Provided are dietary supplement composition comprising one or both of L-theanine and a trace mineral complex, optionally in combination with bioactive peptides, in an amount or amounts individually or in combination effective to promote gut health. Further optional components include a fiber oligosaccharide prebiotic, a polyphenol prebiotic, and a polynucleotide or blend. Examples of benefits include one or more of: —an increase in the amount of total short-chain fatty acid production or of at least one of propionate, acetate and butyrate; —an increase the expression or level of at least one tight junction protein (for example, claudin-1, claudin-3, claudin-4, occludin, or a zona occludens protein) or mucin-3 or decrease the expression or level of claudin-2; —an increase in transepithelial electrical resistance; —an increase in the abundance or diversity of a member or phylum of the intestinal bacterial community of the Intestinal lumen or mucus area (for example, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria, F. prausnitzii, or A. muciniphila); —an increase in the expression or level of at least one intestinal surface area marker protein (for example, villin, myosin, cadherin or sucrase-isomaltase). Methods for using such supplements are also disclosed.