Here’s How to Tell if Your Gut Is Healthy

Maybe you’re taking a daily probiotic, eating more fermented foods, loading up on fiber, or cooking plant-forward meals — all in the name of improving gut health. But how can you tell if your efforts are working?

Unlike building muscle, losing weight or seeing your blood pressure improve, gut health can feel invisible and abstract. You can’t see inside your gut microbiome, the collection of microbes that live in your intestines, or know exactly what’s happening inside your digestive tract day-to-day.

Here, find out what specifically to look for when trying to decode the signals your gut is giving you.

Signs of a Healthy Gut

When your gut health is optimal, you’ll know. Here’s what you’ll experience.

You Have Regular Bowel Movements

One of the simplest signs of a healthy gut is also one of the most obvious: how often you poop.

“The first factor of a normal gut is you feel good about eating and pooping. All of us can be a little constipated or have loose stools here and there. But this really, in a healthy gut, is going to be minimal,” says the psychiatrist Drew Ramsey, MD, the founder of the Brain Food Clinic, a virtual mental health practice, and the author of Healing the Modern Brain and Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety.

Pay attention if you’re going more frequently or less often than your norm, says Danielle Gaffen, RDN, a San Diego–based registered dietitian-nutritionist and the founder of Eat Well Crohn’s Colitis, which provides personalized nutrition counseling for people living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other digestive conditions.

Frequent constipation may indicate slow colonic transit (stool is moving too slowly through your colon), not enough fiber or fluid intake, or pelvic floor dysfunction, while chronic diarrhea may point to malabsorption, infection, inflammation in the digestive tract, or food intolerances, says Elena Ivanina, DO, a New York City–based gastroenterologist and the founder of the Center for Integrative Gut Health.

Your Stool Consistency Looks Normal, Too

Your stool’s consistency reflects your gut microbiome, Dr. Ivanina says.

“As a dietitian, I look at the bigger picture: stool form, frequency, ease of passing stool, urgency, pain, bloating, and whether there has been a meaningful change,” she says.

You Have Minimal Digestive Symptoms

A healthy gut doesn’t have to be completely symptom-free. Everyone has gas or occasional bloating from time to time, and some people also get heartburn, acid reflux, or stomach discomfort, Ivanina says. But not experiencing these symptoms daily is a hallmark of a well-functioning gut.

These symptoms may indicate food intolerances, an off-balance gut microbiome, or gut motility issues, Ivanina says.

“A gut that operates without generating frequent discomfort signals [is] a generally healthy one,” she says.

You Can Eat a Variety of Foods Without Issue

Being able to enjoy a broad range of foods — such as dairy, or spicy or acidic foods — without frequent symptoms can be another sign of good gut function, Ivanina says.

“A gut with intact barrier function, balanced microbiota, and normal visceral [internal organ] sensitivity is well equipped to handle diverse foods without generating symptoms,” she says.

But if you’re often encountering GI symptoms like gas, bloating, nausea, or acid reflux when you eat certain foods, talk to your doctor, Ivanina says. “Some intolerances are genetic and not modifiable, but developing new or worsening food intolerances can signal gut inflammation, dysbiosis, or increased gut permeability,” she says.

You Eat a Varied, Plant-Forward Diet

A plant-focused diet with lots of variety that includes mostly whole or minimally processed foods can support gut health, Dr. Ramsey says. “This isn’t about taking probiotics. It’s about eating more plants and fermented foods.”

You’re Energized and in a Good Mood

It also helps explain why stress and nerves can affect your stomach, while what you eat and how well your digestive system is running can affect how you feel, Ramsey says. “The gut is one of the best sources of information for the brain. We’re able to influence brain health and mental health via understanding more about gut health,” he says.

The connection to brain function is nuanced, Gaffen says. Brain fog, fatigue or trouble concentrating don’t automatically mean your microbiome is unhealthy, Gaffen says. “They can be influenced by many things: sleep, stress, medications, nutrient intake, hormones, or medical conditions.”

It’s worth flagging any symptoms to your doctor or registered dietitian, who can help you determine the underlying cause, she says.

Signs of an Unhealthy Gut

Some gas and bloating are normal, but new symptom patterns may suggest your digestive system needs attention, Gaffen says. “I would be more concerned when symptoms are new, frequent, persistent, worsening, painful or regularly interfering with someone’s daily life,” she says.

• Gas and gas pain
• Bloating
• Stomach pain
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Changes in bowel frequency
• New or worsening food-related symptoms

When to See a Doctor

• Rectal bleeding
• Blood in the stool (which can make it look dark brown or black)
• Unintentional weight loss
• Iron deficiency anemia
• GI symptoms that wake you up from sleep
• New onset of symptoms at age 45 or older
• Severe or progressively worsening symptoms
• Persistent, frequent diarrhea that lingers even after initial treatment
• A family history of colorectal cancer or IBD
• Signs of malabsorption like fatty stools, unexplained muscle loss, bone pain, or bruising

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“The general principle to remember is chronic GI symptoms that are new, changing, worsening or accompanied by any of the above red flags deserve a more timely and thorough evaluation,” Ivanina says.