How can I improve my gut health via non-dietary means?

For people living with gastrointestinal conditions, maintaining gut health, loosely defined by the absence of gut symptoms and an optimal gut microbiome, is a delicate balance. As covered in a previous Food Matters column, the nature of therapeutic diets for these disorders can make it challenging to eat the varied diet thought to support an optimal gut microbiome. So, what other evidence-informed ways can potentially improve and maintain gut health? Gut health: definitions and determinantsThe concept of gut health has been widely adopted by nutrition bloggers and their readership, but is less often alluded to in the clinical context and rarely used in the scientific literature. Popular media suggest that the key to solving all health problems is to nurture our gut by, for example, drinking kombucha and avoiding gluten. But what is meant by gut health? As a health concept of growing public interest, it is a term worth examining more closely. Full-Text PDF How can I improve my gut health if I am on a special diet?Diet is crucial when it comes to maintaining so-called gut health, loosely defined by the absence of gut symptoms and an optimal gut microbiome. At the same time, diet is the cornerstone of treatment for a range of gut disorders, such as coeliac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease, which are highly prevalent globally. Diets for these conditions usually involve restriction of one or more dietary components, such as the protein gluten for coeliac disease, fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAPs) for irritable bowel syndrome, and dietary constituents thought to exacerbate inflammation for Crohn's disease. Full-Text PDF