Buzzapp Master 
These days, it’s harder than ever to separate fact from fiction when it comes to gut health. Social media is flooded with #guttok posts touting solutions like goopy chia-seed water and aggressive (and decidedly not recommended) DIY “cleanses,” while the wellness market is teeming with designer probiotics and fancy poop tests promising to optimize your digestion. The result? Tending to your gut can feel like a complicated—and costly—endeavor.
But in reality, the most reliable ways to support your gut are far simpler than all the hubbub would suggest. You’ve probably heard the advice to eat more fiber by loading up on fruits, veggies, and whole grains. It’s such a common recommendation from gastroenterologists not just because fiber can keep you regular, but it also because it can improve your overall digestive health and has non-GI benefits too, like lowering cholesterol, Olufemi Kassim, MD, a board-certified gastroenterologist and clinical assistant professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, tells SELF. Hydrating well, moving your body often, and managing your stress levels are also seemingly run-of-the-mill behaviors with real positive ripple effects for your gut.
It turns out, a few equally basic habits can also subtly work against your gut, throwing a wrench in your digestion or setting you up for issues down the line. Read on to learn the everyday things gastroenterologists advise their patients against, why they can wreak havoc, and what to do instead to keep your GI system chugging along smoothly.
1. You leave large breaks between eating or skip meals outright.If you’re a person who gets “hangry,” you already know how bypassing a meal can fry your nervous system and spark some serious irritability. (It can also make you feel low-energy or struggle to concentrate, not to mention potentially trigger nausea or a migraine.) But there’s also a gut-related downside to putting off eating at usual times: It can throw off your bowel movement frequency, Kyle Staller, MD, MPH, a board-certified gastroenterologist at Mass General, tells SELF.
In particular, he points to how skipping or delaying breakfast can leave you constipated. That morning influx of food is what wakes up your bowels and gets them contracting, so you can have a nice comfy poop later on. Without it, you risk slowing things down. (And if you’re putting off breakfast because you’re giving intermittent fasting a go, keep in mind: The research doesn’t conclusively show that it can benefit your health long-term, and this kind of restrictive eating style can bring its fair share of harms.) But ultimately, any kind of switch-up in your typical eating schedule can back you up, Dr. Staller notes. Travel constipation, anyone?
What to do instead: Keep your meal times roughly as consistent as you can, Haleh Pazwash, MD, FACG, a gastroenterologist at Gastroenterology Associates of New Jersey, tells SELF. The exact best cadence varies from person to person, but generally speaking, experts recommend eating every few hours during the day to stay fueled and regular.
2. You consume lots of artificial sweeteners.It might seem like opting for a “sugar-free” snack would be the healthiest choice…but the faux sugars found in things like candies, energy bars, and chewing gum can do a number on your gut, largely because they’re “tough to digest,” Dr. Pazwash says. In these products, it’s typically sugar alcohols to blame (e.g., sorbitol, mannital, and glycerol)—they pass through the upper part of your bowel unscathed and then wind up in your colon, where bacteria feast on them, leaving you with a surge of gas and bloating. As they traverse your GI tract, they can also “draw water into your colon,” which can cause diarrhea, Felice Schnoll-Sussman, MD, a board-certified gastroenterologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian, tells SELF.
Other sugar substitutes that might not send you running to the bathroom may still do some damage to your gut longer-term. We’re talking about the sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame-K, and saccharin found in a wide variety of low- and zero-cal foods including dairy products, cereals, baked goods, condiments, protein powders, puddings, and yes, diet sodas (sorry). Though research isn’t conclusive, studies suggest regularly consuming these sweeteners could mess with your microbiome, reducing your levels of supportive gut bugs while elevating the numbers of not-so-beneficial bacteria lurking therein. (The resulting imbalance could up your risk for inflammation or infection in your gut down the line.)
What to do instead: If you find that artificial sweeteners make you extra gassy or give you the runs, opting for the real sugar products every once in a while might give you relief. But before you make the swaps, know that the regular nutrition advice still stands too. Going big on sugar can up your risk for chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, not to mention it can also toss your microbiome off balance. So your best bet is to minimize both the sugar and sugar substitutes as best you can overall.
3. You hang out for a while on the toilet.Giving yourself ample time to poop might feel like the right thing to do. Or maybe it’s just one of the few times you get to be alone…or scroll through your phone in peace. We get it. But there’s a real downside to this behavior: It can increase pressure on your pelvis and lead to the development of hemorrhoids (swollen veins in your rectum), Dr. Kassim says. Why? The gap in the center of a toilet seat leaves your butt unsupported, as SELF has previously reported. Also, if you’re dawdling there for a while, you may be more tempted to strain or push to poop, which can further increase your risk of hemorrhoids or even anal fissures (tiny tears in your butthole).
What to do instead: Cap every poop attempt at five minutes, Dr. Kassim says. It’s also a good idea to go without your phone—as tough as that may be—to avoid getting sucked into a scrolling session and losing track of time, Dr. Schnoll-Sussman says. If nothing comes out, don’t sweat it. As Dr. Kassim puts it, it’s just “not your time.” She recommends giving it another go after your next meal. After all, eating “will get your intestines moving.” (We have the gastrocolic reflex to thank for that.) It’s also important to remember that you don’t need to poop every single day, contrary to popular belief. “Having a bowel movement anywhere between three times a day and every three days is normal,” she says.
If you’re regularly struggling to go that often, consider incorporating a few constipation remedies into your life—like drinking more water and loading up on fiber. Dr. Staller also suggests using a small stool (or Squatty Potty) to lift your feet up while you poop. “Our body tends to defecate at its best when the knees are above the hips,” he explains.
4. You regularly pop OTC pain meds.Taking a common type of OTC painkiller called a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)—like ibuprofen (Advil), naproxen (Aleve), or aspirin—can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, these meds are great for “treating pain and inflammation in the setting of muscle aches, headaches, and menstrual cramps,” Dr. Kassim says. But on the other hand, they can “eat away at the lining of the digestive tract,” she says. How? They exert their pain-relieving powers by cutting down on your levels of inflammatory prostaglandins—but those same chemicals can also protect your stomach lining. So with fewer of them in the mix, your stomach can get irritated, causing heartburn-like pain or discomfort in the short-term and upping your risk for a stomach ulcer over time.
What to do instead: You can take NSAIDs on occasion for aches and pains (and certainly when your doctor recommends them), but to lessen the chance of stomach upset, don’t exceed the recommended dose and always take them with food, Dr. Kassim says. (Tylenol, or acetaminophen, is not an NSAID and is generally gentler on the stomach—but it tends to be more effective for fever and mild aches versus major discomfort.) If you have any kind of chronic pain that has you popping NSAIDs on the reg or just wind up needing to take them for more than 10 days straight, it’s important to chat with your doctor about other ways to find relief that won’t risk GI fallout, Dr. Kassim says.
5. You lie down or go to bed shortly after eating.It can be plenty appealing to get horizontal immediately after a meal…particularly a big one. But doing so can be a recipe for heartburn (especially if you’re already prone to it), whether you’re reclining on the couch or crawling under the covers. It’s just simple physics: “When you lie down, gravity is no longer helping to keep stomach acid and food where it belongs—in the stomach,” Dr. Schnoll-Sussman says. That’s why nighttime heartburn is so common in general. If your stomach is full (or contains irritants like spicy, fatty, or acidic foods), it’s even easier for acid and food to retrograde into your esophagus and spark that on-fire feeling.
What to do instead: Wait to lie down for at least two to three hours after eating, Dr. Schnoll-Sussman says. And ideally, have dinner with that much time before you go to bed. That can certainly be tricky depending on your schedule, Dr. Staller concedes, but whatever gap of time you can allow will help minimize how much food is still being digested in your stomach when you kick back, which reduces your chances of reflux.
6. You skimp on sleep.Though it isn’t totally clear why, research suggests poor sleep is linked with higher risk of gut problems, Dr. Pazwash says. Some potential theories: Missing shuteye can put your immune system on high alert, sparking microscopic inflammation in your bowel; or it might futz with the balance of your microbiome, or initiate your stress response in ways that set you up for gut symptoms. Sleep deprivation is also a known trigger for symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in folks with the condition, perhaps for any number of these reasons. All that said, these symptoms can also interfere with your ability to snooze, so the sleep-gut connection may go both ways. In any case, keeping your GI system happy is yet another health reason not to bypass sleep.
What to do instead: Make getting high-quality sleep a priority, to the extent that that’s possible. At a baseline level, that means setting aside a good seven hours for it—and not delaying bedtime for the sake of that extra episode…or hour on TikTok. If your bigger issue is actually falling and staying asleep once you’re tucked in, consider brushing up on your sleep hygiene: Do what you can to keep your bedroom cool, quiet, and dark; avoid downing coffee or alcohol within a few hours of dozing; and put your phone out of reach. (These tips for better snoozing straight from sleep doctors themselves can help too.)
No matter which of these not-so-great habits you might be trying to break, also don’t be too hard on yourself along the way, Dr. Pazwash says. Just as easily as your gut may get out of whack, it can also come back into balance with these small shifts.
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