Gut Health Explained

Did you know we have trillions of microbes in our gut? We only found this out around 20 years ago and since then they’ve been linked to metabolic health, mental health, hormones, mood, brain health and our immune systems - pretty much everything that’s important for human health so we need to look after them!

To keep them well nourished, we need to consume both prebiotics and probiotics. Probiotics contain live microorganisms intended to maintain or improve the good bacteria in the body. They come in many forms including kombucha (just watch the sugar content), kimchi (great in salads), natural yoghurt and kefir. Kefir is a fermented drink that is full of live active cultures. It’s an easy add to smoothies, salad dressings or just mixed in with some natural yoghurt. It’s powerful stuff so always start small with a tablespoon and work upwards from there. You can get cows milk and coconut milk kefir from most supermarkets - both will keep your microbes very happy.

Prebiotics are a great source of food for our gut microbes. They are a form of indigestible fibre that passes through the small intestine, ending up in the large intestine where they provide a feast for waiting microbes! A bit like a fertiliser, they allow our friendly bacteria to grow and multiply.

Some of the more common fibre packed prebiotics to add to your meals are: onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, bananas, oats, apples, flaxseed. Although other fruit, vegetables, pulses, nuts and seeds contain some prebiotic fibre too. 

A veggie bake is a great way to combine some of these or try adding some oats, banana or flaxseed to your morning smoothie! It’s recommended that we have at least 5g of prebiotic fibre a day so the wider variety of vegetables and fruit you can eat daily, the better!