Eat Fruits and Vegetables for Gut Health

Last Updated on November 13, 2023 by Cathy

Gut health is all the rage right now. Which includes the moment food and liquids enter your body to the moment it exits. From Candida, IBS, inflammation, leaky gut, microbiome, probiotics, poor diet, and SIBO. Everyone is talking about gut health.

Researchers discovered people with multiple sclerosis (MS) have more bad gut bacteria. In other words, they have less good bacteria in their gut.

Why is this?

MS and Chronic Inflammation

Woman not feeling good laying down under a blanket.

The cause of MS is due to chronic inflammation, which includes gut health. Pathogens such as bacteria and viruses are triggers to MS. They also affect your gut health. – Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) was found to be the main cause of MS.

The gut microbiome plays an important role in human health and influences the development of chronic diseases.
– PubMed

Your digestive system includes the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, gallbladder, liver, and pancreas. It turns what you consume into the nutrients and energy you need to function. Each part of your digestive system helps move food and liquid through your GI tract. As it moves, your digestive organs break the food into smaller sizes. The small intestine absorbs most of the nutrients in your food.

I have spent years and literally thousands of dollars trying to fix my gut. I’ve always avoided eggs, they gave me gut pains, but then I started avoiding foods such as:

Cooking foods on high (histamines)
Fruit high in sugar (candida)
Foods high in mold (mycotoxins)
Nightshades (food sensitivities)
Sensitivity to foods (after testing) such as arugula, avocados, and coconut

As the years went by, I was removing more and more healthy foods from my diet.

Until I discovered I had high cholesterol and lipids. This meant heart disease could be in my future. High lipids can lead to buildup in the arteries which increases your risk of heart disease or a stroke.

I ate a clean diet, wasn’t overweight and exercised at least three times a week. And I still was heading toward cardiovascular disease. On top of that, I now had osteoporosis in both hips (while eating a Paleo diet).

That’s when I decided my current diet wasn’t helping me. I switched from a paleo-based diet to a plant-based diet full of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

Studies show a plant-based diet helps heart disease and builds bones.

Theoretical findings suggest a long-term plant-based diet may reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
– PubMed

After a couple of weeks, my digestive system was better than it had ever been. I can’t remember a single time that it worked this well.

Everyone is different, you may not have the same results.

What to Eat to Improve Your Gut Health

Woman sitting on a blanket with a basket of apples holding an apple.

The best way to improve your gut health is to eat a wide range of fresh foods mainly from plant sources. Eating a wide range of foods gives your body the vitamins and minerals it needs to thrive.

Dr. Terry Wahls recommends eating lots of vegetables. She was able to reverse her MS by eating a paleo-based diet and eating nine cups of vegetables each day. You can learn more about her diet in her book The Wahls Protocol.

For the best results she recommends eating three cups of each:

Leafy greens
Colorful (including one cup of fruit, preferably berries)
Cruciferous (e.g. asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower)

What To Eat for Gut Health

If you’re worried eating only fruits and vegetables will make you feel hungry, don’t be. Eating a high-fiber diet takes longer to digest, making you feel full longer. If you do feel hungry then eat a piece of fruit or veggie sticks, this is not a starvation diet.

You may be wondering what you can eat when you’re eating mostly fruits and vegetables. Especially if you eat a lot of meat or processed foods. If so, you need to shift your perspective. Besides salads, there are plenty of things you can eat that are only fruits and vegetables.

Foods to eat that include only fruits, vegetables, and herbs:

Apples with lemon juice and cinnamon
Burrito bowl with cauliflower rice, veggies, and avocado
Butternut squash hash
Cauliflower rice with pineapple juice, greens onions, and cilantro
Mixed berries with almond milk as cereal
Ice cream using frozen bananas
Nori wraps filled with veggies and sprouts
Roasted vegetables with herbs
Smoothies
Soup
Spaghetti squash topped with veggies
Stew with your favorite veggies (use mushrooms instead of meat)
Sweet potato fries with seasonings
Sweet and sour stir fry
Zucchini lasagna
Zucchini noodles

Instead of using meat, swap it out for mushrooms. Instead of cheese, you can make “nut cheese.” To add sweetness to a recipe add fruit such as dates.

Your microbiome is flourishing with nutrients when you eat a variety of healthy food.

Low Stomach Acid

Young woman sitting on a bed holding her stomach.

As we age our body produces less hydrochloric acid (HCL) also known as low stomach acid. HCL helps break down food, especially protein. It also allows our body to absorb nutrients. Studies found people with MS are at a higher risk for low HCL, although they found no reason. Another study found people with primary progressive MS (PPMS) were often nutrient deficient.

To increase your HCL:

Avoid processed foods and refined sugar
Chew your food
Drink lemon juice
Eat ginger (it reduces stomach inflammation due to low stomach acid)
Hold off on drinking liquids while eating
Lower your amount of animal proteins
Squeeze fresh lemon juice on salads and vegetables
Stay hydrated

Besides gut issues, bowel and urinary issues affect nearly 50% of people with MS. Common reasons are:

Limited physical activities
Neurological damage
Not drinking enough water
Side effects due to medications

There are many expensive courses to help you “fix your gut.” Instead, save your money and use “food as your medicine” by eating mostly fruits and vegetables.

The cause of MS is chronic inflammation. Pay attention to your body and choose a diet that works best for you.