5 Supplements To Improve Gut Health, Fix Leaky Gut And Optimize Performance

Known as "the second brain", your gut's health regulates just about every system in the human body. This includes your immune system, brain function, mood, body composition, and wellness. In other words, you can not be healthy with a sick gut.

This is why it's receiving more and more attention from both the medical and fitness communities. Improving and maintaining a healthy gut requires systematic changes to your diet and life.

However, there are several supplements with scientific evidence to support their use in reversing damage, improving conditions, and optimizing your gut's health. 

What Is Your "Gut"?

Your gut is the informal term for your gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The GI is a 20-to-30-foot-long tube running from the mouth to the anus and includes;

• The stomach
• Small intestine
• Large intestine (colon)

Your gut's primary function is to digest food and absorb its nutrients. To do this, it houses trillions of microorganisms (microbiome) and can affect a host of physiological processes, which can influence;

• Immunity
• Emotions and Mental Health
• Cognition and Brain Function
• Performance and Muscle Function

Why Is Gut Health So Important?

More and more research is showing how important gut health is. 

• It houses nearly 70% of the immune system.
• The microbiome breaks down food to absorb essential nutrients.
• Controls and manages inflammation. 

A healthy gut ensures your body gets the nutrients it needs while maintaining an overall healthy system. It can;

• Prevent and mitigate the risk of chronic diseases (diabetes, heart disease).
• Supports mental health as the gut and brain "talk" to each other. 
• Plays a large role in weight and body composition, including increased muscle mass and fat accumulation.
• Increases energy levels and performance
• Eliminates toxins and removes metabolic waste. (Mohr et al., 2020; Gutiérrez-Nájera et al., 2025).

What Are The Best Gut Health Supplements?

Disruption of the gut's biome and increased permeability are the key issues that lead to poor gut health. Being systematic in nature, this occurs as a result of lifestyle behaviors and poor diet over the long term.

Therefore, improving and maintaining gut health is not a one-time fix but occurs through long-term changes through several mechanisms:

• Improving the gut flora to create a healthy and positive environment.
• Decrease and mitigate inflammation that causes and increases permeability. 
• Provide the necessary nutrients to repair the lining of the gut.

With that said, there are certain foods and supplements you can add to your diet to increase overall gut health, improve conditions, and optimize your quality of life.

1.  Prebiotics And Fiber

Prebiotics are non-digestible foods, usually specific types of fiber, that stimulate the growth and activity of beneficial bacteria in the colon. In this sense, they act as the fuel for probiotics by feeding and promoting their growth (Yoo et al., 2024).

How Do Prebiotics Fix Your Gut?

1. Feeding beneficial bacteria: Prebiotics are the primary energy source for beneficial gut microbes. This helps them grow and outcompete harmful bacteria.

2. Producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs): When fermented by gut bacteria, prebiotics produce SCFAs, which support gut lining integrity, metabolic health, and inflammation control.

3. Improving digestion and nutrient absorption: By improving microbial balance and gut flora, prebiotics help regulate bowel function and support more efficient nutrient extraction.

4. Regulates immune and inflammatory responses: A healthy gut plays a direct role in both immune signaling and inflammation regulation. This is crucial for improved recovery and overall health.

2. Probiotics Optimize Gut Flora

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are essential for your health, especially your digestive system. Often referred to as your "good" or "helpful" bacteria, probiotics help maintain or restore balance within the gut microbiome (Sarita et al., 2025).

How Do Probiotics Fix Your Gut?

1. Supporting microbial balance/ prevents dysbiosis: Probiotics help maintain and increase the beneficial bacteria in the gut. This prevents the overgrowth of harmful microbes and maintains gut microbe stability (Bhatia et al., 2025).

2. Enhancing digestion and nutrient absorption: Certain probiotic strains assist in producing enzymes and breaking down food. This helps improve the absorption of essential nutrients to optimize energy production and recovery (Jäger et al., 2019).

3. Produce beneficial metabolites: During fermentation, several beneficial metabolites are formed, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), hydrogen peroxide, and bacteriocins. These directly inhibit pathogenic bacteria and improve the gut lining.

4. Strengthening immune function: Probiotics can strengthen your immune system and improve responses to disease and illness. This can potentially reduce the risk and duration of illness (Mohr et al., 2020).

5. Reducing gastrointestinal distress and inflammation: Probiotics may decrease gut permeability and inflammation. This helps support recovery, comfort, and consistent training performance (Mohr et al., 2020).

SET FOR SET has begun offering an awesome probiotic supplement that combines prebiotics to optimize their efficiency (Gurry, 2017). This is known as a synbiotic strategy and is likely the superior method of supporting gut health.

Check it out here!

3. Colostrum Powder Improves Immunity And Gut Lining 

Colostrum powder is a relatively new supplement, but it is becoming known as a powerful supplement for gut health (Chandwe & Kelly, 2021).

Known as a bovine "first milk", colostrum is the milk produced shortly after giving birth to nourish calves. As such, it's rich in essential nutrients such as;

• Immune-boosting antibodies (IgG)
• Growth factors
• Increase concentration of vitamins and minerals (copper, zinc)
• Quality source of protein 

How Can Colostrum Fix Your Gut?

1. Strengthens Gut Lining and Reduces Permeability: This is one of its strongest benefits as colostrum provides the nutrients needed to repair the lining of the gut and reduce inflammation (growth factors (IGF-I) and immunoglobulins).

2. Neutralizes Pathogens: It contains high concentrations of immunoglobulins and lactoferrin, which act as antibodies to fight bacteria.

3. Regulates Gut Flora and Microbiome: It acts as a prebiotic, fueling beneficial bacteria while suppressing harmful bacteria.

4. Enhances Immunity: The bioactive components modulate immune cell activity within the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT)

SET FOR SET has begun carrying a powerful Colostrum Powder to help support gut health and the immune system. Consisting of 25% Immunoglobulin G (IgG), it is an effective supplement to help support overall health and well-being.

Check it out here!!

4. L-Glutamine Fuels The Regrowth Of Intestinal Cells

Normally used as a supplement for exercise recovery, L-glutamine is proving to be a potential powerful supplement for gut health and even as therapy for obesity (Perna et al., 2019).

L-glutamine works to repair "leaky gut" by being the primary fuel source for enterocytes (intestinal lining cells) and promoting cell growth. This can lower inflammation, which helps alleviate symptoms of gastrointestinal distress and supports the immune system.

How L-Glutamine Can Fix Your Gut

1. Strengthening the Intestinal Barrier: It reinforces tight junctions and "seals" your intestinal lining. This helps prevent harmful substances, toxins, and bacteria from passing from the gut into the bloodstream.

2. Rapid Cell Turnover and Repair: Because the gut lining repairs itself every few days, L-glutamine provides the necessary fuel for this rapid regeneration.

3. Reducing Inflammation: It helps regulate immune responses in the gut and reduces inflammation associated with conditions like IBD and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

4. Counteracting Depletion: During high-stress scenarios (surgery, infection, chronic inflammation), the body's glutamine levels become depleted. Supplementation helps replenish this, supporting structural repair and reducing cell death

Check out our own L-Glutamine supplement to add to your diet to support gut health and muscle recovery. 

5. Vitamins A And Vitamin D: Synergistic Improvements.

Vitamins A and D are essential nutrients for maintaining a healthy gut with diverse microbiomes and a strong gut barrier.

They are usually listed together as they tend to have a synergistic effect, improving each other's effects (Aggeletopoulou et al., 2023; Cantorna et al., 2019). 

How Does Vitamin A Improve Gut Health?

• Promotes the growth of cells in the gut lining
• Stimulates the production of mucin, your gut's protective layer.
• Helps maintain a diverse microbial community, while a deficiency can cause imbalances of "bad" and "good" bacteria (dysbiosis)
• Guides immune cells (dendritic cells, T cells, B cells) to the intestine and production of Immunoglobulin A (IgA), which protects the mucosa.

How Does Vitamin D Improve Gut Health?

• Reduces permeability by promoting tight junction proteins, which "seal" any gaps,  preventing leakage into the bloodstream.
• Increases anti-inflammatory bacteria while reducing pro-inflammatory bacteria (especially in IBD).
• Binds to receptors on immune cells to suppress inflammatory responses. 
• Stimulates the production of antimicrobial peptides, which help the body fight off infections without causing excessive inflammation.

Bonus! Increase Activity And Follow A Training Program 

By now, it should be clear how large an impact exercise has on our body and gut health, which is yet another benefit. Exercise isn't a direct "treatment" but improves the gut from a foundational level.

When compared to sedentary populations, physically active individuals consistently demonstrate;

• Greater microbial diversity
• Improved metabolic signaling
• More resilient gut ecosystems 
• Decrease inflammation (Jager et al., 2019; Mohr et al., 2020).

All of these are crucial for a strong gut and lay the foundation for improving conditions.

Need help with training? Research is clear that following a program leads to better results and increased adherence, so let us help!

SET FOR SET has a host of training programs that will get the job done. For more serious, in-depth help, contact us for a personalized approach to reach your goals. 

Recap: Fixing Your Gut

Fixing and maintaining a healthy gut is an essential part of your overall health; it's not an option. The quality of your life can be night and day, depending on your gut flora and strength. Luckily, doing this is relatively easy and consists of increasing fiber, being active, getting enough sleep, and taking supplements where appropriate.

We at SET FOR SET want to take a holistic approach to health and have begun offering our own supplements to target all aspects.

• Probiotic and Prebiotic supplement for complete gut support!
• L-Glutamine to help fuel the cells of your gut!
• Colostrum powder to optimize your gut's environment! 
• Complete Multivitamins w/ Vitamin A &D!
• Workout Programs and Personalized Coaching to maximize muscle mass while fixing your gut.

Send us a message or check out those links to start taking your health seriously, starting with your gut!

FAQ: Best Supplements To Improve Gut Health

1. What Are The Best Supplements For Gut Health?

Supplements with the most research-backed support for gut health include probiotics (strain-specific), prebiotic fibers (such as inulin or resistant starch), L-glutamine, and vitamin D (if deficient). These support microbial balance, strengthen tight junctions, and help regulate inflammation.

2. Do Probiotics Actually Improve Gut Health?

Certain probiotic strains can improve gut barrier integrity, reduce inflammatory signaling, and support digestion. This is especially true after the use of antibiotics or during IBS symptoms. 

3. Are Prebiotic Supplements Better Than Probiotics?

For many people, prebiotic fiber is more foundational than probiotics. Prebiotics feed beneficial bacteria already present in the gut, increasing short-chain fatty acid production and improving microbial diversity. Without adequate fiber intake, probiotic effects can be blunted and temporary,

4. Does L-Glutamine Help Repair The Gut Lining?

L-glutamine serves as a primary fuel source for intestinal epithelial cells and may support tight junction protein expression. It is commonly used in clinical settings for gut barrier support, though human data is stronger in specific medical contexts than in healthy individuals.

5. Can Supplements Fix Leaky Gut?

Supplements alone are rarely sufficient. Gut health depends on overall diet quality, fiber intake, physical activity, sleep, and inflammation control. Supplements can support barrier function, but they work best alongside lifestyle interventions rather than as standalone solutions.

References

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