A gut that works: regularity, comfort, and less bloating.
Start Here the foundations
Intake Moderate
Soluble fiber (psyllium) is the empower-first anchor: it lifts constipation response from 44% to 77% and eases IBS (RR 0.83, one in seven helped). Honest counterweight built in: insoluble wheat bran does not help IBS and can worsen it. Start soluble, go slow to limit gas. Condition scope: constipation, IBS. Cost
Free to LowFree to Low · Cheap from food or supplement · ramp up slowly · regularity in days, lipids in weeks
Effort
Easy to ModerateEasy to Moderate
Results In
Days to WeeksDays to Weeks
Self-Directed
Intake Strong
Oral rehydration salts are the strong, cheap, life-saving first move in acute diarrhea (fewer unscheduled IV drips, OR 0.59). WHO/ACG core. Condition scope: acute diarrhea. Cost
Free to LowFree to Low · Water is free, salts cost little · simple daily habit · felt within a day
Effort
EasyEasy
Results In
DaysDays
Self-Directed
Supplement Moderate
Magnesium oxide relieved constipation in about 70% versus 25% on placebo. Cheap, OTC, empower-first; caution in kidney impairment. Condition scope: chronic constipation. Cost
LowLow · Cheap and simple · a daily pill · laxative in days, migraine benefit over weeks
Effort
EasyEasy
Results In
Days to WeeksDays to Weeks
Supplement
Proven Add-Ons
Supplement Strong
In children over 6 months, zinc shortened acute diarrhea about 11 hours and cuts recurrence; the benefit is largest in undernourished settings and smaller in well-nourished children. WHO-recommended. Condition scope: pediatric acute diarrhea. Cost
LowLow · Inexpensive · lozenge or pill · started early, shortens a cold by a day or so
Effort
EasyEasy
Results In
DaysDays
Supplement
Intake Moderate
The only substantive claim here is that 25 to 30 g of fiber a day tracks with better bowel function (the mortality association is observational and confounded). This duplicates the fibre lever; keep the fiber message, drop the 'detox' framing. Condition scope: bowel regularity. Cost
Free to LowFree to Low · Free if it just means eating well · easy · organs already detox daily, no quick fix
Effort
EasyEasy
Results In
Days to WeeksDays to Weeks
Self-Directed
Intake Emerging
Doubling fiber to about 40 g a day raised gut diversity and fiber-fermenting bacteria. Sound food-first advice, but the endpoint is a microbiome marker. Overlaps with fibre. Condition scope: general gut health. Cost
Low to MidLow to Mid · Modest grocery cost · cooking and habit change · health gains over months
Effort
Moderate to HardModerate to Hard
Results In
Weeks to MonthsWeeks to Months
Self-Directed
Situational after the basics
Supplement Moderate
Best evidence is prevention of antibiotic-associated and C. difficile diarrhea (NNT ~13; S. boulardii and LGG the studied strains). IBS relief is modest and strain-dependent. Honest counterweight: two large trials found no benefit for children's acute diarrhea, and healthy adults saw no lasting change. Situational, strain-specific, not a general daily tonic. Condition scope: antibiotic-associated diarrhea, C. diff, some IBS. Cost
Low to MidLow to Mid · Low to moderate cost · a daily capsule · antibiotic protection in days, gut shifts over weeks
Effort
EasyEasy
Results In
Days to WeeksDays to Weeks
Supplement
Supplement Moderate
Added to mesalamine, curcumin roughly doubled ulcerative colitis remission across 8 trials. A genuine adjunct for UC, not a standalone and not for IBS. Condition scope: ulcerative colitis (adjunct). Cost
LowLow · Inexpensive · daily capsule with food · joint pain eases over weeks
Effort
EasyEasy
Results In
WeeksWeeks
Supplement
Bodywork Moderate
P6 (wrist) pressure cut post-operative nausea about 32% and vomiting about 40%; a small edge on chemo nausea. Honest null: no clear benefit for pregnancy morning sickness across 41 trials. Self-applied, free. Condition scope: post-op and chemo nausea. Cost
FreeFree · press points yourself · P6 nausea relief now, other uses over weeks
Effort
EasyEasy
Results In
Days to WeeksDays to Weeks
Self-Directed
Intake Emerging
The 'halved IBS symptoms' figure is borrowed from low-FODMAP trials, not from carnivore itself, which has no controlled IBS data. The real, testable lever underneath is FODMAP/fermentable-carb elimination (see completeness). Frame honestly as elimination, not as a meat-only endorsement. Condition scope: IBS (by proxy). Cost
Mid to HigherMid to Higher · Meat-heavy eating is pricey · a demanding all-out elimination · symptom and weight change in days to weeks, no long-term data
Effort
Hard to IntenseHard to Intense
Results In
Days to WeeksDays to Weeks
Self-Directed
Emerging thin evidence
Drug ◆ Emerging
Bowel-lining healing in 78% vs 28% on placebo in a 40-adult Crohn's RCT, plus an open-label pilot. Small but a promising, low-cost adjunct for Crohn's. Condition scope: Crohn's disease. Cost
Low to MidLow to Mid · Compounded off-label prescription · a nightly pill · symptom shifts over weeks to months
Effort
Easy to ModerateEasy to Moderate
Results In
Weeks to MonthsWeeks to Months
Pro
Intake Emerging
Six servings a day for 17 weeks raised gut microbiome diversity and lowered inflammatory markers (Wastyk 2021). Promising and food-first, but the endpoint is diversity, a marker, not a measured symptom improvement. Condition scope: general gut health. Cost
Free to LowFree to Low · Yogurt, kefir, kimchi, kraut · easy daily habit · microbiome shifts over weeks to months
Effort
EasyEasy
Results In
Weeks to MonthsWeeks to Months
Self-Directed
Supplement Emerging
Lowered exercise-induced gut leakiness on lab tests in two small athlete trials; across gut diseases the clinical trials conflict and cannot be pooled. Marker-level so far. Condition scope: exercise-induced gut permeability. Cost
Mid to HigherMid to Higher · Costly bovine powder · daily · steadiest signal is about 44% fewer respiratory infections over weeks
Effort
EasyEasy
Results In
Weeks to MonthsWeeks to Months
Supplement
Bodywork Emerging
Cut chemotherapy nausea and vomiting about a third across 32 trials; the ulcerative colitis signal is from 5 low-quality trials and rated insufficient. Condition scope: chemo-related nausea. Cost
Low to MidLow to Mid · Cheap mugwort or a practitioner · needs care and technique · breech turning over days to weeks
Effort
ModerateModerate
Results In
Days to WeeksDays to Weeks
Self-Directed
Supplement Preliminary
One 4-week trial enriched two probiotic species and was well tolerated. A marker-level signal; whole-food fiber does the same for less money. Condition scope: general gut health. Cost
Low to MidLow to Mid · A scoop in water daily · marker changes show over weeks · no substitute for real vegetables
Effort
EasyEasy
Results In
Weeks to MonthsWeeks to Months
Supplement
Supplement Preliminary
Fed beneficial bacteria in lab gut models only, no human outcome. Balance the carrageenan-inflammation question (processed additive, not whole sea moss). Condition scope: none clinical yet. Cost
LowLow · Cheap gel or powder · a spoonful daily · thyroid and mineral shifts over weeks to months
Effort
EasyEasy
Results In
Weeks to MonthsWeeks to Months
Supplement
Supplement Preliminary
Healed gut lesions and closed a fistula in rats. Animal-only; no human trials. Kept honestly as preliminary, not a lever to act on. Condition scope: none human yet. Cost
Mid to HigherMid to Higher · Costly gray-market peptide, often injected · sourcing and dosing burden · human evidence essentially absent
Effort
Moderate to HardModerate to Hard
Results In
Days to WeeksDays to Weeks
Supplement
Cost Free · $ · $$ · $$$ Effort Easy · Moderate · Hard Results In Same-day · Weeks · Months
Easy
Moderate
Hard
Free
$
Magnesium Zinc Probiotics Turmeric & Curcumin Low-Dose Naltrexone Greens Powders (AG1, Green Vibrance) Irish Sea Moss
$$
$$$
Levers with real evidence for digestion. Tiers are the strength of that evidence, not our endorsement. An up arrow raises the goal; a down arrow is a reduce-lever.
Evidence strength
How confidently the research supports a claim. Strength describes the evidence, not our endorsement.
StrongLarge or repeated randomized trials point the same way (a firm "no effect" counts too).
ModerateGood trial evidence, but fewer, smaller, or less consistent studies.
EmergingEarly trials or pooled signals, real but not yet settled.
PreliminaryMostly indirect, animal, or observational evidence.
Risk or overturnedEvidence of risk, or a claim the trials have since reversed.