Eating for Gut Health: 5 Simple Tips to Support Your Gut When You’re Just Starting Out
Bloating. Fatigue. Brain fog. Skin breakouts. These symptoms can seem unrelated, but for many women, they’re all rooted in the same place: the gut.
If you’re just beginning your gut health journey, it’s easy to get lost in the noise. There’s a lot of conflicting advice out there. Cut this food, take this supplement, avoid that ingredient. It can make things feel way more complicated than they need to be.
When I started working on my own gut health, I was completely overwhelmed. I tried to fix everything at once and ended up stressed, restricted, and even more bloated than before. What helped was taking a step back and returning to the basics. Eating for gut health doesn’t have to be fancy. It’s about creating simple, supportive habits and giving your body what it needs to function well.
Here are five beginner-friendly ways to start eating in a way that supports your gut health.
1. Eat More Plants (Without Obsessing About It)
Plant foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains feed your gut microbiome. This is the community of trillions of microbes that live in your digestive tract and affect everything from digestion to hormones to mental health.
These microbes love fibre, especially a type called prebiotic fibre. That’s what helps them grow and create compounds that reduce inflammation and protect your gut lining.
When I first got into gut health, I thought I had to cut out everything that could feed the wrong bacteria. I was scared of too many carbs and was trying to eat in a way that felt ‘clean’ but became more obsessive. The irony is that my gut actually improved when I focused less on what to remove and more on what to add in!
Try this:
Add more colour to your plate with veggies and fruit
Sprinkle in things like flax, chia, or hemp seeds
Include plant-based fibres like lentils, oats, and sweet potato
Aim for variety over the week, not perfection at every meal
2. Chew Slower and Eat Without Distraction
One of the simplest ways to improve your digestion is to chew properly. Digestion starts in the mouth. When you chew, your body releases enzymes in your saliva that begin breaking down food before it even reaches your stomach.
When you rush meals or eat while distracted, your body stays in a stressed state. This actually slows digestion and makes symptoms like bloating, cramping, and gas more likely.
I used to eat standing up or while working on my laptop, barely tasting my food. It’s no surprise I constantly felt gassy and uncomfortable. Once I started sitting down to eat, taking a few deep breaths, and chewing slowly, I noticed a huge shift.
Try this:
Sit down and take 3 deep breaths before you eat
Put your fork down between bites
Aim to chew each bite at least 20 to 30 times
Keep screens away during meals when possible
3. Build Balanced Plates That Include Fibre, Protein, and Healthy Fats
The combination of what you eat matters just as much as the individual foods. Your gut thrives when you eat balanced meals that include a mix of fibre, protein, healthy fats, and slow digesting carbohydrates.
This helps regulate blood sugar, supports hormone balance, and gives your gut microbes steady fuel to function well. It also keeps you full and energised, which reduces cravings and mindless snacking later.
I used to eat a lot of raw veggies, protein bars, and coffee during the day and then felt exhausted and bloated by six in the evening. I wasn’t giving my gut what it actually needed. When I started eating proper balanced meals, my digestion and energy completely changed.
Try this:
Start your day with oats (rice or quinoa flakes if you are GF), chia, yoghurt, and berries
Build lunch around a fibre rich carb like quinoa, a protein like chicken, eggs or tempeh, and a healthy fat like avocado or tahini
Add leafy greens and fermented foods like sauerkraut when you can
4. Drink Water Throughout the Day (Not Just With Meals)
Hydration is essential for healthy digestion, but the timing of when you drink matters too. If you drink large amounts of water right before or during meals, it can dilute your stomach acid and slow down digestion.
What your gut really needs is consistent hydration throughout the day to keep everything moving, support detoxification, and prevent constipation.
This one took me a while to get right. I used to guzzle water with meals because I thought it would help me eat less. All it did was leave me feeling too full and still bloated. Now, I keep a water bottle with me and sip regularly between meals instead, combined with taking electrolytes.
Try this:
Start your morning with a big glass of water
Keep a drink bottle with you throughout the day
Avoid drinking large amounts of water during meals
Add lemon, cucumber, or mint to your water if it helps you drink more
5. Create a Calm Environment When You Eat
The state your body is in while you eat has a direct impact on how well you digest your food. Your nervous system needs to be in a calm, relaxed state for digestion to function properly.
If you eat when you’re stressed, rushed, or emotionally triggered, your digestion slows down and your body may struggle to break down even the most gut supportive foods.
This was a big one for me. I could be eating the right foods, but if I was stressed or distracted, I still felt awful after meals. Once I created more calm and intention around food by breathing, sitting down, and even just slowing the pace, it made a noticeable difference.
Try this:
Take a few deep breaths before meals
Create a calm environment with music, candles, or even just silence
Step away from work and screens when you eat
Check in with how you feel before and after eating
When you’re just starting out with gut health, the most helpful thing you can do is keep it simple. You don’t need a complicated protocol or a cupboard full of powders and pills. Focus on the foundations. How you eat, how you feel when you eat, and what you put on your plate. These basics truly matter.
Every small step is a message to your body that it’s supported and nourished. That’s when healing starts to happen.
Pick one of these five tips and start with that this week. Whether it’s chewing more, adding more plant foods, or drinking more water, every change adds up!
Let me know which tip you’re working on over on Instagram. I’d love to hear what’s resonating with you.
With love and balance, my Friends x