Eating for better gut health doesn’t mean settling for bland food! Here are 6 delicious seasonings that can help improve your digestive tract.

If you experience indigestion, incorporate these delicious seasonings into your meals as frequently as you can. Many have immediate short-term benefits, like reducing bloat and gassiness. Others offer longer–term rewards by fueling healthy gut bacteria and keeping your digestive system running at peak efficiency. 

Fennel  

This mild, licorice-flavored vegetable helps reduce inflammation and bacteria in the gut that leads to gassiness. Plus, it provides a good amount of fiber for very few calories—just 1 cup of sliced fennel contains 3 grams of fiber and only 27 calories. 

Raw fennel is an amazing ingredient to add to salads and slaws for both its crunchiness and unique flavor (it pairs especially well with oranges and olives), but make sure to cut the bulb into thin slices because it can be tough to chew otherwise. For a lovely side dish, simply drizzle with olive oil and give it a light sprinkle of salt, then roast along with your main dish until tender. And don’t forget that all parts of the vegetable are edible, with the chopped fronds making a beautiful garnish. 

Garlic 

Garlic lovers, rejoice! This powerhouse seasoning is the backbone of most Latin, Asian and Mediterranean cuisine and is extremely versatile because its flavor ranges from sharp to mellow, depending on the cooking method. But there may be another important reason that its popularity endures—garlic, a member of the onion family, offers many important benefits, especially when it comes to balancing the bacteria in your gut. That’s because it works on two levels: garlic has important antimicrobial properties, so it fights off the bad bacteria in your gut that can lead to many ailments like ulcers and food poisoning, and it’s considered a prebiotic, which means that it feeds the good bacteria in your gut to help them thrive. 

When cooking with garlic, make a point to chop it before prepping other ingredients. Let it sit 10 minutes before using and it will naturally release more allicin, a compound that offers important antioxidant and inflammation-lowering benefits. 

Ginger 

If there’s one seasoning that can claim a long-standing reputation as a general cure-all, ginger would be considered a top contender. For thousands of years, ginger has been prescribed as an herbal remedy to treat everything from fever and muscle aches to asthma and toothaches. But when it comes to gut health, ginger is a reliable antidote for gas and bloating because it helps improve gut motility, which means it speeds up the digestive process. It’s also helpful for easing nausea. Research shows that ginger is an effective prebiotic, as well, meaning it can have a beneficial effect on the mix of bacteria in your gut. 

Fresh ginger is easy to keep on hand. Look for firm, plump pieces with smooth skin (dry or rubbery pieces are past their prime) and store them in the refrigerator until needed. Use a vegetable peeler or the side of the spoon to scrape away its thin skin and then slice or grate it. Ginger works well in both sweet and savory dishes, but keep in mind that heat will mellow its flavor; add ginger near the end of the cooking process if you want to add a more pronounced zing to your dish. 

Peppermint  

Peppermint has been used for centuries as an herbal remedy for stomach problems, and now recent research is able to explain why. Sometimes digestive discomfort causes the nerves that line the colon to become more sensitive and so muscles naturally overreact, causing more pain. Peppermint is a mild analgesic and muscle relaxant, which can calm symptoms considerably. 

The easiest way to enjoy the gut-health benefits of peppermint is to brew a cup of tea to enjoy after a meal. But why stop there? Add fresh peppermint to drinks and salads, or chop and mix into plain Greek yogurt and use as a topping for grilled meats and vegetables. Fresh mint is considered an especially easy-to-grow herb, and it’s a perennial so you can enjoy it season after season. 

Rosemary 

Traditionally used as a preservative in cooking because of its antimicrobial properties, rosemary likely endures for a simple reason—it tastes great! Rosemary imparts a piney flavor along with deep woodsy notes to foods and is a great alternative to oregano or thyme in many Mediterranean dishes. Plus, research indicates that rosemary may play an important role in improving your gut health because it reduces inflammation and increases the production of bile acids, which can help your system better handle the irritation of acidic foods.  

Rosemary lends itself well to a variety of dishes including soups and stews, dips and marinades when grilling meats and vegetables. Simply hold the stem in one hand and run pinched fingers down the stem to remove the needles, which can then be finely chopped. To freeze whole sprigs, first lay them flat on a baking sheet and pop them into the freezer, then transfer them to resealable freezer bags for long-term storage; they’ll keep well for up to a year to flavor everyday meals. 

Turmeric  

A relative of ginger, turmeric is a spice widely used around the world and lends its bright golden hue to most curry combinations. And it’s the same colorful compound, curcumin, that is responsible for many of the health benefits that turmeric offers. When it comes to gut health, research suggests that curcumin helps relieve indigestion as well as balance the mix of bacteria in the digestive tract. However, curcumin is not easily absorbed; pairing it with black pepper and a bit of fat helps considerably. 

When cooking, ground turmeric is an easy add-in for rice and egg dishes, but it’s worth trying Golden Milk the next time you want to soothe your stomach. Simply heat 1 cup of plant-based milk in a small saucepot over medium heat until bubbles start to appear along the edge of the pot. Add ½ teaspoon ground turmeric and the same amount of dried ginger. Sweeten with a teaspoon of honey or maple syrup (if desired), then mix with an immersion blender until frothy. Top with a pinch of ground cinnamon.