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Your Gut Is Talking. Are You Listening?
- Jordana Sherman
- Mar 12
- 6 min read
There's a phrase we've all used a thousand times "trust your gut." We say it when we're making a big decision, when something feels off, when instinct kicks in before logic catches up. But what if your gut has been trying to tell you something far more important than which job to take or which person to trust? What if it's been trying to tell you the secret to your health all along?
At the recent Health and Longevity Summit sponsored by Viome, one message cut through louder than any other: the gut is not just a digestive tube. As Dr. Michael Bass highlighted, the microbiome is an ecosystem that influences every single system in the body, from your immune function and cardiovascular health to your brain. He views gut disease as a spectrum, where stress and diet drive us from simple dysfunction toward chronic issues. Essentially, your gut is the central command for how well and how long you live.
For women, this relationship is even more layered. Our anatomy is more compact, our hormonal cycles create a monthly "reset" for our bacterial environment, and our microbiomes are uniquely sensitive to stress. It is no coincidence that women experience IBS and chronic digestive distress at significantly higher rates than men. We are not imagining it. The science backs it up.
I know this because I lived it for over a decade. For twelve years living in the UK, my gut was my nemesis. It didn't matter how "clean" I ate, and I genuinely did try, something was always off. Bloated, sluggish, uncomfortable, triggered by things I couldn't identify. I did the doctor rounds, the tests, the elimination diets. The closest anyone got to an answer was a vague wave toward "IBS." No real diagnosis. No real solution. Just a persistent, exhausting mystery that I quietly accepted as my normal.
Then I moved to Spain. And slowly, without any dramatic overhaul, things began to shift.
Now, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that Spanish sunshine cured my gut ,though as someone who would happily rename the sun "Sol de España" and petition for it to be listed as a probiotic, I admit I am not exactly an unbiased witness when it comes to all things Spain. What actually changed was falling into the rhythm of how people here simply eat fresh, unprocessed food as the default rather than the exception, fruits and vegetables so good they barely need a plate, smaller portions that leave you satisfied rather than floored, and a culture that has never really needed a "clean eating movement" because it never strayed that far from the source in the first place.
Layer on top of that years of absorbing health and wellness content and putting my trust in medical professionals who know far more than I do, and slowly the pieces came together. My gut went from a daily battleground to something I barely think about anymore.
These are those habits. And whether you're in Madrid, Manchester, Melbourne or Miami, they work.
1. Diversity Over Perfection (The "Rainbow" Rule)
We spent years counting calories. The new metric that actually matters? Variety. Dr. Christin Glorioso and other summit experts advocate for a Mediterranean-style diet packed with "rainbow" fruits and vegetables. Dr. Megan Rossi suggests aiming for 30 different plant-based foods per week. Why? Because different plants feed different bacterial strains. As Dr. Momo Vuyisich put it simply: “Eat real food, less than you want, mostly plants.”
2. Fiber: Your Endogenous "Ozempic"
If there is one thing I wish someone had hammered home to me earlier, it's this: fiber is everything. Dr. Dawn Mussallem notes that a staggering 97% of Americans are fiber-deficient. This is a crisis because fiber is a literal lifesaver, every 10g increase in fiber is linked to a 13% improvement in cancer survival.
But here is the really exciting part from the Viome Summit: Eric Verdin explained that when you eat enough fiber, your gut produces butyrate. This butyrate actually signals your body to increase its own secretion of GLP-1, the same hormone targeted by blockbuster weight-loss drugs like Wegovy. You can essentially stimulate your own anti-aging, metabolic-boosting hormones just by upping your fiber.
Raspberries, apples, pears, green vegetables, and anything with an edible skin are your best friends here. My personal daily non-negotiable? Cucumber with the skin on. Fiber and hydration in one snack. Simple, cheap, and genuinely effective.
3. Water: The Most Underrated Fix
Water is the primary lubricant of your digestive tract. Without it, even the best high-fiber diet can backfire and leave you more blocked than before. Think of it as the coolant in the engine. Everything else depends on it.
4. Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Liquid Gold for a Reason
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and I go way back, but in Spain, it’s a morning ritual: a spoonful at breakfast before anything else. Beyond being a natural lubricant for the system, EVOO is packed with polyphenols (plant-based compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects). Research in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry shows it actively improves the composition of your microbiome. A generous drizzle isn't an indulgence; it’s medicine.
5. The Morning Ritual
Your morning coffee or tea is a prokinetic. It stimulates the "migrating motor complex," the gut's internal sweeping mechanism. Consuming it first thing helps anchor your digestive system to a circadian rhythm. Your gut loves predictability.
6. Fermented Foods: The Living Pharmacy
Kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, live yoghurt, these are not trends. They are ancient, time-tested sources of live probiotic cultures that seed and sustain a healthy microbiome. Nutritionist and researcher Dr. Federica Amati notes that food-based probiotics are generally superior to supplements because they arrive in the gut packaged with the enzymes and acids that help them survive the journey.
At the summit, Eric Verdin shared that adding fermented foods to your diet for just three weeks can have a profound effect on tamping down the inflammation associated with aging. My personal go-to is a tablespoon or two of sauerkraut daily, possibly a nod to my Eastern European roots, but the results speak for themselves.
7. The Nut Butter Warning
I say this as a reformed nut butter addict: in my London years, I was consuming it by the jar or bucket at times. While it has healthy fats, its dense, binding nature can slow gut transit time to a crawl. If you’re feeling "backed up," try treating nut butter as a garnish rather than a staple.
8. The Obvious Offenders
Processed meats, excessive red meat, fried foods, and alcohol. These aren't just "unhealthy", the research is unambiguous that they disrupt the microbiome and promote systemic inflammation.
9. The Tapas Philosophy: Smaller Portions
In Spain, Tapas is more than just food; it’s a philosophy of small plates shared slowly. By embracing this, I accidentally landed on a major health hack. Smaller, more frequent portions are significantly less taxing on your digestive enzymes than one or two massive sittings. It prevents that "food coma" feeling and keeps your blood sugar and your gut bacteria on an even keel.
10. Front-Load Your Day: The "Big Lunch" Rule
If there is one cultural shift that changed my biology, it’s this: in the Mediterranean, the "big" meal happens earlier in the day. By flipping the volume of my day, making lunch the main event and keeping dinner lighter, I gave my body the gift of time. Finishing your last meal 3–4 hours before bed allows your system to shift out of "digestion mode" and into "repair mode" while you sleep. Your gut doesn't want to be working overtime while you're trying to rest.
The Bottom Line
Here's the thing nobody tells you when you're in the thick of gut misery: it doesn't have to be your normal. The bloating and the unpredictability are signals—very loud, very persistent signals that your ecosystem needs attention.
The gut-body connection is not a wellness buzzword. We now know the gut communicates directly with the brain via the vagus nerve and produces roughly 90–95% of your serotonin. Whether you are 25 or 75, your microbiome influences your mood, your immunity, and your longevity.
You don't need to move to Spain although I will never stop quietly suggesting that you should. You just need consistency, curiosity, and a willingness to listen to what your body has been trying to tell you all along. Trust your gut. It really does know.
