The Bests Foods for Gut Health and for Healthy Aging

Everyone wants to know the best food for gut health and aging well. Many foods support a healthy gut, but one small plant food consistently stands out: pulses.

We host about a trillion microbes in and on our bodies, but did you know that 95% live in the gut? We think about feeding ourselves, what about feeding our gut microbes?  As Dr. Ravi Nagpal, Director of the Gut Biome Lab at Florida State University puts it: “We are not just we eat, but also what our gut bugs eat.”

What do our gut bugs like to eat?

Fiber-rich foods, especially pulses.

A quick refresher: pulses belong to the larger plant-group called legumes.

Quiz time:

• All legumes are pulses. True or False?
• All pulses are legumes. True or False?

The first is false; the second is true. While all pulses are legumes, not all legumes are pulses.  Pulses are the dry edible seeds of legumes, think dry, canned, and frozen beans, peas, and lentils. Legumes, like soybeans, peanuts, and green peas are not pulses. Got it?

Pulses are among the best foods for our gut, loaded with fiber, a nutrient in short supply in our diets. Guess how many of us meet the recommended 22-34 grams of  fiber per day?

• 10%
• 25%
• 41%
• 76%

The answer is a shockingly low 10%. A half cup of pulses delivers 7 to 8 grams of fiber, making them an easy way to close the fiber gap. A plant-forward diet, rich in pulses, lowers risk of heart disease, stabilizes blood sugar, helps with weight management, and improves overall health.

In fact, the Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recommended increasing pulse intake to 2.5 cups per week, the only food group singled out to for an increase. The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines go even further, encouraging a ½ cup on most days of the week.

Pulses fit seamlessly in whatever dietary pattern you happen to enjoy…from Mediterranean to Vegetarian—to promote optimal aging (Click here for a recent study on optimal dietary patterns for healthy aging.)

More than fiber

Fiber isn’t the only thing in a serving of pulses. Unlike other veggies, pulses are protein-rich, with 7 to 9 grams of protein in each serving. And pulses deliver needed minerals, like potassium, and vitamins, like folate.

How do we get more pulses in our daily diet?

Aim for a ½ cup of pulses most days of the week. Remember canned, frozen, and pulse flour all count so if you don’t like soaking dried beans, peas, and lentils, you don’t have to. Canned beans, peas, and lentils are a convenient, nutritious staple in my house.

Some easy ways to build your “½ cup habit”

• Lentil soup (canned or instant)
• ½ cup drained, canned chickpeas tossed into a salad
• White bean hummus with bean chips
• “Cowboy Caviar” made with canned black-eyed peas and black beans (great as a side or appetizer with chips)
• Chickpea pasta with sauteed shrimp and veggies for a pulse-forward pasta primavera
• Black bean brownies. Simply replace 1 cup of flour with 1.15-ounce can pureed black beans in your favorite brownie recipe.

For recipes and shopping lists to support your pulse habit, explore the resources by clicking here.

Key Takeaways

• Pulses are real food approach to increasing fiber and protein.
• Dry, canned, or frozen pulses are all good options for increasing intake.
• Establish a habit of including ½ cup pulses most days of the week.

I’m Chris Rosenbloom, PhD, RD (Registered Dietitian) and nutrition professor emerita (a fancy word for retired) at Georgia State University in Atlanta. I am also a 51-year member of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. I love to read and write and share the fascinating world of nutrition with (older) adults. I co-authored Food & Fitness After 50 (with Bob Murray) and we just sent off the revised manuscript for a second edition (more to come on that). I am 74 years old and believe aging is a privilege, so I don’t whine about getting older.

Disclosure: I serve as the scientific advisor for an intimate food influencer conference, FoodFluence. Today’s information draws from sessions sponsored by USA Pulses and the unbranded campaign CannedBeans.org. I was not asked to write this post, nor was I compensated for doing so.