The idea that we are what we eat feels newly urgent, as research around the “gut-brain axis” continues to reveal how digestion shapes mood, energy, cognition, and overall vitality.
Bloating, fatigue, and metabolic changes are often dismissed as inevitable, but many specialists agree they are signals, not sentences.
With so much information and misinformation circulating, Masala turned to seasoned experts from the community to cut through the noise and guide us back to the gut.
PhD, MSc, Founder and CEO of Lifestyle Nutrition Consulting (@yourlifestylenutritionist), with a doctorate in Nutrition Education and Exercise Physiology from Columbia University.
What are some telltale signs of an imbalanced gut?
One of the most striking things I notice as a Doctor of Nutrition is how much people normalise discomfort.
Many patients arrive saying, “I thought this was just how bodies are.”
In actuality, bloating, even after home-cooked or lighter meals, is a common signal, as are recurring phases of constipation, stools that are rarely well-formed, and low energy that does not improve with rest.
Cravings may also feel compulsive rather than occasional.
The skin often reflects what the gut is struggling with, showing up as acne, eczema, or ongoing dryness.
Emotional shifts can also be telling, with heightened anxiety, low mood, or increased reactivity.
These symptoms are often blamed on stress, aging, or hormonal changes.
While those factors matter, the gut, very often, is part of the underlying picture.
The gut-brain axis is frequently mentioned in wellness circles. In practical terms, how does gut health shape mood, energy, and mental clarity day to day?
We often hear about the gut-brain connection in conceptual terms, but its effects are very tangible.
The gut and brain are in constant communication through nerves, immune messengers, and hormones.
When the gut is imbalanced, people frequently describe brain fog, feeling “wired but tired,” or being emotionally overwhelmed by things that once felt manageable.
These experiences aren’t imagined, but physiological.
In practical, day-to-day terms, a well-functioning gut often shows up as even energy across the day, better tolerance to stress, fewer emotional “crashes,” and clearer thinking and improved focus.
Prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics have grown as buzzwords in the wellness sphere recently. What do they do, and how are they beneficial?
Gut health is often reduced to probiotic supplements, but that is only one part of the story.
• Prebiotics are the fibres that feed these bacteria, found in foods such as onions, garlic, leeks, bananas, legumes, whole grains, and vegetables.
• Probiotics are the live beneficial bacteria found in fermented foods like curd, yogurt, kefir, and traditionally fermented batters.
• Postbiotics are the compounds produced when bacteria digest fibre. These substances help maintain the gut lining, reduce inflammation, and support immune balance.
Without enough fibre and variety, probiotics simply don’t thrive.
The gut needs nourishment, not just additions.
With so many diets circulating online, some louder than others, how can one discern which approaches are worth following and which are best avoided?
Confusion is understandable.
A helpful starting point is to be cautious of any approach that removes entire food groups without a medical reason.
Diets that support gut health tend to emphasise a wide range of plant foods, include sufficient protein and fats, and feel sustainable, flexible, and socially realistic.
If a way of eating improves digestion, sleep, mood, and mental clarity, it is likely serving the body.
If it increases anxiety around food or worsens gut symptoms, it is worth questioning, no matter how popular it is.
Can disordered eating tarnish your gut health?
The gut responds not only to what we eat, but also to how we eat.
Disordered eating patterns: skipping meals, chronic restriction, fear-based food rules, or cycles of bingeing and guilt, can disrupt gut bacteria, slow digestion, and increase inflammation.
The gut thrives on rhythm.
Regular meals, enough food, and dietary variety create an environment where digestion can function smoothly.
Perfection, on the other hand, often does the opposite.
There is a long-held belief that a slower metabolism is inevitable with age. From a clinical perspective, how much of this is actually linked to gut function?
While some change is expected, the decline is often exaggerated.
From a clinical perspective, what matters more are factors like loss of muscle mass, lower protein intake, reduced gut microbial diversity, and chronic low-grade inflammation.
Supporting gut health, alongside adequate protein and strength training, often improves metabolic markers and energy levels far more than people anticipate, even later in life.
Indian diets are often labelled as heavy or inflammatory. What elements of traditional South Asian cooking are, in fact, deeply supportive of gut health?
Labelling Indian diets as “heavy or inflammatory” overlooks the wisdom built into traditional cooking.
Spices like cumin, coriander, fennel, ginger, and turmeric actively support digestion.
Fermented foods such as idli and dosa batter, kanji, and curd nourish beneficial bacteria.
Lentils, vegetables, millets, and diverse grains provide the fibre that gut microbes depend on.
The challenge isn’t tradition, but modern excess, seen through ultra-processed foods, irregular eating, and constant snacking without structure.
Is there an Ayurvedic principle or daily ritual related to digestion that you believe genuinely holds up under modern scientific understanding?
One Ayurvedic concept that aligns remarkably well with modern science is eating according to digestive capacity, or agni.
In everyday terms, this looks like eating at regular times, avoiding heavy or late-night meals, choosing freshly prepared foods, and allowing enough space between meals for digestion to reset.
Modern research on circadian rhythms and gut motility supports these practices almost exactly, showing how ancient observations often anticipated current science.
Doctor of Natural Medicine (MDAM) and advanced Ayurvedic practitioner, Founder of Golden Awareness (@urbanayurveda_by_dr.arora), author, with certifications in nutrition and Vedic counselling, and over two decades of experience in holistic healthcare.
What does gut health mean to you?
Put simply, gut health refers to the body’s ability to efficiently transform food into energy and nourishment.
Much like plants rely on sunlight, we rely on what we eat to function and thrive.
In Ayurvedic practice, this process is known as agni or digestive fire; the internal energy that governs digestion, absorption, and assimilation.
When agni is strong, the body extracts what it needs with ease.
In modern terms, this translates to the coordinated work of enzymes, hormones, and metabolic pathways that turn food into fuel.
At its core, gut health is about how well this system functions, not just what we consume, but how effectively we use it.
Beyond what we eat, how important are meal timing, digestion windows, and routine when it comes to cultivating a resilient gut?
All life on Earth is intrinsically linked to the sun.
Modern science refers to this as the circadian rhythm.
Ayurveda has long advised eating main meals when the sun is highest in the sky, a practice now shown to support digestion, nutrient absorption, and metabolic efficiency.
Timing and frequency, therefore, matter truly.
For this reason, Ayurvedic science identifies individual metabolic types, recognising that each body moves differently with the energy of the earth and sun.
This structure helps guide more personalised eating frequencies, pointing us towards dining rituals that support a healthy gut balance.
Many people rely on elimination diets or gut “resets.” When do these approaches support healing, and when might they do more harm than good?
Elimination diets can be useful in specific cases, particularly when removing foods that trigger intolerance, often showing up as gas, bloating, or skin flare-ups.
Ayurveda frames this through the concept of ama, which refers to metabolic waste or toxins.
When waste accumulates in the body, much like clutter in a home, it disrupts the system, feeding harmful microorganisms, impairing beneficial bacteria, and interfering with nutrient absorption.
Discernment matters.
Certain foods may need to be eliminated, while others with natural cleansing properties can be introduced based on individual constitution.
Fasting, too, is a traditional Ayurvedic tool, but it is not one-size-fits-all.
What supports one body may stress another.
These practices require a deeper understanding of gut chemistry, biology, and physiology, ideally guided by experienced specialists rather than algorithms.
Are there myths around Indian food, such as spice being inherently irritating, that you would like to see corrected in mainstream wellness culture?
Absolutely.
There is a persistent misconception that Indian food is defined solely by spice and, by extension, inflammation.
In truth, traditional Indian cuisine is deeply health-supportive.
Ghee, for instance, provides a stable, nourishing fat that Ayurveda considers essential fuel for the body.
The spices found in a masala box are equally purposeful.
Turmeric is widely recognised for its anti-inflammatory properties, while cumin and coriander support digestion and balance.
So, really, long before wellness became a trend, Indian cuisine prioritised internal balance through gut-supportive, anti-fungal ingredients.
Ayurveda places emphasis on eating according to one’s digestive fire. How can modern individuals apply this concept realistically without overcomplicating daily life?
The concept of digestive fire is not abstract.
It is something the body communicates daily, if we know how to listen.
When agni is strong and balanced, it shows.
Appetite is timely, energy feels consistent, the mind is clear, and there is a visible brightness, a spark in the eyes.
When agni is low, the body shows it subtly through a white coating on the tongue, low appetite, bloating, lethargy, and brain fog, which point to the presence of ama.
These signs may not show up on diagnostics, but they are felt.
On such days, Ayurveda advises eating lightly.
Avoid heavy foods like red meat, wheat, cheese, and dairy, and opt instead for vegetables, broths, fruit, or light gruels, supported by warming spices such as ginger, black pepper, basil, and mint to gently rekindle digestion.
With the rise of gut health apps, supplements, and AI-driven protocols, what important human cues are people at risk of overlooking?
People are learning to digest information, but they are losing touch with their own senses.
Ayurveda speaks of not only the five senses, but a sixth, the inner awareness often referred to as the third eye.
When it comes to the body, this intuition is frequently ignored.
I often share this example: you can be standing by the sea, breathing deeply, feeling refreshed and alive, yet someone may tell you the air is polluted, cite the data, and attempt to sell you an oxygen tank.
And you would probably believe them, despite what your senses are clearly telling you.
This is the human signal we are losing.
Information has its place, but the body remains the most important text to read, interpret, and trust.
Could you share some daily rituals you practice that our readers could adopt to enhance their gut health?
Daily rituals do not need to be complicated.
Begin the day with warmth and fibre, offering the gut something gentle yet activating, such as fruit, leafy greens, or lightly steamed vegetables, to encourage digestion and support beneficial bacteria.
Build meals around natural, unrefined essentials, including ghee, cold-pressed oils (coconut, mustard, and olive), natural sugars like jaggery or honey, and mineral-rich salts.
Eat lightly, prioritise fruits and vegetables, and stop before fullness turns into heaviness.
An early dinner of mindful food pairings, ideally before sunset, honours the agni and prevents stagnation.
These practices, over time, aid the gut, preserve energy, and support the body as it ages.