What You Will Learn
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The everyday foods and habits your gut genuinely loves
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How fiber, variety, and color work together to support the gut microbiome
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Why sleep, movement, joy, and slower meals matter just as much as what’s on your plate
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Simple, feel-good ways to show your gut some love any time of year
A Valentine for Your Gut: 14 Things Your Gut Loves
If your gut could keep a running list of favorites, it would be full of everyday habits and foods that help it feel supported. From what’s on the plate to how meals are enjoyed, some choices show our gut a little extra love. The good news is these are simple things that work any time of year.
Here are 14 things your gut truly loves, no matter the season!
High-Quality Sleep
Getting high-quality sleep shows your gut love because it supports the gut microbiome, the gut-brain axis, and the digestive system. A consistent sleep schedule gives the gut time to rest and reset.
Regular Movement
Walking, stretching, and gentle daily movement support digestion and gut motility. Even short movement breaks during the day can send your gut the love it needs!
Stress Support
The gut and nervous system are closely connected. Practices like deep breathing, quiet moments, or time outdoors are like giving your gut a big warm hug.
Eating Slowly
Our gut loves it when we take our time to eat. Eating slowly gives digestion a head start. Chewing food thoroughly helps break it down before it reaches the stomach, which supports healthier digestion after meals. Slowing the pace also gives the gut and brain time to communicate, helping meals feel more satisfying and enjoyable. Sometimes we eat SO FAST… by the time our brain gets the message from the gut that it's getting full… It’s already too late. We’ve already eaten too much.
If we slow our eating pace, the messaging to the brain will come at the appropriate time (~mid-meal), giving us the opportunity to push our plates away before we overeat.
A few “slow down” tips from our founder and dietitian, Kristin:
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Chew every bite at least 20 times before swallowing
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Put your silverware down in between bites
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Use small silverware (appetizer fork, espresso spoon, etc.)
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Use slippery chopsticks - the metal kind are THE BEST!
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Use your non-dominant hand to eat. Bonus! It’s good for your brain too!
Consistent Hydration
Water supports digestion and fiber’s ability to do its job. Staying hydrated helps keep our gut feeling like it's being showered with love! Start your day with 16+ ounces of water. Yes, BEFORE you drink your coffee! Your gut will thank you!
Prebiotic Soluble Fiber
Your gut has a crush. It’s prebiotic soluble fiber!
Prebiotic fiber specifically nourishes beneficial microbes in the gut. Getting enough consistently helps support digestion, fullness, and balanced blood sugar levels when taken with meals and snacks.
Insoluble Fiber
If your gut could send flowers, it would deliver a bouquet to insoluble fiber!
Insoluble fiber adds bulk to stool and helps move food through the digestive tract. It supports regularity and helps digestion move smoothly, especially when it comes from whole foods like vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
Showing Love to Variety
Variety adds spice to life (and your gut!). Eating a wide range of plant foods feeds different groups of gut microbes. Rotating vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, herbs, and seeds helps support microbial diversity and resilience.
Colorful Plates
Your gut loves colorful, unprocessed whole foods! Colorful meals signal a wider range of nutrients and plant compounds. Think reds, greens, purples, yellows, and everything in between. Eat the rainbow!
Fermented Foods
Your gut’s secret love? Foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, and miso! These foods introduce live cultures that support microbial balance. Even small, regular servings can send little love letters to your happy gut bugs!
Polyphenol-Rich Foods
Berries, cocoa, green tea, herbs, and spices bring plant compounds your gut genuinely enjoys. These foods help keep gut microbes active and engaged, supporting a healthy, thriving microbiome.
Resistant Starch
Resistant starch is the kind of love that goes the distance.
Foods like cooked-and-cooled rice, oats, and potatoes contain resistant starch that reaches the colon, where beneficial microbes get something they truly love. This type of starch helps nourish the gut microbiome and supports digestive balance.
Joyful Moments
Moments of joy, laughter, and connection support the gut through the gut–brain connection. Positive emotions help the body shift into a relaxed, digestion-friendly state, which supports microbial balance and overall digestive comfort. Even small moments of joy can make a difference in how the gut functions day to day.
A Little Dark Chocolate
Good news: your gut is a fan of dark chocolate. 💚
Dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 60% or higher contains polyphenols that interact with gut microbes. Enjoying a small square fits right in as a treat your gut can fall in love with.
A Valentine From Your Gut
If your gut could write you a Valentine, it wouldn’t ask for perfection. It would thank you for the fiber, the color, the variety, the slower meals, the moments of joy, and yes, even the dark chocolate treats.
This Valentine’s Week, showing your gut a little extra care can be simple, enjoyable, and delicious. Because when your gut feels supported, everything else does, too. 💚
VISIT OUR SHOP FOR GUT HEALTH ESSENTIALS!
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