Not to sound cliché, but you really are what you eat. It also turns out that food is better medicine than laughter.

Inflammation that starts in your gut can result in serious diseases throughout your boy, including arthritis, asthma, kidney disease and cardiovascular complications. To avoid all this and maintain good gut health, you only need to look as far as your next meal.

Gut-healthy diets are often avoided because they have a reputation for being expensive. When you are told to eat wild-caught salmon each night, then, yes, your bank account might experience its own coronary.

Thankfully, this is not the only gut-healthy food out there, and you can fill up a grocery cart with all the right foods and pay with a $20 bill.

The Gut-Healthy Diet on a Budget

The typical Western diet is full of sugary, high-fat, and processed foods, all of which wreak havoc on your gut. Poor food choices cause inflammation and serious diseases that can have far-reaching effects.

Luckily, healthy eating for your gut is cheaper than you may think. Here are some of the low-cost, super-healthy foods you can add to your shopping list.

1. Leafy Green Vegetables

These are the superstars of good health rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Grab as many different ones as you can, like spinach, kale, and dark-leafed lettuces.

One powerful leafy green that many are not aware of is dandelion greens. These are full of prebiotics, which are the non-digestible fibers that your gut bacteria thrive on. Healthier and stronger gut bacteria is the ultimate defense against disease and illness.

2. Sweet Potatoes

Studies have shown that sweet potatoes contain compounds that have prebiotic-like activity. Prebiotic compounds are the treats that your intestinal flora live for.

When your gut bacteria are functioning at optimal levels, your digestive system runs smoothly. This means you have less bloating, cramping, diarrhea, constipation, or more serious conditions like inflammatory bowel disease.

The starch present in sweet potatoes is particularly good for your gut because it is resistant to digestion. Most food gets digested and is broken down in the stomach, which doesn’t leave much for your friends in your gut.

Resistant starch, like that found in sweet potatoes, passes straight through to your gut, leaving a full meal for your intestinal bacteria to feast upon. With regular meals like this, your gut bacteria will stay strong and keep you healthy.

3. Coconut Milk

With intolerance to dairy becoming more prevalent, there are numerous alternatives in stores today. Avoiding dairy helps your gut because it can cause inflammation-related problems, such as eczema, asthma, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Coconut milk has special fats known as medium-chain triglycerides, that are beneficial for your gut environment. Adding coconut milk promotes gut health by providing a positive environment for your gut bacteria to flourish.

Coconut milk contains natural bacteria that help support those already living in your gut. By replacing dairy milk with this substitute, you prevent irritating your gut lining as well as promote the bacterial lines of defense that your gut plays host to.

4. Cruciferous Vegetables

Broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage all provide beneficial compounds that gut bacteria need for optimal functioning. The high fiber content in these vegetables is ideal for promoting smooth and regular digestive movements.

By making sure that the system never becomes clogged or inflamed, these vegetables keep the lining of your gut intact and better able to resist inflammation and infection. Fiber is also a favorite food for gut bacteria—the more they get, the healthier they are.

5. Flaxseeds

These are perfect for adding some extra fiber to your morning smoothie or afternoon yogurt. They can also be ground up and added to sauces, seasonings, and dressings.

Apart from fiber, which intestinal bacteria love, flaxseeds also provide omega-3 fatty acids which prevent inflammation. You may be aware of the benefits for your heart and brain that omega-3 fatty acids provide, but they also improve gut health too.

Omega-3s help to prevent inflammation, which can seriously damage the lining of your gut.

6. Berries

You should always opt for fresh berries, but, if the season and your finances are not quite right, then frozen is good, too.

Berries are powerful antioxidant agents and full of polyphenols. Antioxidants are necessary to help remove free radicals from your body that cause oxidative damage.

Berries also provide just the right amount of prebiotic fiber to feed your gut and promote overall intestinal health. Getting enough fiber in your diet is important because it promotes a full feeling which can help you manage your weight better.

Since obesity contributes to poor health and digestive issues, fiber becomes essential to gut health.

7. Walnuts

These nuts are full of omega-3 fatty acids, which control inflammation. Since inflammation typically starts in the gut as a result of a poor diet, adding walnuts to your plan can prevent too much damage.

Because the bacteria in your gut influence your immune system, an inflammatory gut environment can trigger much more serious diseases. Keeping inflammation under control becomes essential to your gut health as well as your overall health.

Walnuts are also full of important minerals, such as manganese, copper, potassium, iron, and zinc, which all play critical roles in metabolic processes, including digestion.

The Natural Conclusion

There are no more excuses because eating healthy does not have to break your bank. Convenient food may be cheap, but in the long run it is more expensive to your health.

Processed foods allow bad bacteria in your gut to thrive, throwing your intestinal environment out of balance. When this happens, you are at risk for serious health problems.

With as little as $20, you can stock up on gut-healthy foods. A healthy gut is the best route to a healthy and happy you!