The Japanese secret to a healthy gut: miso, natto, and more!

Nurturing my gut health, like helping a wilting plant thrive

Illustrations by Kaki Okumura

A while ago I had a (thankfully minor) infection, and was prescribed antibiotics to treat it. The antibiotics worked great on the infection, but unfortunately, my gut health took a bit of a hit.

So like nurturing a wilting plant back to life, I decided to pay a bit of extra attention to how I could help my gut health thrive.

First, prebiotics to power the process

Prebiotics are non-digestible compounds in food that promote the growth of beneficial bacteria (probiotics) in our gut. Instead of breaking down in the gut, they are fermented by beneficial bacteria– essentially acting as “food” for good bacteria.

Prebiotics are found in a variety of plant-based foods, particularly those high in fiber, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (perhaps unsurprising).

But don’t worry if you struggle to eat fruits and vegetables, it doesn’t need to be stressful:

• Eat what you find delicious. This winter in Japan, I ate tons of in-season strawberries and mikan (Japanese clementines), even visiting a farm for an all-you-can-eat experience. I still dream about those…