There’s no denying it: gut health, with all its bloating, farting, and pooping, can be tricky to discuss in detail, whether we’re talking to close friends or even medical professionals. Many people simply don’t feel comfortable asking questions or calling attention to potential issues, making it easy to miss important information that could help things run more smoothly.

Yes, the state of your stomach is a legitimate aspect of your overall well-being. Your gut can affect everything from your metabolism to your immune system to your heart health to your mood, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine — four of the many, many, many reasons not to neglect it.

To help you avoid having to ask yourself some of the potentially uncomfortable questions, SELF spoke to five gastroenterologists about how they keep their digestive systems happy. Here are their top tips.

1. Eat breakfast, and make sure it’s high in protein.

We hear over and over that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but Lisa Ganjhu, DO, a gastroenterologist at NYU Langone Health, Real emphasizes that. “I like to think of our bodies as a car. You want to start the day with a full tank of gas,” Dr. Ganjhu tells SELF.

Not only is breakfast a wake-up call for your gut, but eating it can also set you up for a better day. Typically, Dr. Ganjhu opts for something protein-packed, like a chia pudding, a Greek yogurt parfait, or, her go-to, a whole wheat or spinach wrap stuffed with cheese, veggies, and eggs, plus a mug of green tea. Because protein increases fullness, you won’t be “thinking about lunch all the time,” she explains. Skimping on that all-important macro in the morning can lead to overeating later in the day, which can hurt your energy levels and leave you “more tired and a little lethargic.” However, getting your protein in early can help stabilize your blood sugar and prevent an untimely crash, while also potentially improving your focus for those important work tasks that come later.

2. Provide some variety in your diet.

If you’re one of those people who likes to eat the same old thing over and over again, Michael Schopis, MD, a gastroenterologist at the specialty care practice Manhattan Gastroenterology, has some (gentle) advice: Try mixing it up a bit. Varying what you eat for meals and snacks (especially fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) will ensure you’re hitting your daily recommended goal of fiber — think about 20 to 30 grams a day — which guards against constipation and just helps keep your digestive system running more smoothly, Dr. Schopis tells SELF.

But there’s another benefit: When you eat a plant-based diet, you’re more likely to get all the different micronutrients your body needs to function optimally, he says. Take your regular romaine lettuce. Maybe one day you top it with some spinach, which will give you a good dose of iron, manganese, zinc, and magnesium, but the next day you add grated carrots, which are rich in vitamin A. Vitamins and minerals like these play a crucial role in the composition and overall health of your gut microbiome. One study found that people who ate more than 30 different types of plants per week, regardless of the type of diet they followed, had a more diverse gut microbiome than people who ate 10 or fewer types per week. That’s important, because increasing the diversity of flora in your gut has been shown to protect against a number of health conditions, Dr. Schopis says, including type 2 diabetes and even colorectal cancer.

3. And don’t forget your fluids.

Yes, eating enough fiber is a tried-and-true strategy for preventing constipation, but staying hydrated is just as crucial, according to Savanna Thor, DO, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University and director of the GI fellowship program. Not drinking enough water can dry out your stool, causing discomfort and making it harder to poop, she says. To prevent that, Dr. Thor tries to bring a few large, refillable water bottles to the office every day. “If I can see my water bottles and they’re still full, I know I need to drink more,” she explains. That said, there’s no need to panic if you’re not quite hitting that eight-glass guideline you’ve probably heard about: It’s not a hard and fast rule, “just a good general guideline,” Dr. Thor says.

4. Try to do at least 15 to 20 minutes of cardio exercise.

Hop on your stationary bike or lace up your running shoes, because “getting your heart rate up and your blood flowing” can do a lot for your digestive health, Shazia Siddique, MD, MSHP, assistant professor of gastroenterology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, tells SELF. It can “help reduce bloating and constipation, so you can have more regular bowel movements, too.” Not only does cardio increase blood flow to your intestines, which ramps up digestive activity, but it also physically strengthens those muscles And can even improve the bacterial diversity in your gut microbiome, which, as we mentioned earlier, has a host of health benefits.