes and bad microorganisms out of whack. Things that can cause poor gut health include poor nutrition, stress, lack of sleep, excessive alcohol consumption, certain medications (<\/span>like antibiotics<\/span><\/a>), and smoking.<\/span><\/p>\n

You might have poor gut health if you regularly experience any of these digestive tract symptoms:<\/span><\/p>\n