Gut Check: Your Deep Dive into Gut Health

Welcome to your gut check and a dive into gut health—what it is, why it matters, and how it influences everything from your immune system to your mood and even chronic inflammation. And for athletes and active people like you, it can even keep you from doing the things you love!

In this podcast, Coach Chris and her dietetic intern from Meredith College (Amanda), explore two powerful frameworks—DIGIN and STAIN—and break down the essentials of the microbiome, digestion, immune function, and the gut-brain connection. Let’s get into it.

DIGIN: The Foundations of a Healthy Gut

We’re starting with DIGIN, an acronym that lays out the core pillars of gut health:

Digestion & Absorption
Intestinal Permeability
Gut Microbiota/Dysbiosis
Inflammation & Immune Function
Nervous System

Digestion & Absorption

Digestion starts before food hits your stomach. The cephalic phase—smelling, chewing, and thinking about food—primes your digestive system. When digestion breaks down, it leads to maldigestion, often caused by:

Imbalanced stomach acid
Low bile or pancreatic enzymes
Poor motility or absorption

Self-check tip if you’re experiencing symptoms: Try the baking soda water test. Delayed burp (3–5+ min): May suggest low stomach acid. Immediate burp: Could point to high acid. Normal (2–3 min): You’re likely in the clear

Even if digestion works, malabsorption can block nutrients from reaching your bloodstream, leading to deficiencies in key nutrients like vitamin B12, iron, or protein.

Intestinal Permeability (“Leaky Gut”)

Your gut lining should act like a security gate. When tight junctions open too wide, large molecules and toxins leak into your bloodstream—triggering inflammation, food sensitivities, and even autoimmune responses.

STAIN: What Sabotages Your Gut?

Here’s what can go wrong. The STAIN framework highlights five major disruptors of gut health:

Stress
Toxic Exposure
Adverse Food Reactions
Infections
Nutritional Imbalances

These stressors promote dysbiosis, an imbalance in gut bacteria. Modern life—filled with processed foods, antibiotics, and chronic stress—lowers microbial diversity and impairs your gut lining.

Common signs of dysbiosis:

Bloating, brain fog, fatigue
Skin breakouts or eczema
Joint pain and inflammation
Mood swings, depression, or even anxiety

Pause and ask yourself: what’s one thing I do daily that either supports or stresses my gut?

Microbiome Masterclass

Your gut microbiome is mostly located in the large intestine, and it controls:

Immune response
Hormone regulation
Production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)
Vitamin and nutrient synthesis

What to Feed Your Microbes

Fiber is king—especially prebiotic fiber and resistant starch:

Green bananas
Legumes and beans
Whole grains
Raw potatoes (yes, really!), or cooked then cooled potatoes
Cooked and cooled rice

Probiotics (live bacteria) are found in:

Yogurt
Kefir
Sauerkraut
Kimchi
Sourdough

kombucha

Remember: Probiotics seed. Prebiotics feed.

And don’t forget hydration—without enough water, digestion slows and toxins build up.

Inflammation & the Immune System

About 70% of your immune system lives in your gut. Chronic inflammation in the gut can ripple throughout your body, contributing to:

Autoimmune conditions
Chronic pain
Depression and brain fog

Track gut inflammation using stool tests for calprotectin or lactoferrin. We provide this type of testing in our practice if you need support.

Heal Through Food

The Mediterranean diet is a proven anti-inflammatory approach:

High in fiber, polyphenols (plant compounds), and healthy fats
Low in sugar and ultra-processed foods

Foods like berries, olive oil, herbs, and dark chocolate feed your good microbes and reduce inflammation naturally.

The Gut-Brain Connection

Ever felt “butterflies” in your stomach? That’s your gut-brain axis at work. The vagus nerve is your main communication line, and you can strengthen it with:

Deep breathing
Humming or singing
Acupuncture
Fermented, polyphenol-rich foods

Gut imbalances can directly influence your mood, anxiety levels, and sleep patterns—so gut care is mental health care.

5R Framework: Your Gut Healing Game Plan

Ready to restore balance? Try the 5R approach:

Remove – irritants, stressors, infections (gut testing and food sensitivity testing helps to identify potential irritants, imbalances and infections)
Replace – enzymes, stomach acid support (ginger, bitters)
Reinoculate – with probiotics (not just ANY, but the RIGHT ones) and prebiotics
Repair – nutrients like glutamine, zinc, butyrate
Rebalance – sleep, stress, lifestyle, connection

Personalized testing can help tailor your approach—there’s no one-size-fits-all fix.

Sync Your Lifestyle with Your Gut’s Clock

Your gut has its own circadian rhythm! To support it:

Eat within a 10–12 hour window
Avoid late-night meals (especially 2–3 hours before sleep)
Prioritize quality sleep to allow your gut lining to repair

Weekly Gut Reset Challenge

Want to start simple? Here’s your 7-day gut reset:

Add 1 fermented food daily (yogurt, kefir, kimchi, kombucha)
Eat 25–30g of fiber per day
Sleep 8 hours nightly
Do one vagus nerve exercise daily (humming, breathing, cold water splash)

Then share your progress on social media or email a friend!

Start with our Nutrition Guide

Download our FREE Guide to High Performance Health Eating to get you started with the right kinds of hydration, protein and fiber choices.

Work with Us

Explore our Nutrition Services, including our Kickstart Package, which is a great way to dive into our nutrition support in conjunction with specific gut testing here.