Gut reset: Gut primers can support gut health

Priming plays a vital role in many processes, whether you’re painting your walls or starting an engine. It’s a preparation step that ensures the rest of the process goes smoothly and everything performs at its peak. Priming is also something you should be doing for your gut.

That may sound strange, but your gut performs several crucial functions, much more than simple food digestion. Inside your gut is a complex world of trillions of living microbes – good ones and bad ones – called the gut microbiome. It’s home to more than 1,000 different species of microorganisms, primarily bacteria, that coexist in a living ecosystem.

Your gut performs best when that ecosystem is balanced and there is a diversity of beneficial bacteria. But modern lifestyles and unhealthy diets can negatively affect that balance. You can help promote a balanced gut microbiome and support overall gut health with intentional nutrition designed to help “prime” your gut for optimal function. 

What does the gut microbiome do?

Emerging scientific research is showing potential links between the gut microbiome and the immune system, sleep, stress, weight management, skin health, liver health, oral hygiene and overall health and wellness.

A diverse and balanced gut microbiome contributes to optimal digestion, nutrient absorption and a healthy immune system.

Food digestion

Food digestion actually starts with your saliva the moment you put something in your mouth. In your stomach, the food is broken down further when it mixes with acids and digestive enzymes. It then moves on to your small intestines where the bulk of your gut microbiome lives.

All those microorganisms work alongside digestive juices from the intestines, pancreas and liver to further digest the food so your body can use it.

Nutrient absorption

While some nutrients are absorbed in the stomach, most are absorbed by your small intestines. Microorganisms in your gut further break down what was passed on from the stomach, releasing the nutrients and making them ready for your body to use.

Gut health and the immune system

Your gut health and immune system are inextricably linked because your gut microbiome is home to 70 percent of your body’s immune system cells. The microbiome helps your body distinguish between good bacteria and substances that our bodies need, versus things that pose a threat.

This is a key way your body builds a defensive layer. Your immunity cells tackle the things that pose a threat, working together with the good bacteria to keep your body running smoothly.

Gut reset: The importance of priming the gut

Maintaining a good balance of diverse, beneficial bacteria is critical to supporting your gut’s natural defenses and the wellbeing of the entire body.

Today’s lifestyles, however, can easily throw off that delicate balance, and your nutrition is the biggest culprit. Fast foods and too many refined carbohydrates and saturated fats can negatively impact the gut microbiome. Sedentary living, smoking and exposure to environmental pollutants also make it harder for beneficial bacteria to thrive.

That’s where priming comes in. Priming your gut daily over an extended period of time with a plant-forward diet can provide a sort of “gut reset,” helping to deliver diverse functional nutrients that work to support gut health and promote a balanced gut microbiome.

Fermented greens, herbs, fruits, vegetables and spices like cinnamon and turmeric provide diverse sources of nutrients, fiber and other plant nutrients like polyphenols that support gut function. Plant ingredients also supply readily available macronutrients and phytonutrients for good nutrition.

Prebiotic vs. postbiotic vs. probiotic: Understanding gut support supplements

Gut support supplements can also help prime the gut for optimal function, helping to promote a more balanced gut microbiome and provide overall gut support, including prebiotics, postbiotics, probiotics, fiber, digestive enzymes and others.

Prebiotics are undigestible parts of many plant-based foods that act as food for beneficial microorganisms when they reach your gut. Postbiotics is a broader term referring to inactivated microorganisms or any of their components that can benefit your health, including promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut. And probiotics are helpful microorganisms that can promote a balanced gut microbiome when consumed regularly.

Dietary fiber helps keep food and waste moving through the gut efficiently and digestive enzymes can help break down macronutrients, promote digestion and aid nutrient absorption.

Some supplements combine multiple gut-supporting ingredients to offer a comprehensive gut primer and to support holistic health and wellness. Nutrilite Begin™ Daily GI Primer, for example, is a plant-rich, gut health supplement designed to prime the gut at the start of each day.† The powder can be added to water, a smoothie or other beverage.

It features postbiotics, prebiotics and fiber to promote the growth of good bacteria and a balanced gut microbiome as well as digestive enzymes to help break down carbohydrates, fats and proteins. It also includes fermented greens, fruit and vegetable concentrates and alkaline spices. These gut-supporting ingredients complement each other in the gut to help support comprehensive gut health.†

† These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.