5 Best Gut Health Supplements for a Happy, Thriving Microbiome

What does your gut health affect? No, wait, scratch that.

The question should be, “What doesn’t your gut health affect?” instead because, as far as the current scientific consensus indicates, the trillions of microbes in your gut are key to total health — influencing everything from weight and mood to blood sugar levels and immune function.

So, given that a healthy gut can make you healthy, it’s only natural that you’d want to shape your microbial community in a way that best serves your well-being … which is where gut health supplements come into play.

What is “gut health”?

To help you better appreciate how gut health supplements work, let’s first dive a little deeper into what “gut health” actually entails.

What does “gut” refer to? It’s your gastrointestinal system and includes your stomach, intestines, and colon.

Now, remember those microbes we mentioned earlier? Microbes are micro-organisms, and your gut contains 5 different kinds: bacteria, viruses, fungi, archaea, and eurkarya. Before you get your tongue (and mind) in a twist, don’t worry about committing that list to your memory.

Bacteria make up the vast majority of microbes in your gut microbiome, so for simplicity’s sake, we’ll interchange the words “microbes” and “bacteria” in this article.

While there is no “blueprint” for a healthy gut, research suggests there are 2 advantageous characteristics to strive for:

Diversity: Microbial diversity in your gut is a good thing. You could think of your gut's landscape as a miniature ecosystem, a rainforest — the more species there are, the more vibrant the community, and the better it can support your well-being.
Balance: Most gut bacteria are helpful (“good”), while others are harmful (“bad”). But as with all things in life, too much of a good thing could still be bad, so keeping the perfect balance between friendly and unfriendly microbes is crucial for optimal health.

A diverse and balanced gut microbiome produces many beneficial molecules and metabolites, including vitamin K (supports bone health), folic acid (contributes to the production of healthy red blood cells), and serotonin (linked to body functions like sleep, mood, and digestion).

How can you improve your microbiome?

What you consume affects your gut microbiome.

Meaning? There are 2 things you could do to promote a diverse and harmonious gut microbiome: 1) eat a well-balanced, healthy diet and 2) supplement with gut health supplements.

A well-balanced, healthy diet

Just to set the record straight, there is no single “gut healthy” diet — so, no set pattern of eating that’ll help you achieve good gut health.

That said, health experts agree on the following broad dietary recommendations:

Eat fiber-rich foods, such as complex carbohydrates in grains, vegetables, and legumes. Fun fact: gut microbes use dietary fiber as an energy source.
Incorporate fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and kefir, which contain their own live microbes (“probiotics” — more on this later) that may help increase microbiota diversity in the gut.
Limit consumption of ultra-processed foods, alcohol, and added sugars. These create a sub-optimal environment in the gut that favors the growth of “bad” gut bacteria, increasing the likelihood of imbalance in the microbial community.

Gut health supplements

#1: Probiotics

Probiotics are essentially “good”, live bacteria.

Beyond getting them from fermented foods, as previously mentioned, you could also take probiotic supplements to encourage gut microbe diversity and harmony.

In healthy adults, probiotics have been found to help with the immune system, mood, and bowel movements. That said, a slightly tricky thing about supplementing with probiotics is that they aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution.

Research suggests that for probiotics to be effective, you must take the right strain at the right dose for your health goal.

#2: Prebiotics

This brings us to something that fares better than probiotics in the realm of gut health supplements: prebiotics.

Prebiotics are special, non-digestible fibers that act as food for gut microbes, promoting their growth and activity. If it helps, you can think of probiotics as a specific crop variety and prebiotics as fertilizer to help all crops flourish.

In other words, prebiotics are more all-purpose than probiotics.

#3: Molecular hydrogen

One thing we haven’t touched on in this article is your gut lining.

So, here goes. Your gut lining is made of millions of cells that join together to create a tight barrier that acts like that tough bouncer at the club and decides what gets absorbed into the bloodstream (e.g., nutrients, such as amino acids) and what stays out (e.g., harmful bacteria).

Unfortunately, sometimes, that barrier can be compromised.

A key culprit? Oxidative stress. Free radicals damage the cells making up the gut lining, creating “holes” that allow various undesirable compounds like toxins and bacteria to leak into the bloodstream.

Imaginably, this instigates many health problems, including an imbalance between “good” and “bad” gut microbes.

*a single bead of sweat drips down your temple*

Yes, that doesn’t sound good, but here’s some heartening news. As an antioxidant, molecular hydrogen can donate its electrons without becoming unstable. This means it nips oxidative stress and its various adverse effects in the bud.

Molecular … hydrogen? If you don’t know what that is, it’s just hydrogen gas.

And while you could breathe it in (hydrogen gas therapy), it just makes more sense for you to drink it in the form of hydrogen water since it gets right to the gut, where its beneficial effects are most needed.

Alright, alright. Because we know you must be wondering, here’s how you can quickly and affordably get hydrogen water:

Get your hands on Nutrionic™ H₂Energizer tablets
Plop a tablet into a cup of water
Wait 1 to 2 minutes
Enjoy your newly enriched water (up to 10 ppm of gut-nourishing molecular hydrogen!)

#4: Glutamine

In some sense, glutamine belongs to the same category of gut health supplements as molecular hydrogen.

That’s because glutamine is an amino acid — the building block of protein — that promotes the reproduction of healthy intestinal cells, which, in turn, supports a strong gut lining that ensures only the right molecules get into the bloodstream.

#5: Butyrate

Butyrate is somewhat of a multi-tasker; it promotes a balanced and diverse gut microbiome by:

Serving as the main energy source for the cells that make up your gut lining
Supporting the body’s levels of glutathione, an antioxidant that fends off oxidative stress
Fortifying the gut lining so bacteria and unwanted substances stay out of the bloodstream

What to know before trying gut health supplements

If you’re going to take gut health supplements, always check with your doctor first. Some may not be compatible with certain health conditions and/or medications. You should also research the specific supplements and see if the FDA has approved them.

A reassuring, parting note: Nutrionic™ H₂Energizer tablets are formulated with the only molecular hydrogen supplement that’s obtained the New Ingredient Dietary Status with the FDA.

Shop here.