Suffering from gut problems? The secret to a cleaner, healthier gut lies in your diet and no, you don’t need a fancy fruit or vegetable that costs a fortune to cleanse your digestive system. Celebrity nutritionist and lifestyle influencer Luke Coutinho recently shared how a common Indian berry is the answer to age-old gut problems. Commonly known as gunda, this humble fruit may appear ordinary at first glance. Small, green, and modest in appearance, it hardly stands out among more popular seasonal produce. However, beneath its plain exterior lies a thick, naturally sticky, gel-like pulp that clings tightly to the hard seed at its centre. This mucilaginous texture makes cleaning and preparing the fruit a laborious task, often requiring patience and skill. The same sticky consistency also makes it difficult to package and transport over long distances without damaging its quality. As a result, gunda has remained largely confined to local markets and regional cuisines, never gaining the widespread commercial popularity or health-food status enjoyed by many other traditional fruits in urban wellness circles.The fruit is primarily cultivated in parts of Rajasthan, where it thrives in the region's hot, dry climate. It is a highly seasonal delicacy, appearing for only a brief period each year, typically during May and June.How Gunda Is Good For Your Gut?The fibre in gunda is not easily broken down during digestion. It reaches the gut and feeds the ‘good’ bacteria there. Gut bacteria is instrumental in supporting digestive, improving immunity. These bacteria also produce compounds that protect the gut lining and provide a natural barrier for the intestine.Weakened gut lining causes chronic inflammation, the culprit to many digestive diseases.A Look At Gunda’s Nutritional ProfileNutritional analyses of Cordia myxa have highlighted the fruit as a valuable source of essential minerals. Research indicates that every 100 grams of its dried fruit provides roughly 6 milligrams of iron along with about 55 milligrams of calcium. The iron content is particularly significant because it contributes meaningfully to meeting the body's daily nutritional requirements.The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recommends that women of reproductive age consume around 29 milligrams of iron each day. However, iron deficiency remains widespread among Indian women, especially during and after the monsoon season, when repeated infections and illness can further deplete the body's iron reserves and increase the risk of anaemia.What makes gunda especially noteworthy is that its nutritional profile extends beyond its mineral content. The fruit naturally contains vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, which plays an important role in improving the body's absorption of dietary iron. In addition, a 2025 study published in Scientific Reports employed advanced UPLC-MSn analytical techniques to examine the fruit's chemical composition and identified a diverse range of health-promoting plant compounds, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, and anthocyanins. These bioactive substances are recognised for their antioxidant properties and further enhance the fruit's nutritional value, making Cordia myxa a well-rounded traditional food with considerable health benefits.Moreover, vitamin C is one of the most powerful enhancers of non heme iron absorption. Non-heme is the plant-based form of iron, and common in desi diets as many Indians are vegetarians. On its own, non-heme has poor absorption powers, but combined with vitamin C, the absorption improves dramatically. Some More Benefits Of GundaIf you have high cholesterol, adding gunda to your diet can really improve your lipid profile. A research published on ACS Omega on soluble dietary fibers found that gunda is rich in pectin-type fibres bind themselves to bile acids in the digestive tract and help the body dispel them through stool. Bile acids are made of cholesterol. When your body loses bile acids, the liver is made to draw more cholesterol from blood to generate new ones. This reduces LDL levels. Luke Coutinho is a well-known lifestyle influencer and nutrition expert. He has worked with celebrities such as Tamannaah Bhatia, Mahesh Babu and Anushka Shetty.