Jan 2, 2026: Fabulous fiber

Welcome to this month’s edition of Boost Gut Health. Our 2026 theme will be healthy gut habits. As the father of medicine Hippocrates observed: all disease begins in the gut. 

Two Gut Healthy Habits

Pass on the ultra-processed foods. One in three Americans consume highly processed fast food on any given day. The occasional Big Mac from McDonalds won’t harm you. It’s the habit that causes the problem.

Just for the record: One Big Mac has 25 grams of protein, 46 grams of carbohydrates and 34 grams of fat. The fat is about half the recommended daily amount of fat — and most of that fat is saturated. That’s the fat that increases your risk of heart disease.

Find the cause of your leaky gut. Leaky gut was first described in 2000. It’s when the tight junctions in our gut lining open and allow undigested bits of food to move into our bloodstream. Obviously, that’s not good. You’ll feel uncomfortable, bloated and often in pain if you have leaky gut.

There are a number of causes, including stress, toxins, poor diet and inflammatory conditions like celiac disease.

Functional medicine doctors can help. They do more testing to find the cause of your gut problem, rather than just dampen down the symptoms.

One Lesson

Fiber is essential for a healthy gut. We often hear about the power of the three macronutrients or macros: protein, fat and carbohydrates. But we don’t hear so much about the power of one kind of carbohydrate: fiber.

A fiber-rich diet has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and colon cancer, boost gut health and improve insulin sensitivity. So it’s worth giving it your attention, if you’re planning for a long and a healthy life.

Fiber is what gives plants structure. So when you think of fiber, think fruit, vegetables and grains.

Most of us don’t eat enough fiber and need to increase our average intake by 50%. It’s recommended that men get 30-35 grams a day; and women 25-32 grams per day.

Here are some fiber-rich ideas: one cup of cooked lentils (15.5 grams), one cup of cooked black beans (15 grams), one cup of cooked peas (9 grams), half a cup of whole oats (4-5 grams), one cup of brown rice (3.5 grams).

If you want to dig more into the science, here’s a great overview of the evidence: ​https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7589116/pdf/nutrients-12-03209.pdf

One Quote

“For the first time in human history, biology has the opportunity to be engineering, not science.”

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia