Supplements for Gut Health
The gut is the origin of all disease”, and this still holds true today. If you’re trying to improve your immunity, stress response, anxiety, depression, arthritis, IBS, or leaky gut syndrome. Most healthcare professionals recommend improving gut health when you have that condition.
Did you know that over 79 million people suffer from digestive issues and follow a daily protocol of poor gut health? These digestive issues include chronic heartburn, GERD, acid reflux, IBS, abdominal pain, and poor gut health. You can take various medications to improve your gut health, but these medications often have unwanted side effects. Alternatively, you can try a natural way and add more gut health nutrients to your diet. There is no need to worry if you don’t know which supplements to take.
Read on to learn which supplements are most important for healthy digestion and how to incorporate them into your eating habits.
The gut is the origin of all disease”, and this still holds true today. If you’re trying to improve your immunity, stress response, anxiety, depression, arthritis, IBS, or leaky gut syndrome. Most healthcare professionals recommend improving gut health when you have that condition.
Did you know that over 79 million people suffer from digestive issues and follow a daily protocol of poor gut health? These digestive issues include chronic heartburn, GERD, acid reflux, IBS, abdominal pain, and poor gut health. You can take various medications to improve your gut health, but these medications often have unwanted side effects. Alternatively, you can try a natural way and add more gut health nutrients to your diet. There is no need to worry if you don’t know which supplements to take.
Read on to learn which supplements are most important for healthy digestion and how to incorporate them into your eating habits. The links we have given you are the highest rated products on Amazon.
Gut Health Supplements
Vitamin B12 is at the top of our list of supplements for intestinal health. The main functions of vitamin B12 are to keep your body’s blood cells and nerves healthy and to regulate your gut health. It is also necessary for DNA production and may help prevent anemia, known as megaloblastic anemia. Vitamin B12 is needed to form red blood cells and DNA. It is also an important player in the functioning and development of brain and nerve cells. Vitamin B12 binds to the proteins in the foods we eat. Hydrochloric acid and enzymes break down vitamin B12 into its free form in the stomach.
Sources of Vitamin B12
You can get this vitamin from the foods you eat and from dietary supplements. Foods rich in this vitamin include liver, oysters, fish, poultry, eggs, meat, yogurt, and some breakfast cereals.
What does vitamin B12 do for your body?
Symptoms of Vitamin B12 Deficiency
- Weakness, tiredness, or lightheadedness
- Heart palpitations and shortness of breath
- Pale skin
- A smooth tongue
- Constipation, diarrhea, loss of appetite, or gas
Dosage:
Average recommended amounts measured in micrograms (mcg) vary by age:
- Infants up to age 6 months: 0.4 mcg
- Babies age 7-12 months: 0.5 mcg
- Children age 1-3 years: 0.9 mcg
- Kids age 4-8 years: 1.2 mcg
- Children aged 9-13 years: 1.8 mcg
- Teens age 14-18: 2.4 mcg
- Adults: 2.4 mcg
How Vitamin B12 Helps Gut Health
One of the main ways Vitamin B12 supports gut health is that it can help rebalance the bacteria levels in your digestive tract and help break down food. Infections can cause “bad” bacteria to outnumber “good” bacteria. You may experience problems breaking down and digesting food, abdominal pain, and diarrhea when this happens. However, taking vitamin B12 can help destroy high levels of bad bacteria while giving good bacteria everything they need to thrive. This vitamin also helps your body produce digestive enzymes. These enzymes can then help break down the food you eat. This means you can get more nutrients from everything you eat. By adding more vitamin B12 to your diet, you should see your energy levels increase. This vitamin also helps regulate the functioning of your nervous system. This regulation of your nervous system can help stimulate your appetite. This, in turn, promotes healthy digestion.
Zinc is another important nutrient you need to stay healthy. You can find zinc in your body’s cells. This nutrient serves various purposes, including helping your immune system fight infections caused by bacteria and viruses, ensuring you develop and grow properly, and helping your body make DNA and protein. Many people take supplements containing this mineral to help them get the right dose.
Sources of Zinc
Many foods contain zinc, such as lentils, almonds, peanut butter, corn, broccoli, and oysters. Animal products such as meat and shellfish contain large amounts of zinc that your body can easily absorb. While many foods are naturally rich in zinc, some foods, such as ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, snack bars, and baked goods, are fortified with zinc.
Who should not take zinc?
Medications that can interfere with zinc include blood pressure medications, penicillamine, amiloride, certain antibiotics, ACE inhibitors, cisplatin, immunosuppressive drugs, deferoxamine, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and thiazide diuretics.
Symptoms of Zinc Deficiency
People with gastrointestinal diseases like Crohn’s disease
- Vegetarians and vegans
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women
- Older infants who are exclusively breastfed
- People with sickle cell anemia
- People who are malnourished, including those with anorexia or bulimia
- People with chronic kidney disease
- Those who abuse alcohol
Dosage:
The amount that should be consumed daily is called the recommended dietary allowance (RDA). For females 18 years of age, the RDA is 9 mg, and for females 19 years and older, the RDA is 8 mg. For males 18 years and older, the RDA is 11 mg. While pregnant, the RDA is 13 mg in those 18 years of age and 11 mg in those 19 years and older. While breastfeeding, the RDA is 17 mg in those 18 years of age and 12 mg in those 19 years and older. In children, the RDA depends on age.
How Zinc Helps Gut Health
Zinc is an essential nutrient for strengthening the lining of your digestive tract. You will likely experience a thin or cracked lining if you have a zinc deficiency. If this happens, nutrients and bacteria can pass through your damaged lining and cause system-wide inflammation. Zinc promotes healthy cell growth. It will go to the damaged areas of your intestinal lining and speed up the healing process. It can also help alter the levels of bacteria in your gut. This is great news if you have enough zinc in your system. However, if you have a deficiency, it can lead to an overload of bad bacteria. They will thrive in the unstable gastrointestinal tract, and the good bacteria will struggle. A healthy level of zinc will help encourage the diversity of bacteria in your gut. This can lead to increased bacterial activity and better absorption of nutrients.
Many people have never heard of this mineral, but selenium is an extremely important nutrient vital to your overall health and well-being. You can find selenium in several foods, an essential mineral your body needs to function properly. It helps protect your cells from oxidative damage, promotes thyroid hormone metabolism, and supports DNA synthesis. As mentioned, you get selenium from your diet. However, the amount of this mineral in the following foods varies depending on the amount of selenium in the soil or animal food source.
Source of Selenium
The amount of selenium in foods can vary greatly depending on the selenium content of the soil in which they are grown. Soil content varies greatly by region. Plant foods obtain selenium from the soil, which affects the amount of selenium in animals that eat these plants. Protein foods of animal origin are generally good sources of selenium. Although Americans get most of their selenium from daily staples such as bread, cereals, poultry, red meat, and eggs, seafood, organ meat,s and Brazil nuts are the foods highest in selenium.
Who should not take selenium?
In people with skin cancer other than melanoma, long-term use of selenium supplements may slightly increase the risk of cancer recurrence. Avoid long-term selenium supplements if you have had skin cancer. Selenium might increase the risk of bleeding during and after surgery.
Symptoms of Selenium Deficiency
- Nausea, vomiting
- Headaches
- Altered mental state, confusion
- Lethargy
- Seizures
- Coma
- Nail brittleness or discoloration
- Skin rash or lesions
- Skin flushing
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Muscle tenderness
Dosage:
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for adult men and women aged 19+ is 55 micrograms per day. Pregnant and lactating women need about 60 and 70 micrograms per day.
How Selenium Helps Gut Health
Selenium is an antioxidant that helps protect your cells from free radical damage. Let’s say you have a lot of stress in your life or are exposed to environmental factors such as cigarette smoke. In this case, excess free radicals can cause damage to your gut, including triggering oxidative stress. Oxidative stress damages the healthy cells of your gut, which can cause inflammation, ulcers, and cracks in your gut lining. This mineral also inhibits the NF-kB compound and stops it from activating the production of interleukin-6 and TNF-alpha. These are the things that cause an inflammatory response in your gut. Selenium can help stop inflammation by stopping this chain of events. When this happens, your intestines will gradually begin to heal.
Vitamin D occurs naturally in several food sources, is added to many daily food sources, and is a fat-soluble vitamin. When ultraviolet rays from the sun hit your skin, it triggers your body’s natural vitamin D production response. However, this is often not enough; many people take vitamin supplements to get the recommended amount. Vitamin D has anti-inflammatory properties, aids bone growth and strength, and regulates cell growth.
Source of Vitamin D
Foods that contain good amounts of vitamin D include fish, fortified milk and orange juice, pork, mushrooms, eggs, and some varieties of margarine. Since vitamin D is not found in a wide variety of foods, getting enough from foods alone is one of the most difficult supplements for intestinal health.
The following foods are a source of vitamin D:
- fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel, and tuna
- egg yolks
- cheese
- beef liver
- mushrooms
- fortified milk
- fortified cereals and juices
What happens if your vitamin D is too high?
The main consequence of vitamin D toxicity is calcium buildup in the blood (hypercalcemia), which can cause nausea, vomiting, weakness, and frequent urination. Vitamin D toxicity can progress to bone pain and kidney problems such as the formation of calcium stones.
Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency
- bone fragility, especially in older adults
- osteoporosis
- bone pain
- fatigue
- muscle twitching
- muscle weakness
- autoimmune problems
- neurological diseases
- infections
- pregnancy complications
Dosage
The RDA is 600 IU (15 mcg) daily for people 1-70 years old and 800 IU (20 mcg) daily for people 71 years and older. While pregnant and breastfeeding, the daily BMI is 600 IU (15 mcg). In children, BMI is age dependent. Vitamin D is also made in the skin after sun exposure. Spending 15-30 minutes in the sun each day will be enough to maintain normal vitamin D levels for most people. Most people should not consume more than 4000 IU per day unless they are under the care of a healthcare provider.
How Vitamin D Helps Gut Health
This vitamin also has powerful anti-inflammatory properties that help people with chronic inflammation of the gut or system, such as those with IBS or leaky gut syndrome. Vitamin D can help reach and neutralize the source of inflammation and can also help calm the nervous system response that causes inflammation. A good vitamin D level in your body encourages it to produce defensin. Defensins are anti-microbial molecules. They are important to maintaining a healthy and balanced gut bacteria level. If you don’t have enough of this antimicrobial molecule in your system, you will encounter an imbalance of good and bad bacteria. You may notice increased discomfort, diarrhea, and poor nutrient absorption.
Vitamin C is one of the safest and most effective nutrients. Vitamin C, also called the sunshine vitamin, is a nutrient we cannot make naturally, so we must get it from our diet. The primary roles of vitamin C in our bodies are to stimulate collagen production to strengthen skin and connective tissues, help replenish antioxidants, and aid in protein metabolism. Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin found in many foods, particularly fruits and vegetables.
Source Of Vitamin C
Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of vitamin C. Citrus fruits, tomatoes, tomato juice, and potatoes are the top contributors of vitamin C to the American diet. Other good food sources include red and green bell peppers, kiwi, broccoli, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, and cantaloupe. Although vitamin C is not found naturally in grains, it is added to some fortified breakfast cereals. Because ascorbic acid is water-soluble and is destroyed by heat, the vitamin C content of foods may decrease with long-term storage and cooking. Steaming or microwave cooking can reduce cooking losses. Fortunately, many of the best food sources of vitamin C, such as fruits and vegetables, are usually eaten raw. Consuming five servings of fruit and vegetables daily can provide more than 200 mg of vitamin C.
What time of day is better to take vitamin C?
Although vitamin C is a beneficial nutrient, it is a water-soluble nutrient that is best absorbed when taken on an empty stomach. An ideal way is to take your supplement first thing in the morning, 30-45 minutes before a meal.
Symptoms of Vitamin C Deficiency
Fatigue and weakness.
- Low mood.
- Pain in the muscles and joints.
- Swollen or bleeding gums.
- Blue or red spots on the skin.
- Easy bruising.
Dosage:
The amount that should be consumed daily is called the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). The RDA for adult men is 90 mg per day. For women 19 years and older, the BMI is 75 mg per day. The RDA is 120 mg daily for people 19 to 50 during pregnancy and lactation. In children, BMI is age dependent.
How Vitamin C Helps Gut Heath
This vitamin is necessary to help your body absorb iron from food. It does this by reducing the number of iron inhibitors in your body, including tannins and phytates, and increasing the sensitivity of your cells to iron in your digestive tract. When this happens, your body can get the most iron from your food. This can prevent you from becoming anemic later on and improve your energy levels. Vitamin C also promotes cell healing by reducing free radical damage to the lining of your digestive tract. It promotes the regeneration of antioxidants, which work to protect your cells from further damage due to oxidative stress. This can reduce cracks or fissures in your intestinal lining and relieve any inflammation you may have.
Foods For Boosting Gut Health
You can eat an abundance of real foods to nourish your gut. We suggest filling your kitchen with:
- Cultured beverages (kombucha)
- Cultured foods (live yogurt or kefir)
- Bone broth
- Fermented foods (miso, kimchi, sauerkraut, pickled vegetables)
- Low-fructose fruit (pineapples, strawberries, blackberries, lemons, limes, rhubarb, avocado)
- Low-fructose vegetables (asparagus, leafy greens, celery, mushrooms, white potatoes, spinach, and peas)
- Organic and unprocessed foods
- Fiber-rich foods (Whole grains crackers)
- Healthy fats (Canned salmon)
- Prebiotics and probiotics
You should also use the best digestive health supplements to protect, heal, and support your gut. Ensure any supplements you use are FDA-approved and have the highest efficacy.
Conclusion:
As long as you get enough of these 5 supplements for intestinal health, there are many benefits. It doesn’t matter if you take supplements or use them in your diet; as long as they are in your system, you should start to see an improvement in any problem you may have. As always, it’s important to talk to your doctor about any questions or concerns before making any drastic changes to your diet.