A Beginner's Guide to Gut Healing: 5 Simple Steps to Start Today
- Nov 2
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 18
Ever feel bloated, sluggish, or just... off? You're definitely not alone. I see it all the time as a nutritionist. So many of us are walking around with digestive issues, weird skin problems, and zero energy, and we don't realize that the root of all of it is probably our gut.
Thankfully, healing your gut isn't about some crazy, overwhelming, perfect diet. It’s not about perfection at all. It’s just about making small, good choices, one after another.
This is your beginner's guide. Just 5 simple, totally doable steps you can start today.
So, What is "Gut Health"?
First off, what are we even talking about?
Your "gut" is basically your whole digestive tract, and it's home to trillions of little bugs (bacteria, fungi, all that stuff). This is your gut microbiome.
The easiest way to think about it is like a rainforest. When your little rainforest is balanced and has lots of different plants and animals (good bugs), you thrive. You digest food, your immune system is strong, your hormones are happier, and your mood is stable.
"Gut healing" is just the process of bringing that rainforest back to life. Here’s how we start.
The first step to feeling 'at home' in your body is working on your gut.
Get my Free 3-Day Happy Gut Meal Plan and join our private community to start your journey.
Step 1: Ease Up on the Hard Stuff
First things first. You can't heal if you keep adding fuel to the fire. This just means gently reducing the stuff that's known to make your gut lining angry.
I'm not asking you to remove everything at once. Just be a little more mindful of these big ones:
Ultra-Processed Foods: You know, the stuff in crinkly packages, fast food, sugary drinks. They're often loaded with weird fats, sugar, and additives that the "bad" gut bugs just love to eat.
Tons of Sugar: Not just candy. Look out for the sugar hiding in your salad dressings, sauces, and "healthy" granola bars. Sugar is like fast food for the unhelpful bugs in your gut.
Alcohol: This one can be a direct irritant to the gut lining. I'm not saying never again, but try cutting back for a few weeks and just... see how you feel.
My approach: kindness not punishment. You're just giving your gut a little vacation so it has the time and space to heal.
Step 2: Add in the Good Stuff
This is the fun part. Let's stop focusing on what you're cutting out and focus on what you get to add. I like to think of these as the "R" foods.
Repair (Bone Broth & Collagen): Bone broth is full of L-glutamine, an amino acid that's basically the #1 food for the cells in your gut lining. It's like patching up a "leaky" gut. A warm cup in the morning will do you wonders.
Replenish (Probiotic Foods): These foods have the live, good bacteria in them. Think of it as sending in reinforcements for your team.
Try: Sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir (dairy or water), miso, or plain yogurt (make sure it says "live & active cultures").
Re-fuel (Prebiotic Foods): This is the food for your good bacteria. You can't just send in the reinforcements (probiotics) and not give them anything to eat!
Try: Garlic, onions, leeks, asparagus, bananas, and oats.
Step 3: How You Eat Matters. A Lot.
Seriously. How you eat is just as important as what you eat.
Your gut and your brain are constantly talking to each other (it's called the gut-brain axis). When you're stressed, your body goes into "fight-or-flight" mode. It literally pulls energy away from digestion to deal with what it thinks is a threat (like that stressful work email or running late).
You cannot digest food properly if you're eating in a state of panic.
Your Action Plan:
Breathe first. Before you eat, just stop and take 3 deep breaths. This tells your brain "we're safe" and flips the switch to "rest-and-digest" mode.
Chew your food! Please! Digestion starts in your mouth. If you swallow your food whole, you're just sending a giant, undigested lump to your stomach and making its job 100x harder.
Sit down. No more eating in the car. No more standing at the counter. Give yourself 10 minutes. Create a calm moment.
Step 4: Just. Go. To. Sleep.
This is the most underrated step in healing. Full stop.
Your body's main "repair mode" is when you're sleeping. It's when your brain cleans itself, your muscles repair, and your gut lining finally gets to work on healing and rebuilding.
If you're only getting 5-6 hours of crappy sleep, you're cutting your gut's repair time in half. Bad sleep is directly linked to a sad, unbalanced microbiome.
Your Action Plan: Aim for 7-8 hours. Start with a "wind-down" routine. An hour before bed, dim the lights, put your phone on the charger (across the room!), and sip a cup of chamomile tea. It's a signal to your body that it's time to chill.
Step 5: Move Your Body... Gently
You don't need to go run a marathon. In fact, sometimes super-intense exercise can just add more stress.
But gentle movement is amazing for your gut.
Walking: A 20-minute walk after dinner is incredible. It helps with digestion and balances your blood sugar.
Yoga & Stretching: Those "twisty" yoga poses? They're not just for show. They're literally a gentle massage for your digestive organs. They help move gas and bloating along and get blood flowing.
Moving is also one of the best ways to burn off stress hormones—which, as we learned in Step 3, is key to happy digestion.
Your Journey Starts Now
Look, this is a marathon not a sprint. Don't try to do all 5 of these things perfectly tomorrow.
Just pick one.
Maybe your only goal this week is to add a spoonful of sauerkraut to your lunch. Or to just take those 3 deep breaths before you eat. That's a huge win.
Be patient with your body. Listen to it. You totally have the power to heal, and you've already taken the most important step—just by reading this blog about gut healing for beginners.
Ready for the next step?
If this guide was helpful and you're ready for a clear, simple plan, check out my Starter Nutrition Package or my Downloadable Gut Health Guide. I made them to take all the guesswork out of healing so you can start feeling better.
I'd love to hear from you! Drop a comment below and tell me: which one of these 5 steps are you going to try this week?
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