Why is everyone talking about it and what is gut health?

Gut health is the most talked about subject at the moment. Having a healthy gut microbiome (the healthy bacteria), is essential and can play a major role in supporting your immune system, mental health and reduce depression and anxiety levels. Research shows that it can also lower the risk of allergies and auto-immune conditions. New research from the British Heart Foundation suggests that gut bacteria may also be linked to high blood pressure.

The aim is to maintain a healthy gut and keep the harmful bacteria at a minimum. You can do this by making simple changes to your eating and life style habits. Diet can play a key part and this is where probiotics and prebiotics come in. I go into more details below and give you examples of food you can incorporate into your daily eating habits. Check out my RECIPES for further inspiration. Eating PRObiotic foods can add good bacteria to your body and eating PREbiotic foods can feed the good bacteria. Lifestyle habits such as exercise, sleep and stress management can also play a major role in maintaining a healthy gut.

Food sources to help gut health

Eating to have good gut health doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. In my opinion, it can be achieved by eating a wide variety of fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and fermented food. You can buy supplements for gut health too, but I prefer to start with natural food sources and wellness living to maintain mine. Our body needs a variety, so mixing up the plant food that we eat is key! The suggested amount, is to aim for a mix of 30 different fruits, vegetables, herbs, seeds, nuts and legumes each week. Eating the same food type every day will not help your gut health. Your gut LOVES variety!

PROBIOTIC

Probiotics are food sources that contain live bacteria. Fermented food is the most natural way to consume it. Below are some examples of food that contain probiotic bacteria. The suggested amount is for 1-2 tbsp per day of a food source that contains live bacteria. These are essential kitchen ingredients for me. I use them as breakfast ingredients, add them to salad dressings, stir them into soups, you can even add them to desserts. Build up the quantity gradually if you are new to eating probiotics start with 1 tsp and build up to get your body used to eating them, so you avoid bloating.

• live coconut milk yoghurt

• live coconut milk kefir

• unpasteurised miso

• kimchi

• sauerkraut

• kombucha

• apple cider vinegar

• olives

• PREBIOTIC

  Prebiotics feed and grows the good bacteria in your gut. Here’s just an example of some prebiotics you could introduce to your daily diet. Prebiotic foods are fibre rich foods, and it suggested that we should be eating it daily, as fibre is an essential part of a healthy diet. It makes us feel fuller, aids digestion, prevents constipation and contains the prebiotic our gut needs. The suggested daily amount of fibre we eat a day is 25g woman and 38g for men. Eating a fibre rich diet can give you the suggested prebiotic fibre our bodies need every day for a healthy gut (3-5 grams per day). Too much can cause bloating and flatulence. Remember that our gut LOVES variety, so don’t eat the same foods everyday. Mix it up.

• onion / leeks

• cabbage

• garlic

• mushrooms

• jerusalem artichokes

• asparagus

• green vegetables

• apples / pears

• almond / cashew /pistachio / walnut

• flaxseed / chia seed

• oats

• bananas (slightly green unripe ones)

• berries

• beans and lentils

What harms your gut bacteria?

SUGAR and PROCESSED FOOD

Sugar can feed the BAD bacteria in our gut. Switching over to artificial sweeteners can be worse than sugar, as it strips away all the good bacteria. In my opinion, the best way to help your gut is to reduce your sugar intake. Read more on SUGAR

Eating too much processed food and seed oil can increase the bad bacteria in our gut and cause inflammation. The consumption of this type of food has increased dramatically. Read more on FATS

ANTIBIOTICS and PESTICIDES

Unfortunately antibiotics can wreak havoc on your gut health, stripping out the good bacteria. After a course of antibiotics, it can take time for your gut microbiome to recover (usually about 2-3 months). Pain killers like Ibuprofen can also wipe out the good bacteria.

We sadly live in a world of pesticides and other environmental pollutants, which can be damaging to our gut health. I choose to buy organic when I can and keep updated of on the dirty dozen fruit and vegetable list it publishes, as to what has the highest amount of pesticide residue. The most frequent products listed are berries, apples, grapes, tomatoes, kale, spinach and cherries. Nuts, soybean, oats and sugarcane are also heavily sprayed.

LACK OF SLEEP

Poor gut health can impact sleep. A lack of sleep can cause negative changes in our gut. Sleep is an essential process that we cannot live without. Here’s a few suggestions to help build a good sleep routine.

• aim to go to bed and wake up the same time every day

• create a restful, dark and quiet bedroom environment

• get some exercise during the day. This will help you fall asleep more easily at night

• watch what you eat and drink. Avoid caffeine after midday. Alcohol will interfere with your sleep quality

• wind down from gadgets an hour before bedtime. Have a herbal tea to relax, like chamomile

• eat a diet that is high in magnesium (nuts, seeds, avocado, leafy greens, raw dark chocolate, cacao powder, herbs like mint, oregano and coriander…).  In order to fall asleep and stay asleep, the body and brain needs to relax.  Magnesium aids this process, by activating the nervous system that is responsible for getting you calm and relaxed.

LACK OF MOVEMENT/EXERCISE

Moderate exercise and movement can induce positive changes to the gut bacteria. Not only could it reduce inflammation but it can also enhances your mood. The best suggested exercises if you have a leaky gut, are yoga, strength training and breath work. These exercises can provide a cardio boost without slowing down your digestion. Any exercise and movement you do could benefit your health and your gut.

TOO MUCH STRESS

If you’ve ever had butterflies in your stomach or gut wrenching anxiety, you will know that the nervous and digestive system are in constant contact. Thoughts and emotions triggered by stress can have an affect on your stomach and bowels. So stress has a big affect on our gut health. It can cause cramping, bloating, loss of appetite and inflammation. The key way to help our gut is with stress management. Here are some suggestions to help you manage and deal with stress.

• slow down

• take a walk outside

• journaling

• connect with friends and family

• do more things that make you laugh

• eat well, sleep well, move well.