5 Ways To Support Your Gut Health In The Summer & Beyond, From Experts

In fact, gut experts emphasize that there's plenty everyone can do right now to start reversing negative habits and nourishing your gut microbiome. Consider this article the motivation you need to add "improve gut health" to your summer to-do list:

Or, consider meditating outdoors for bonus benefits. "Meditation can alter the gut microbiome and the types of bugs in positive ways," says integrative physician Vincent Pedre, M.D. Authors of a 2017 research review suggest that meditation helps regulate the stress response2, thereby maintaining a healthy inflammatory response and helping maintain healthy gut-barrier function. With this in mind, other meditative and relaxing activities (yoga, hiking, running, etc.) could have a beneficial effect on your gut, too. 

Summer is as great a time as any to establish a healthier routine—including one that promotes gut health. One of the most straightforward ways to support your gut microbiome: taking a high-quality probiotic supplement.* That's because, when you take a probiotic supplement, you add more of these good bacteria to your gut.* "Think of probiotics as your little helpers that restore order and help maintain harmony in your gut ecosystem,"* Pedre previously told mbg.

If you're on the hunt for a probiotic you trust, we'd recommend mbg's probiotic+, which contains four targeted strains that have been clinically shown to help ease bloating, improve digestion and support a healthy weight.*

If you're on a budget, Bush recommends letting the EWG's Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists help you prioritize what fruits and veggies to buy organic and what's the safest (in terms of pesticide residue) to buy conventional. Since organic farming preserves the diversity of bacteria in the soil, it also preserves it in the food you eat. Opting for organic meat (or the highest quality you can get, like pasture-raised) and animal products may be beneficial as well.

To help reset your circadian rhythm—and make the transition to an earlier bedtime and wake-up time easier—avoid electronics and bright light at night (or at least try some blue-light-blocking glasses after sunset) to promote natural melatonin production (sans melatonin supplementation) and aim to get outside for at least five minutes first thing in the morning for some natural light exposure. 

"I recommend having contact with animals, whether that's horses or dogs or whatever—the more contact you can have with an animal species, the more biodiverse you can get in your gut," says Bush. "A dog in the home radically changes the microbiome within the house." No pets at home? Something as simple as volunteering at a shelter or even an equine center and being in contact with those animals can help. Bonus: Animals help alleviate stress, too!