TL;DR

Gut microbiome health breaks down when many small stressors add up. Improving diet diversity, reducing inflammation, and supporting digestion helps the microbiome and gut lining recover. Bone broth, collagen, and colostrum may help—but only as part of a bigger picture.

What Is the Gut Microbiome?

The gut microbiome is made up of trillions of bacteria and other microbes that help:

  • Digest food
  • Support the immune system
  • Reduce inflammation
  • Protect the gut lining
  • Produce nutrients

A healthy microbiome  is diverse and resilient. You want many kinds of bacteria and to not have the microbiome dominated by one or even a few species.

Why “Good Bacteria” Alone Is Not Enough

There is a lot of research that shows the benefits of probiotics. People take “good” bacteria to improve their health. By itself, probiotic supplementation does not “fix” gut health. The environment is much more important. Taking probiotics may be the equivalent of dropping tigers off in Antarctica–they won’t do well in an unfriendly environment.

Things That Damage the Gut’s Ecosystem

Many everyday factors slowly strain the microbiome and gut lining:

  • Diets high in sugar and processed foods
  • Low intake of vegetables and plant fiber
  • Chronic stress and poor sleep
  • Blood sugar and insulin problems
  • Digestive weakness and sluggish bile flow
  • Repeated medication or antibiotic use

Each factor adds a small burden. Together, they overwhelm gut resilience.

How to Have a Healthy Microbiome

  • Avoid sugar and processed foods (consider following the Roadmap to Health).
  • Eat a lot of fresh produce (75% by volume).
  • Eat many different kinds of fruits and vegetables. Different vegetables feed different microbes and increase the diversity of the microbiome.
  • Consider the need for biliary support [click to learn more] and the possible need for stomach HCl [this is controversial, but click here to learn more].
  • Regularly consume fermented foods.

Are Any Supplements Useful?

More can be accomplished with diet, but sometimes supplementation is useful. Some people use bone broth, collagen, or colostrum to support gut health. These provide building blocks for tissue repair and may help calm irritation. However, they do not fix gut problems by themselves.

References:

  1. Valdes AM et al. BMJ. 2018;361:k2179. Role of the gut microbiota in nutrition and health

  2. Zuo T, Ng SC. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018;15:517–529.Urbanization and the gut microbiota in health and inflammatory bowel disease

  3. Makki K et al. Cell Host Microbe. 2018;23:705–715. The Impact of Dietary Fiber on Gut Microbiota in Host Health and Disease
  4. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 2019;16:35–56. You are what you eat: diet, health and the gut microbiota.
  5. The healthy human microbiome. Genome Medicine. 2016;8:51.
  6. Intestinal barrier function in health and gastrointestinal disease. Neurogastroenterology & Motility. 2012;24(6):503–512.
  7. Bovine colostrum: its constituents and uses. Nutrients. 2021;13(1):265.