The emerging science around gut health is exciting but complex. The message, however, is pretty simple: look after your gut and it will look after you.
It’s empowering to realise that we have the potential to improve the profile of our gut biome, and therefore our overall health, simply by choosing good things to send its way. And it’s reassuring to know that a varied, whole food diet boosted by plenty of probiotic and prebiotic goodies, will do the job!
Hugh's Healthy Gut Guide
1. Go Whole and Go Varied
Eating a varied diet that features whole foods and plenty of variety is unquestionably the best way to develop and maintain a healthily diverse spectrum of gut bacteria.
2 Go live
Eat more probiotic and prebiotic foods – they are a fantastic way to nurture your gut bacteria. Consider making them the first thing you eat in the day (at least on some days) as this is one way to maximise their effects. Yoghurt or kefir and a banana for breakfast is a great idea. And there’s certainly no reason not to have a spoonful of kraut or kimchi with your breakfast eggs and wholegrain toast (see recipes link below). Fermented foods are also an easy win when putting together a quick lunch or lunchbox. And when you sit down for a family supper, why not put the kimchis and krauts on the table as tummy-loving condiments?
3 Avoid the antis
Do your gut a further favour by avoiding things that are not good for it – notably highly processed foods, artificial sweeteners, and alcohol. Unfortunately, antibiotic medicines are not beneficial to our gut bacteria either. However, they are sometimes vital and you should take them if your doctor tells you to. It’s a good idea to make a special effort to look after your insides when you take them – by eating lots of gut-friendly foods.
4 Ask your gut!
Before you eat anything, ask yourself, ‘Is this good for my gut?’. That might sound like an odd thing to do, as you sit down to a meal or start on a snack. But asking that question can encourage you, for example, to leave your fruit (and some vegetables) unpeeled (more fibre), or to choose whole raw nuts instead of roasted salted ones (more polyphenols). And it can nudge you to healthier gut-friendly snacks, like oatcakes and cheese with kraut (instead of chutney!), berries with fresh yoghurt, or dried fruit and nuts with a square or two of dark chocolate. You may even find it helpful, as I do, to visualise these lovely whole foods travelling down inside you and being gratefully received by a host of happy hungry bugs!
Taken from Hugh's book Eat Better Forever - Get your own copy of the book HERE *
Try some of Hugh and the team's recipes for food that is good for your gut! GET THE RECIPES
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