The Best Dinner for Gut Health, According to Dietitians - EatingWell

When we use the term “gut health,” we’re largely talking about the health and diversity of the gut microbiome—all of the microorganisms that live in your gastrointestinal tract. This community of gut bugs doesn’t just affect your GI health, it makes a big impact on your overall wellness. 

"Recent scientific research supports the idea that a balanced, healthy microbiome plays a role in nutrient digestion and absorption, hormone generation, neurotransmitter production, your metabolism and immune system and more, says Tami Best, M.S., a registered dietitian nutritionist with Top Nutrition Coaching who specializes in gut health. 

One way to support a healthy gut is through nutrition, particularly by eating a diet rich in plant foods and probiotics. But what does this actually look like? To give you an idea, we’re going to start with dinner. We talked to gut-health experts about how to create a gut-healthy dinner, what they recommend, and how to eat it to support your microbiome. Keep reading.

What to Look For in a Gut-Health-Friendly Dinner

Probiotic-Rich Ingredients

Probiotics are good-for-you live bacteria that help populate your gut for a healthy microbiome. We still need more research to learn if or when probiotic supplements are beneficial, per the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, so getting probiotics from food sources is especially important.

You can find probiotics in foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, tempeh, miso, kefir and some brands of cottage cheese. Yogurt is another great probiotic-rich food that can be incorporated into dinner, and it can be used as a base for a dressing or marinade or dolloped onto a bowl of soup, recommends Diana Mesa, RD, CDCES, founder and owner of En La Mesa Nutrition.

Prebiotic Fiber

Fiber is great for gut health—especially if it’s a specific type called prebiotic fiber, which acts as food for the healthy bacteria in your gut, allowing them to thrive. 

“The bacteria in your gut ferment prebiotic fiber, releasing byproducts such as gases and short-chain fatty acids,” says Mesa. “Short-chain fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties, which are not only beneficial to gut health but to overall health, too,” she explains.

The prebiotic foods that Best recommends include whole grains, peas, legumes, artichokes, garlic, honey, asparagus, banana, dandelion greens and onions. Mesa says she loves incorporating potatoes, legumes or plantains in her dinners for prebiotic fiber.

Plant Foods

For a gut-friendly dinner, make sure you’re packing in the plants. A 2020 study in Nutrients found that people who followed a Mediterranean diet rich in plant foods had significantly more diverse gut microbiomes than those who ate a typical Western diet low in fiber and high in added sugars and animal products. Researchers believe antioxidants—found in abundance in plant foods—may have something to do with this. 

A Low-Stress Environment

Gut health is about more than just the nutrients you eat. It’s also about how you eat. Mindful eating can promote nervous system regulation and help your body enter “rest and digest” mode for optimal digestion, per a 2019 study in Integrative Medicine. 

Try eating dinner in a low-stress environment. That means setting aside enough time for the meal so that you don’t have to rush, and eating regularly throughout the day so you don’t show up to dinner extremely hungry. Doing so will allow you the opportunity to chew your food thoroughly. “Digestion begins in the mouth, and in the hustle and bustle of the day-to-day, you might find yourself eating pretty quickly,” says Mesa. Slowing down means chewing food thoroughly, which can improve your digestion and make eating a more pleasurable experience, she says.

The Best Dinner to Support Gut Health

For a healthy gut microbiome, we recommend our Roasted Salmon with Smoky Chickpeas & Greens. It has almost one-quarter of the Daily Value of fiber (6 grams) in each serving, and it’s packed with plant foods that provide prebiotics and antioxidants. Plus, salmon is a high-quality source of protein that’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids to reduce inflammation. 

If you want to add a grain, we recommend going with a whole grain like quinoa, wild rice or barley for added prebiotics. However, if you’re just starting to increase your fiber intake, you may want to start with a grain like white rice, which has less fiber. This recipe is already an excellent source of fiber, and adding too much fiber too quickly can cause GI issues like bloating.

Here are three reasons why we love this dinner for gut health:

Rich in Prebiotic Fiber

This dinner includes one of Mesa’s favorite prebiotic sources—legumes! The chickpeas are tossed with oil, paprika and salt and then roasted for a crispy accompaniment to the salmon and kale. If you have leftover chickpeas after making this recipe, you’re in luck. They work great as a snack on their own or as a salad topping for lunch the next day.

Besides the chickpeas, this recipe incorporates kale, another great source of prebiotic fiber. The recipe instructs you to cook the kale on the stovetop for a warm meal, but you could always serve it cold if you want something more refreshing.

Contains Probiotics

This recipe includes a creamy green dressing to top the salmon and greens. One source of the dressing’s creaminess is buttermilk, an ingredient that sometimes (but not always) contains probiotics. (Check the label for live and active cultures.)

If you’re not sure if your buttermilk contains probiotics, it’s also easy to add probiotics by using plain yogurt instead of buttermilk or mayonnaise in the recipe. Or, you can swap the dressing and make this Creamy Yogurt-Dill Sauce instead.

Anti-Inflammatory Ingredients

This recipe incorporates a few anti-inflammatory ingredients that Best recommends, including green leafy veggies, fatty fish and extra-virgin olive oil. “Anti-inflammatory foods help keep intestinal cells healthy,” says Best. 

Plus, the chickpeas are seasoned with paprika, a spice that may have anti-inflammatory benefits due to its capsaicin content. Capsaicin is responsible for the spicy flavor of foods like paprika and chile peppers. A 2022 study in Biomolecules found that capsaicin may help reduce inflammation and stimulate mucin production in the colon, which supports the growth of healthy gut bacteria. 

The Bottom Line

For a healthy gut, it’s important to eat prebiotics, probiotics and anti-inflammatory foods like fatty fish and leafy greens. The best dinner that fits the bill is our Roasted Salmon with Smoky Chickpeas & Greens. To support healthy digestion, experts recommend eating it slowly in a stress-free environment, too. Besides, with a dinner this good, you’ll want to savor and enjoy it.

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The Best Dinner for Gut Health, According to Dietitians - EatingWell
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