I Quit Storing These 9 Everyday Foods the American Way For 21 Days — and My Gut Finally Calmed Down

For years, John Harry ate “clean” – whole foods, lots of veg – yet his gut was in a constant state of rebellion: bloated, gassy, and unpredictable.

Does this sound familiar? You buy all the right foods, but you still feel awful. It’s frustrating. John learned the problem isn’t just what you eat, but how you store it.

The common “American way” of over-refrigeration and total plastic reliance could be your hidden gut trigger.

He decided to try an experiment. For 21 days, he quit 9 everyday “American” food storage habits. He replaced them with traditional, gut-friendly methods.

The results were staggering. His gut finally calmed down. This article shows you exactly what he did, why it works, and how you can start today.

1. Storing All Leftovers in Plastic Containers

Let’s start with the biggest culprit in the kitchen: the wall of mismatched plastic tubs. We use them for everything, especially for microwaving healthy leftovers.

John realized his worst bloating came right after lunch, and this habit was the reason. The “American way” is cheap plastic, but the real cost is to our gut.

He made the switch to glass, ceramic, or stainless steel containers, and it was the most important change he made.

• The Proof: Recent 2025 research shows that plastic containers, especially when heated or scratched, leach microplastics (MPs) directly into your food.
• The Gut Link: Studies from sources like PubMed Central show a direct link between swallowing these MPs and gut dysbiosis (an imbalance of gut bacteria).
• The Damage: These tiny particles can cause inflammation and may compromise the delicate lining of your gut.
• The Takeaway: This isn’t just about old news like BPA. It’s about physical plastic particles disrupting your gut microbiome every time you eat leftovers.

2. Refrigerating Whole Tomatoes

We all do it. We get tomatoes from the store and put them in the crisper drawer to make them “last.” But this “life-saving” trick actually kills them.

You end up with a sad, mealy, tasteless tomato, which is a sign its nutrients and quality are gone. Flavor is a key part of good digestion, and we are destroying it.

The right way to store tomatoes is on the counter, stem-side down, away from direct sunlight.

• The Science: Cold temperatures (below 12°C or 54°F) permanently halt the ripening process.
• The Texture: The cold breaks down the cell membranes inside the tomato, which is what makes them mealy and watery.
• The Exception: Once you cut a tomato, it must be stored in the refrigerator in a glass container.
• The Takeaway: Let your tomatoes ripen fully at room temperature. A countertop tomato is a completely different (and better) fruit.

3. Keeping Raw Potatoes in the Fridge

It is a common mistake many people make, thinking the fridge is the best place to prevent potatoes from sprouting. This isn’t just a quality tip; it’s a critical safety warning.

Storing potatoes in the cold, humid fridge is a bad idea that can create a harmful chemical. The simple fix is to store them in a paper bag or basket in a cool, dark, and dry place, like a pantry.

• The Danger: The cold refrigerator environment causes the starch in the potato to convert into sugar.
• The Chemical: When you bake, fry, or roast these new “sugary” potatoes at high heat, the sugars combine with an amino acid to create acrylamide.
• The Risk: Acrylamide is a chemical that is classified as a potential carcinogen.
• The Solution: A simple paper bag in a dark pantry completely solves this problem. Do not store them near onions, as onions release gasses that make them sprout.

4. Tossing (or Only Eating Hot) Leftover Rice & Potatoes

This next tip is a total mind-flip and was a huge game-changer for John’s gut. He stopped seeing leftover carbs as “bad” and started eating them cold on purpose.

The habit of only eating starches hot (or throwing them out) means you miss a huge gut-health opportunity.

The swap is to purposefully cook rice, pasta, or potatoes, cool them in the fridge overnight (in glass!), and eat them cold or gently reheated.

• The Science: The process of cooking and then cooling these starches changes their molecular structure.
• The Benefit: This change creates Type 3 Resistant Starch, a special kind of fiber.
• The “Resistant” Part: This starch is “resistant” to digestion in your small intestine, so it travels all the way to your colon.
• The Prebiotic Power: In the colon, it becomes a powerful prebiotic (food for your good gut bacteria), which then produce butyrate, a substance that heals the gut lining.

5. Storing Bread in the Fridge or a Plastic Bag

When it comes to storing a loaf of bread, most people do one of two things, and both are wrong. Some put it in the fridge, while others keep it in its plastic bag on the counter.

The fridge makes it go stale faster, and the plastic bag traps moisture, creating a perfect environment for mold.

John learned that the old-school methods are far better for both the bread and his digestion.

• The Fridge Problem: The cold, dry air of the refrigerator causes the bread’s starch to crystalize (a process called retrogradation) at high speed, making it stale.
• The Bag Problem: The sealed plastic bag traps moisture from the bread, which encourages mold to grow, often before you can even see it.
• The Swap (Short-Term): Use a cloth bag inside a wooden or ceramic bread box. This regulates humidity, keeping the crust crisp and the inside soft.
• The Swap (Long-Term): The best way to preserve bread is to slice the loaf and store it in the freezer. You can pull out individual slices and toast them.

6. Storing Nuts & Seeds in a Pantry Bag

John Harry used to buy big bags of almonds, walnuts, or ground flax and just leave them in his pantry for months. It is a huge mistake.

Nuts and seeds are full of healthy, delicate fats, but these fats are fragile. Keeping them in an open bag in a warm, light-filled pantry is the fastest way to turn a superfood into an inflammatory problem.

It is one case where the fridge is your best friend.

• The Problem: Heat, light, and air cause the polyunsaturated fats in nuts and seeds to oxidize, or go rancid.
• The Sign: If your nuts or seeds taste “off,” bitter, or like crayons, they are rancid.
• The Gut Irritant: Rancid fats are highly inflammatory and can be a major source of digestive upset.
• The Fix: Store all nuts and seeds (especially ground ones like flax or chia) in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator or freezer. This stops oxidation.

7. Keeping Olive Oil Next to the Stove

Walk into most kitchens, and you’ll see the olive oil sitting right next to the stove for convenience. While handy, this is the worst possible place for it.

You are actively ruining a healthy, anti-inflammatory food by storing it this way. Olive oil has three mortal enemies, and the stovetop provides two of them.

The proper solution is to store it in a cool, dark cupboard.

• The Three Enemies: The health benefits of olive oil are destroyed by heat, light, and air.
• The Damage: Storing it by the stove (heat) or in a clear bottle on the counter (light) causes the oil to oxidize and go rancid.
• The Result: Just like rancid nuts, rancid oil is inflammatory and can cause digestive upset, turning a healthy fat into a harmful one.
• The Fix: Always buy olive oil in a dark or opaque bottle, and store it in a cool, dark pantry, far away from any heat source.

8. Refrigerating Onions & Garlic

It is a simple storage swap that makes a big difference. Many of us toss whole, unpeeled onions and garlic bulbs into the crisper drawer to save space.

This habit actually backfires and causes them to spoil much faster. The refrigerator is simply the wrong environment for them. They need to be stored in a cool, dark, and dry place with good air circulation.

• The Problem: The refrigerator is too humid. This excess moisture causes onions and garlic to become mushy, sprout, and grow mold.
• The Solution: Store them in a well-ventilated basket or a mesh bag in a pantry or dark cupboard. They need to breathe.
• The Nuance: Do not store your onions and potatoes together. Onions release ethylene gas, which will make your potatoes sprout much faster.
• The Exception: Once you cut or peel an onion or garlic clove, it must be stored in the fridge in an airtight container.

9. Letting Crisper Veggies Rot

Finally, John Harry had to get honest about his “vegetable graveyard.” His crisper drawer was a place where good intentions (like a head of cabbage or a bag of carrots) went to die.

He’d find them weeks later, slimy and forgotten. This “American way” of buying fresh food only to let it rot is a waste of money and a massive lost opportunity for your gut.

He stopped this cycle by embracing a simple, ancient preservation method.

• The Swap: Instead of letting food rot, he started using one of the oldest gut-friendly kitchen habits: fermentation.
• The Transformation: This process doesn’t just save the food; it transforms it into a potent, living probiotic food.
• The Examples: That head of cabbage plus salt becomes probiotic-rich sauerkraut. Cucumbers become real pickles. Carrots become tangy fermented carrot sticks.
• The Ultimate Win: You completely eliminate food waste and you create your own delicious, gut-healing probiotic foods for pennies.