Gut health has become one of the most discussed topics in the wellness community, but not all trends making the rounds on social media are beneficial. Renowned gastroenterologist Dr Saurabh Sethi, MD, MPH — trained at AIIMS, Harvard, and Stanford — recently shared his expert opinion on the effectiveness of several popular gut health practices. His advice aims to help people make better choices for digestive wellness while steering clear of potentially harmful habits.
In an Instagram post on August 11, Dr Sethi evaluated 10 trending gut health practices, rating them on whether they should be included in a healthy lifestyle or skipped altogether. He emphasized that daily fasting without proper structure can negatively impact gut function. Instead, he recommends adding digestion-friendly spices such as turmeric, ginger, and fennel, as well as incorporating a variety of natural herbs into daily meals.
Here is Dr Sethi’s breakdown of the trends:
- Daily fasting with no structure – Skip.
- Turmeric, ginger, and fennel for digestion – Add.
- Natural herbs in meals – Add.
- Cabbage soup diet – Skip.
- Listening to body cues – Add.
- Alkaline water for gut reset – Skip.
- Raw eggs for gut lining – Skip.
- Food diversity for gut strength – Definitely add.
- Never eating legumes – Skip.
- Flax or chia seeds – Add.
Earlier, on August 10, he reviewed 10 more gut health trends. These included positive practices like avoiding distracted eating, adding fennel seeds after meals, drinking green tea or matcha, staying hydrated with plain water, and maintaining mindful eating habits. He strongly discouraged coffee enemas, daily enemas for detox, and blindly relying on probiotic gummies.
In another Instagram post dated August 8, Dr Sethi shared his best morning habits for a healthy gut. These include drinking warm water before coffee to promote digestion, getting morning sunlight exposure, taking psyllium husk if constipated, and performing a daily bowel movement check to ensure regularity.
Dr Sethi’s insights serve as a reminder that not every popular wellness tip is backed by science. Making informed choices and listening to your body are key to building long-term digestive health.