3 Foods to Ditch for a Healthy Gut

What do sauerkraut, kimchi and yogurt have in common? They're some of the best foods you can eat for a healthy gut. That's because they're all sources of probiotics, the good kind of bacteria your digestive system needs. These good bugs do all sorts of important things—like helping you absorb nutrients, fighting inflammation, protecting your intestines from infection and even turning on pathways to your brain.

Finding the right balance within your body's microbiome—your gut's living, breathing ecosystem, made up of trillions of busy microorganisms—plays a big role in keeping your immune system healthy, according to a 2022 study published in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy. A healthy microbiome may help protect against conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), not to mention obesity, colon cancer and other serious conditions. It may even help reduce the risk of depression and anxiety.

Read More: 7 Must-Eat Fermented Foods for a Healthy Gut

But there's a flip side. Just as eating certain foods can help, others can hurt, by feeding the bad bacteria and helping them grow. Here are three not-so-gut-friendly foods to watch out for.

1. Diet Drinks

Non-nutritive sweeteners such as sucralose, acesulfame-K and saccharin are just a few of the alternatives to sugar commonly added to soft drinks and other diet beverages. Some research has shown that non-nutritive sweeteners alter gut bacteria, while others have not shown an association, according to a 2023 review study published in Nutrients.

The impact on gut health depends largely on the entirety of the diet, the individual's metabolic health and the environment. When diet drinks are consumed, they replace a drink or food that may benefit the gut, such as fiber-rich fruit, probiotic kombucha or plain H2O. Reducing diet drinks that do not have nutritional value may benefit the gut overall.

Try This Recipe: Lemon-Ginger Kombucha Cocktail

2. Red Meat

There is a surprising link between red meat consumption, gut bacteria and the risk of heart disease. Gut bacteria make a compound called trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) from foods that contain L-carnitine, betaine and choline. Red meat is one of those foods, as are eggs and some fish. Increased TMAO can cause an increased risk for high cholesterol, vascular dysfunction and blood clots, according to a 2024 review study published in Medicine.

While not necessarily focused on red meat, a 2021 study published in mSystems shows that switching from a meat-centered diet to a high-fiber plant-centered diet could shift your gut bacteria in a positive direction in as little as two weeks.

3. Ultra-Processed Foods

Chips, crackers, pretzels and other shelf-stable packaged foods are typically loaded with additives, preservatives and added sugar. These ultra-processed foods have been shown to negatively impact gut health, according to a 2024 review published in Advances in Nutrition.

Ultra-processed foods are generally low in fiber, which feeds healthy gut bacteria. Our advice? You can just skip the snack aisle and head to the fiber-rich produce section instead.

The Bottom Line

Eat a variety of fiber-filled whole foods every day to enrich your gut microbiome. More variety on your plate means a more diverse mix of nutrients—just what your body needs. Cut back on diet drinks, red meat and ultra-processed foods to give your gut the boost it needs.