9 Ways to Support Your Digestion During the Holidays background image
November 09, 2023

9 Ways to Support Your Digestion During the Holidays

Dr. Thomas Wnorowski profile image

Dr. Thomas Wnorowski

PhD, CNCC, Clinical Nutrition Researcher & Biomedical Nutritionist
Pooja Mahtani profile image
Medical Review By:

Pooja Mahtani

PHARMD, MS, CNS, LDN, IFMCP, RN

Featured Product:

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Butyrate: Gut Health Supplement

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From £27.99 GBP

Key Takeaways:

Key Points:

  • The holidays are a special time of year to spend with friends, family, and your all-time favorite desserts (did someone say pie?). But this time of year is particularly difficult for those who struggle with chronic (or situational) gut symptoms.
  • It’s estimated that about 2 in 3 people have daily digestive problems. While addressing them during the holidays is a priority for many people, it’s our goal for you to live the entire year symptom-free.
  • Simple solutions can help you feel better during the holidays — and not skip out on your favorite family recipes. Try herbal remedies, increase your fiber intake, use digestive enzymes, and swap some of the ingredients in your pantry for healthier options.

It’s a busy time of year to have digestive issues.

While your loved ones are celebrating the return of a favorite family recipe, you’re wondering how they can possibly eat it… without the dreaded side effects.

As isolating as gut dysbiosis can feel, there’s a huge number of people who struggle with it. One study suggests around 2 in 3 people have some sort of daily digestive problem.

The holidays can make these symptoms even more difficult. With a bounty of food, drinks, social gatherings, and peer pressure, saying “no,” is not an easy choice.

No one should struggle with daily gut symptoms, regardless of the time of year. Today, we’re sharing our best supportive supplements and lifestyle changes to help turn your digestive woes around ASAP.

Table of Contents:

Tips for Digestive Health this Holiday Season

This is the year you finally say “yes” to that dreamy chocolate pie.

Or dairy-rich mashed potatoes and gravy.

And invite everyone over for that cocktail party you’ve been talking about.

Digestive issues often feel all-consuming, but they don’t have to haunt your holidays. Here are 9 easy ways to optimize your digestion for fewer symptoms now and in the future. Pick just a handful to try, and choose the ones that resonate with you the most.

1. Regulate Your Nervous System

When faced with poor digestive health, it’s common to look for structural and biological root causes, like microbiome imbalances, low bile and stomach acid levels, poor motility, etc. But when we only look at those factors, we can miss a huge leading cause of digestive distress: dysregulation of the Enteric Nervous System (ENS).

The largest and most complex part of our nervous system, the ENS, is located in the gut. It’s made up of over 100 million cells and part of its job is to release digestive enzymes as needed, influencing everything from the digestive process to nutrient absorption.

The ENS can be greatly impacted by unprocessed trauma or chronic feelings of stress and anxiety — feelings that may be passed around the Thanksgiving dinner table right along with the cranberry sauce.

Regulating your ENS could be the difference between a relaxing holiday with friends and family while eating your favorite foods — or a holiday that’s interrupted by too many anxiety-induced bathroom trips.

These tools can help you regulate your nervous system for optimal “rest and digest”:

  • Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) tapping
  • Breathing exercises
  • Meditation
  • Somatic exercises
  • Nature walks
  • Massages
  • Gentle movement
  • Vagus nerve stimulation

When in doubt, take a few deep breaths and remind yourself that you’re in a safe space, even when you notice tension arise at the dinner table. Feel free to excuse yourself to a quieter space for a few minutes to regulate yourself too.

2. Don’t Skip Breakfast

Skipping a full meal is not only a nightmare for your hormonal health, but it can throw your digestion out of whack. Your digestive system is heavily influenced by your circadian rhythm — the “internal clock” that tells you when to eat and sleep while controlling other things like body temperature and mood.

Instead of opting for coffee in the AM, eat a nourishing breakfast instead. Better yet, focus on eating three full meals at the same time each day. Sit down to consume your food, do some focused breathing, and relax. Creating a safe space for your body through regular meal times might be just what you need to re-regulate and calm your digestion.

3. Drink Alcohol Responsibly

In general, alcohol isn’t considered gut-friendly. It can kill off some essential bacteria in the microbiome while having adverse effects on the liver and large intestine. Since the microbiome is a key player when it comes to alcohol metabolism, some people may struggle with alcoholic drinks more than others.

Our tip (if you’re going to drink at all) is to make sure you practice responsible drinking: eat a full meal, stay hydrated with electrolytes, and know which types of alcohol your body responds positively to. Choose alcoholic drinks that you enjoy and savor them slowly. Tune into your intuition and stop drinking before any adverse effects kick in.

4. Try Digestive Enzymes

Digestive enzymes help you to break down different foods. Some of these enzymes are made in the body, while others are provided through the foods you eat. For example, raw milk has a lot of digestive enzymes that help you digest it. When milk is pasteurized, it loses many of those enzymes.

If you find that certain foods and food groups exacerbate your symptoms, it might be helpful to try taking a digestive enzyme that’s aimed at breaking down that food group. Digestive enzymes can be tricky, though — it might take some experimenting to find the right one. You may need stomach acid or bile support as well. We often recommend that people work with a naturopath or functional medicine doctor to find the best digestive enzymes to support their own bodies.

5. Keep Up with Your Mineral Intake

Minerals are often overlooked when it comes to digestive health — but they’re involved in everything from cellular function to brain health and gut wellness. Minerals like selenium are known to help reduce inflammation, especially around the gut lining.

Another mineral, magnesium, can help relieve chronic constipation while regulating the activation of digestive enzymes. And of course, you want to stay well hydrated with key electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium.

6. Try Herbal Remedies

There are several herbal remedies that can come to your aid — both as preventative measures and to calm your stomach during a flare-up. Herbs like turmeric, cinnamon, and peppermint are helpful for inflammation (good options to take if you have cramping or heartburn) while chamomile and ginger can calm your stomach during a bout of nausea.

You can take herbal remedies in supplement form, tinctures, or in tea.

7. Eat Plenty of Fiber

Fiber is well-known for its ability to combat chronic constipation (it gets things moving in the GI tract). But did you know most fiber sources are also considered prebiotics? Prebiotics act as a food source for the microbiome in your gut. It’s broken down by healthy bacteria. Keeping these important gut bugs alive is essential to maintaining optimal gut health, and to keeping your microbiome intact.

If you struggle with digesting fiber, you may need to get your body used to it. Start slow with a green smoothie in the morning or even a greens supplement. Then, move your way up to a healthy dose of fiber (fruits and veggies) at every meal. Psyllium powder can also be a helpful form of soluble fiber for many people to keep the gut moving while simultaneously absorbing toxins in the gut.

You can also try the low-FODMAP diet if fiber has been a consistent issue for you. This diet helps to remove certain foods linked to bloating and constipation, giving your gut space to heal.

8. Enjoy Caffeine Responsibly

Some of us can’t function without coffee… especially during the holidays. Coffee-free Christmas morning? No thanks.

Good news for your favorite morning beverage, coffee is linked to low mortality rates and can offer a variety of fantastic benefits to the body. It’s packed full of antioxidants!

However, a lot of people struggle with coffee consumption, because it naturally increases muscle contractions (meaning, it can speed up the digestion process and have you running to the bathroom).

If you struggle with regular diarrhea, then it’s important to limit your coffee consumption and pay attention to your symptoms and intuition. This is a safeguard against loss of minerals and nutrients, too. We recommend keeping your coffee intake to 1-2 cups in the morning. We also suggest drinking plenty of water with electrolytes alongside your morning joe.

9. Swap Easy Ingredients

One of the reasons so many of us struggle with digestive problems is due to food quality. Most of our foods are packed with preservatives and sprayed with pesticides, which can disrupt our digestion. If you struggle with bloating from gluten or pain and gas from dairy, you could try switching these foods out for higher-quality alternative options.

In Europe, there are more regulations to help protect against heavy food processing. European flour also has lower gluten content. Try sourcing your flour from there, or swap for a gluten-free flour like buckwheat. A2 dairy or raw and grass-fed dairy from a responsible local farmer could help you consume your favorite dairy-filled foods, without the symptoms.

These simple swaps and others are often a better option than eliminating an entire food group — because they still allow you to absorb essential nutrients from that food group.

Tired of Gut Symptoms? Try Butyrate for Holiday Bliss

No one wants to worry about stomach aches and gas during the holiday season — but the truth is, these symptoms shouldn’t interrupt your quality of life at any time during the year. You deserve better, and there are answers to the symptoms you face.

We were tired of the gut problems, too. That’s why we created a Butyrate supplement. Butyrate can help to nourish the microbiome, while gently eliminating bad bacteria from the gut.

Butyrate embodies the intentions behind many of these tips alongside years of science to help you combat gut symptoms naturally.

BodyBio Tip: Start taking Butyrate a few weeks before the big holidays begin. This will give your body time to adjust to the new supplement and (hopefully) allow you to enjoy your favorite holiday dishes in peace.

Try Butyrate for Peace from Gut Symptoms

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Butyrate is a necessary component to a balanced microbiome, also working as an inflammation guard*. One of several, short-chain fatty acids created from fermented resistant starches, low butyrate levels have been associated with serious health concerns.

Butyrate and IBS: What Your Gut Cells Actually Need
Ashley Palmer | 04.24.2026

Butyrate and IBS: What Your Gut Cells Actually Need

You've tried the probiotics. You've cleaned up your diet. You're doing everything you're supposed to do, and your gut still isn't cooperating.

If you have IBS, that frustration is familiar. Bloating, urgency, unpredictable mornings, the constant guessing game of what's going to set things off.

What often gets missed in the conversation around IBS isn't a trendy new supplement or a stricter elimination diet. It's something more foundational: what your gut's own cells actually need to function.

Here's a closer look at what butyrate does, why IBS and low butyrate levels are closely linked, and how supporting the gut at the cellular level can make a difference.

Table of Contents:

  • Understanding Butyrate

  • How Butyrate Works in the Gut

  • Why This Becomes an Issue for People With IBS

  • Supporting the Body More Effectively

  • Butyrate, IBS, and the Cellular Health Connection

  • How Butyrate Supports IBS Comfort Long-Term

Understanding Butyrate

Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) produced in the colon when beneficial gut bacteria ferment dietary fiber, specifically resistant starch. It belongs to a class of compounds called postbiotics, the functional byproducts of a healthy microbiome.

Unlike probiotics, which are living bacteria, butyrate is a metabolite. It's a compound your body puts to work directly at the cellular level. Understanding the difference between probiotics and postbiotics, like butyrate, is a useful shift you can make when thinking about gut health.

Why the Body Relies on Butyrate

Your colon is lined with specialized cells called colonocytes. These cells run almost entirely on butyrate, providing up to 90% of their energy needs.

When colonocytes have what they need, they do their job well. They maintain the integrity of the gut lining, regulate what passes into the bloodstream, support a healthy inflammatory response, and help keep gut motility on track. Without enough butyrate, the gut’s main source of energy, the gut simply can't do its job well.

How Butyrate Works in the Gut

Butyrate supports three interconnected systems in the gut: the gut lining, the immune environment, and gut motility.

The gut lining is just one cell layer thick. Butyrate fuels those cells and supports the tight junctions between them, the structural connections that keep the barrier intact and functioning.

At the immune level, butyrate helps the body maintain a balanced inflammatory response in the colon without triggering overactivation. And because it directly influences the rhythmic contractions that move contents through the digestive tract, it plays a meaningful role in the irregular patterns that so many people with IBS experience.

What Happens When Butyrate Levels Are Supported vs. Strained

When butyrate is available in adequate amounts, the gut lining stays resilient, motility is more regular, and digestive comfort improves, whether you have a diagnosis of IBS or not.

If butyrate levels fall short, the gut barrier may become less stable, motility can become unpredictable, and the colon's immune environment may shift. How pronounced these patterns are varies from person to person. Diet, stress, genetics, and microbiome composition all play a role in your body’s patterns too.

Why This Becomes an Issue for People With IBS

Modern Stressors on Butyrate Production

Butyrate is made by gut bacteria that ferment resistant starch, a type of fiber found in foods like cooked and cooled potatoes, legumes, and underripe bananas. The modern diet is low in these foods. That means many people simply aren't giving their gut bacteria the raw materials they need to produce adequate butyrate levels.

Antibiotic use, chronic stress, and certain medications can also reduce the population of butyrate-producing bacteria in the colon. Over time, that compounds the butyrate production gap.

Why Common Approaches Often Fall Short

Probiotics can be a valuable part of gut health support, but most probiotic strains are not butyrate-producing species. They can shift the microbiome, but they don't directly address the fuel shortage that many IBS-related symptoms may stem from.

Fiber-based approaches come with a similar challenge. In some people with IBS, increasing fermentable fiber can worsen bloating and gas before it helps, because a disrupted microbiome may not efficiently use that fiber to make butyrate.

Since butyrate works at the cellular level, the signs of low butyrate can overlap common IBS symptoms, which is part of why the connection between the two gets overlooked.

Supporting the Body More Effectively

Foundational Support for Butyrate Production

Diet is the first step to improving the body's natural butyrate production. Foods high in resistant starch give butyrate-producing bacteria what they need to function properly.

Foods that naturally support butyrate production include cooked and cooled rice, potatoes, and legumes. A steady intake of resistant starch over time does more for the microbiome than occasional high-fiber days followed by low-fiber ones.

Stress management and adequate sleep can also support a more stable gut environment. Chronic stress directly affects microbiome composition and motility through the gut-brain axis. 

When Targeted Butyrate Support Makes Sense

For people whose microbiome is disrupted or whose diet can't consistently provide enough resistant starch, direct butyrate supplementation is another option for long-term support.*

Supplemental butyrate delivers the short-chain fatty acid directly to the colon, where colonocytes can put it to use.* Clinical research has shown that sodium butyrate supplementation is associated with improvements in abdominal comfort and bowel regularity in people with IBS.

Sodium butyrate and calcium magnesium butyrate are both effective options, and the differences between which works best for your body often come down to your individual health history and mineral needs.*

Butyrate, IBS, and the Cellular Health Connection

IBS is complex, and its causes vary from person to person. But one consistent finding in the research is that people with IBS tend to have lower levels of butyrate-producing bacteria and overall reduced short-chain fatty acids in the gut. That points to a cellular resource problem as much as a microbiome problem.

When the cells lining the colon are undersupported, the entire digestive environment becomes less stable. Gut barrier function, motility, immune signaling, and communication along the gut-brain axis all depend on colonocytes having what they need to function.

Supporting the gut at the cellular level is not a replacement for other gut health practices (whole food probiotics, exercise, etc.). It’s the foundation that makes those practices more effective. When your cells are supported, the body functions more efficiently as a whole.

How Butyrate Supports IBS Comfort Long-Term

IBS can feel like a moving target, and the path toward better digestive comfort is rarely a straight line or a quick fix. Supporting your gut at the cellular level creates a more stable foundation, and that starts with making sure colonocytes have the fuel they need.*

Butyrate works best as part of a consistent approach that includes diet, lifestyle, and targeted support where needed. Progress tends to be gradual, and that's expected. It reflects the time it takes for the gut lining to strengthen and the microbiome to rebalance.

IBS makes a lot more sense when you know what the gut's cells actually need. And that clarity is often where real progress begins.

Support your gut at the cellular level with BodyBio Butyrate.*

How Sugar and Stress Impact Gut Health (and How to Support It During the Holidays)
Ashley Palmer | 11.25.2025

How Sugar and Stress Impact Gut Health (and How to Support It During the Holidays)

Between the office party appetizers, your aunt's famous cookies, and that second or third glass of wine at dinner, your gut is working overtime this holiday season. Add in travel stress, family dynamics, and back-to-back celebrations, and you've got the perfect storm for digestive chaos. Your microbiome gets thrown off balance, bloating kicks in, and suddenly, you're fighting to recover while the next event looms ahead on the calendar.

But you don't have to choose between enjoying the holidays and feeling good. A few simple habits and smart supplement support like butyrate can keep your gut balanced and your energy steady, even when you're indulging more than usual.*

Table of Contents:

  • How Sugar Disrupts Gut Health

  • The Stress-Gut Connection

  • Alcohol's Role in Gut Imbalance

  • Supporting Your Gut During the Holidays

  • Butyrate Q&A: Your Holiday Gut Support Ally

  • Keep Your Gut (and Holidays) Happy

How Sugar Disrupts Gut Health

Sugar is everywhere during the holidays, from dessert spreads to seasonal lattes. And while your taste buds are celebrating, your gut (and metabolism) is dealing with the consequences.

Refined Sugar and the Microbiome

When you're eating more holiday cookies and desserts than usual, certain bacteria in your gut that love simple carbohydrates start to flourish. This temporary shift can show up as stronger cravings, more bloating, or mood changes, which may help explain why you keep going back to the cookie tray.

When this imbalance sticks around, it can affect your gut barrier (the protective lining that keeps your gut contents where they belong). When that barrier gets compromised, bacterial byproducts (waste and toxins produced by bacteria) slip into your bloodstream and trigger inflammation throughout your body. Since at least 70-80% of your immune system lives in your gut, keeping this barrier strong is especially important during the holidays when you're more susceptible to seasonal bugs. 

This systemic inflammation can even show up as breakouts or dull skin, another reminder of how deeply your gut health affects your whole body.

Sugar Spikes and Cellular-Level Stress

Those cookie-fueled blood sugar rollercoasters don't just zap your energy. They create stress at the cellular level. Your mitochondria have to work overtime to manage these ups and downs. The oxidative stress that results from these swings doesn't stay in your gut. It affects your whole body, compounding the stress you're already feeling and making recovery that much harder.

The Stress-Gut Connection

Between travel logistics, family gatherings, and year-end deadlines, the holidays can send your cortisol levels soaring. That stress response directly impacts how your gut functions.

The Gut-Brain Axis in Action

Your gut and brain are in constant conversation through the gut-brain axis. When stress rises (from travel chaos, family dynamics, or that never-ending to-do list), your body pumps out cortisol to help your body handle it. Cortisol slows digestion and weakens your gut barrier, exactly when you need them working their best.

Holiday Stress + Sugar = A Rough Combination

When emotional stress meets dietary stress, the side effects can multiply quickly. This is why bloating, constipation, and relentless sugar cravings often show up together during the busiest weeks of the year. Your gut is working overtime to keep up.

Alcohol's Role in Gut Imbalance

Holiday cocktails and wine (or your beverage of choice) add another layer of stress to an already taxed digestive system, particularly when it comes to gut barrier integrity.

How Alcohol Affects the Gut Barrier

Alcohol increases gut permeability, making that protective barrier more porous, and feeds inflammation in your digestive tract. It also depletes beneficial compounds like butyrate that your gut needs to stay strong.

The Next-Day Domino Effect

Ever notice how after a night with just one or two cocktails, you sleep poorly, crave sugar like crazy, and feel more stressed the next day? Each of these factors puts more strain on your microbiome, creating a cycle that's tough to break when holiday parties stack up week after week.

But that doesn’t mean you have to abstain from the fun altogether to shield your gut from harm. You just need a plan to minimize the side effects. 

Supporting Your Gut During the Holidays

You can protect your gut without skipping the celebrations with just a few, simple, strategic habits that make all the difference.

Lifestyle Swaps

You don't need to overhaul your entire holiday routine. A few small shifts make a real difference:

Hydrate between drinks. No seriously, alternate a tall glass of water after each drink, preferably with added electrolytes. Water + key minerals help your body process both sugar and alcohol more efficiently.

Pair sweets with protein or healthy fats. A handful of nuts with that cookie, or hard cheese with your dessert, slows glucose absorption and prevents wild blood sugar spikes.

Move daily. Even a 15-minute walk after meals helps regulate stress hormones and gets your digestion moving. Get the whole family involved for more quality time together!

Eat butyrate-rich foods. Foods like butter, ghee, and aged cheeses naturally contain some butyrate, while fiber-rich foods like cooked and cooled oats, slightly underripe bananas, and legumes help your gut bacteria produce more of it.

Smart Supplement Support: Butyrate

Butyrate is a postbiotic (a beneficial compound that your good gut bacteria naturally produce) that supports your gut lining, reduces inflammation, and helps keep your microbiome balanced. It's the perfect holiday event partner for your gut.*

During the holidays, butyrate helps you:

  • Skip the bloat with no more uncomfortable gas after meals*

  • Digest rich foods without the heavy, sluggish feeling*

  • Balance blood sugar after dessert (high spikes → gentle hills)*

  • Recover faster between celebrations by strengthening your gut barrier*

Butyrate is flexible. You can take it with or without food, and dose up or down based on your needs (up to six capsules per day). Already taking a probiotic that works for you? Butyrate works alongside it (more on that below).

Butyrate Q&A: Your Holiday Gut Support Ally

Q: Can I take butyrate with or without food?
A: Either way works. Take it however feels best for you. Some people prefer it with meals, others between. The most important thing is to stay consistent for gut protection.

Q: Is butyrate the same as a probiotic?
A: No, it's a postbiotic! Probiotics add beneficial bacteria to your gut. Butyrate is what healthy bacteria produce to keep your gut lining healthy and reduce inflammation.*

Q: Can I take butyrate with probiotics?
A: Absolutely. Probiotics repopulate the good bacteria, while butyrate strengthens the environment they need to thrive. They work well together. If probiotics are giving you some beneficial results but not all, butyrate can help bridge the gap.* 

Keep Your Gut (and Holidays) Happy

Sugar, stress, and alcohol are part of the holiday package, and that's okay (in moderation of course). They don't have to derail how you feel or leave you fighting to bounce back.

Your gut doesn't need perfection; it simply needs nutrition, hydration, movement, and smart support when things get hectic. Butyrate is the perfect holiday event partner to support your gut microbiome and gut lining through every celebration, so you can enjoy the season without total gut and metabolic disruption.

When sugar, stress, and alcohol impact your gut this season, support your microbiome with BodyBio Butyrate.*