'I'm a Gastroenterologist—Here's What I Eat for Breakfast Multiple Times Per Week'
If you want to live your healthiest, best life, eating with gut health in mind is key. A microbiome thriving with good bacteria is important not only for proper digestion, but also for immune health, mood regulation and could even play a role in preventing cognitive decline.
One easy place to start when it comes to prioritizing gut health is eating a gut-healthy breakfast. After all, what we do in the morning helps set the tone for the rest of the day. Not sure what a gut-healthy breakfast looks like? Here, a gastroenterologist gives tips on creating a morning meal that supports your gut and reveals what she herself eats for breakfast multiple times a week.
Related: Eat Your Way to a Healthier Gut—Here's What You Need to Know About Gut Health and Diet
What a Gastroenterologist Eats for Breakfast
There are two foods that Dr. Caroline Soyka, DO, a gastroenterologist with Gastro Health in Jupiter, Florida, says she eats for breakfast multiple times a week: eggs and kefir. “Eggs and kefir are a great way to get filling protein as well as healthy probiotics that are great for diversifying the gut microbiome,” she reveals.
Dr. Sokya says that both of these foods support gut health, explaining that kefir is fermented by natural bacteria and yeasts that provide a natural source of probiotics. “People should be able to get enough prebiotic and probiotics from foods in their diet without having to take supplements. The key to accomplishing this is eating natural, unprocessed foods in addition to fermented foods,” she shares.
Scientific research backs up that kefir does support gut health and, as a result, supports brain health too. Additional scientific research shows that eating kefir can help protect against chronic inflammation, including in the gut.
Related: Looking to Give Your Gut a Little Reset? These 50 Probiotic Foods Are a Great Place to Start
As for eggs, this food is a goldmine of nutritional benefits, including protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B and vitamin D. “Fueling in the morning with a high-protein source like eggs provides me with a sustained energy source, which also helps me start my day off right,” Dr. Soyka says.
Besides helping provide the body with energy, scientific research shows that eating eggs regularly supports gut health, in part, because it’s a good source of choline, a compound that helps regulate bacteria diversity in the microbiome.
Related: 90% of Us Are Missing This Essential Brain-Health Nutrient—Here’s How To Get More of It
Tips for Cooking Up a Gut-Healthy Breakfast
If you want to whip up a breakfast that supports your gut, Dr. Soyka says to prioritize eating colorful fruits and vegetables. “You can get creative and add them to a smoothie or mix them into an omelet,” she says.
Dr. Soyka adds that it’s important to eat whole, unprocessed foods as well as fermented foods. Examples of fermented foods you can incorporate into your breakfast—besides kefir—include yogurt, cottage cheese and sourdough bread.
When grocery shopping for kefir or yogurt, choose ones without added sugar, which can negatively impact the gut because it decreases the amount of good bacteria. Instead, sweeten your kefir or yogurt with fresh fruit, which is full of gut-healthy fiber.
In terms of foods to avoid at breakfast, Dr. Soyka says to minimize the consumption of highly processed cereals, pastries and breakfast bars. “[These foods] are often full of sugar and chemicals and offer no natural immunity-boosting organisms. These can lead to overgrowth and imbalance of ‘bad’ bacteria in our guts,” she explains.
While eating foods that support gut health is important, it’s not the only piece of the puzzle. “The gut is a manifestation of overall health. Good sleep, a balanced diet and exercise are all part of a healthy lifestyle,” Dr. Soyka says.
Starting your day with a meal you know is nourishing your body can make it easier to stick with healthy habits the rest of the day. Remember: What’s good for your gut is good for your entire body. After all, you are what you eat!
Next up, check out this list of 18 foods that nutritionists say are the best for your gut.
Sources
Dr. Caroline Soyka, DO, gastroenterologist with Gastro Health in Jupiter, Florida
The Role of Gut Microbiota in Anxiety, Depression, and Other Mental Health Disorders as Well as Protective Effects of Dietary Components. Nutrients. 2023.
Influence of Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis on Cognition in Alzheimer’s Disease. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2023.
Milk kefir alters fecal microbiota impacting gut and brain health in mice. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 2021.
Kefir and Its Biological Activities. Foods. 2021.
Egg consumption improves vascular and gut microbiota function without increasing inflammatory, metabolic, and oxidative stress markers. Food Science & Nutrition. 2022.
Choline supplementation regulates gut microbiome diversity, gut epithelial activity, and the cytokine gene expression in gilts. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2023.
High Intake of Sugar and the Balance Between Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Gut Bacteria. Nutrients. 2020.
