Many people start the new year with unpleasant gastric discomfort and bloating after a few weeks of overindulgence, so January is a great time for a gut reset.
I’m a chef and for the past few years I have specialised in fermentation, making kraut, kimchi, kefir and kombucha, and running workshops teaching these skills to others. I eat a few portions of these things every day and my tummy thanks me for it.
But digestive health is important not only because of the way it makes us feel: digestive health can impact many other areas of our wellbeing, including immune response, weight management, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and even mental health.
So this year we should all resolve to look after our guts. Here’s 10 ways to do that.
1. Forget ‘five a day’
This is the big one. Fibre is crucial for making sure our digestive systems run smoothly. The British Nutrition Foundation recommends 30g of fibre a day for adults but the average intake is just 18g. Broadly speaking there are two types: insoluble and soluble. Insoluble fibre is known as “roughage” and keeps you regular. Insoluble fibre aka “prebiotics” is food for the bacteria in your gut.
Advice in the past few years has moved away from encouraging people to eat their “five a day” fruit and vegetables. Instead, 30 across a week is the number we should be aiming for. These should come from six groups of plants: fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes (beans and pulses), nuts and seeds, and herbs and spices.
So although the numbers are higher, way more things count: olive oil, dark chocolate, coffee, and herb garnishes all contribute to the 30. Eating across all six groups should ensure you get plenty of both soluble and insoluble fibre.
2. Ferment your diet
As well as maintaining a good balance of gut bacteria by feeding them prebiotics, you should aim to add some extra beneficial bacteria too with probiotics.
Kraut and kimchi are both vegetable-based ferments that not only contain fibre but also these beneficial probiotic bacteria. They don’t set up home in the gut though so it’s important to keep eating them regularly to reap the benefits.
Try some kraut as a side dish, in a sandwich or mixed into a salad. It’s easy to make your own: simply shred or grate any hard vegetable (cabbage, carrot and beetroot are all good starting places), add any herbs, spices or other flavourings you like and weigh everything together. Calculate 2 or 3 per cent of this weight and add that much sea salt. Massage the veg until it has softened slightly and you have a little brine in the bottom of the bowl then pack into a clean jar and weigh down so all the veg is under the brine (you can use a cabbage core or half an onion for this). Keep your jar at room temperature for a week or so until the kraut is tangy then move it to the fridge.
Some of my favourites include carrot-based kraut with seeds. Delicious with hummus and flatbread. Or red-cabbage and beetroot kraut alongside a cheeseboard instead of chutney. Kimchi goes beautifully with eggs for breakfast, is the perfect accompaniment to a cheese toastie or makes a simple, tasty dinner with rice, veggies and a fried egg.
If you’re buying these ferments, always make sure you get them from the fridge. Anything on the shelf will have been pasteurised, killing the probiotic bacteria.
3. Re-route your cravings
Kefir is fermented milk and another great source of probiotics. Live yoghurt is good but kefir is even better. You can buy it or make your own. Ask a fermenting friend if they’ll share some kefir grains or buy some online (these “grains” are nothing to do with wheat or rye but little colonies of micro-organisms that look like cauliflower florets).
I love kefir for breakfast with fruit (fresh or frozen) and a bit of muesli. Or else mix some with oats and a grated apple and leave it overnight for a probiotic take on bircher. I find that if I have some kefir for breakfast, I don’t get mid-afternoon sugar cravings.
There are neurons in our gut, connected to the ones in our brain. The microbes in our gut use them to “talk” to our brain, in effect placing orders for what they want to eat.
Having more of the good bacteria which thrive on fibre, fermented foods etc. means they shout loudest when it comes to your cravings. The science on this is new but convincing: eat the sugar and processed foods that bacteria with bad health outcomes adore and you will want more of the same.
Eat fibre and probiotics and a virtuous circle is created. I can’t tell you the amount of conversations I’ve had with people who say that once they start adding sauerkraut, kimchi or kefir to their diet that they actively crave the stuff.
4. Banish UPFs and eat less meat
Processed food isn’t a problem: almost all foods are processed. Chopping is a process. Cooking is a process. The things we need to watch for are Ultra Processed Foods, things like emulsifiers, sweeteners, colours, modified starches and oils. There is increasing evidence that a diet rich in UPFs is associated with poor gut health, including serious conditions such as colo-rectal cancers and IBS.
Look out for anything on a list of ingredients that isn’t something you would find in a normal home kitchen. There are barcode-scanning apps that can help too. Open Food Facts is clear and easy to use.
Diets high in red meat have been associated with inflammation. You don’t have to give it up altogether but try to include plant-based protein in your diet too. Tempeh, tofu, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds are all good sources. If you’re cooking with minced meat try swapping out half for lentils which increases fibre and decreases cost at the same time.
5. Don’t forget the power of sleep
Before gut health became a hot topic in the past few years, sleep was probably the facet of wellbeing that got the most attention. But the two are interlinked. Scientists have found that a diverse microbiome is associated with better sleep but also vice versa.
Studies have also shown that eating earlier in the evening (ideally three hours or more before bedtime) leads to better digestion and less chance of interrupted sleep.
6. Keep moving
Gut bacteria ferment soluble fibre into short chain fatty acids (SCFA) which suppress inflammatory microbes. Studies have shown that regular exercise increases SCFA-producing microbes in the gut.
7. Turn off the telly
Be present when you eat. Digestion starts with chewing so pay attention to each bite: how the food feels in your mouth and how full you are. Then pay attention to how you feel after the meal. This awareness can help you make better choices.
8. Water matters
Along with all that fibre, it’s important to drink plenty of water to keep things moving through your gut. Cut down on alcohol too which can be dehydrating but also damage the gut lining.
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