Gut health diet

The health of your gut plays a key role in your overall health and well-being. You can make choices to help your body stay on tract. Your digestive, or gastrointestinal (GI), tract is a long, muscular tube that runs from your mouth to your anus. It’s about 30 feet long and works with other parts of your digestive system to break food and drink down into smaller molecules of nutrients. The blood absorbs these and carries them throughout the body for cells to use for energy, growth, and repair.

As well as extracting energy and nutrients from the food you eat, your gut makes up the largest part of your immune system and produces dozens of hormones that influence everything from your appetite, your instincts to your mood. What most of people are not aware of is actually how closely their guts and brains are entwined. Buried in your intestines are over 100 million neurons or brain cells spread out in a thin layer that extends all the way from your throat to your rectum – which help make up what is known as the ‘gut– brain axis’.

Central to all of these critical functions that this remarkable organ performs is the near 2 kgs of microscopic organisms or microbes that you host in your gut – known as the gut microbiome or microbiota. This ecosystem made up of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microbes – comprises of between 40 and 100 trillion organisms – and at least 1000 different species according to current estimates – more biodiversity than found in a rainforest. These creatures have evolved with humans over millions of years, and many of them are essential for your body to function and for your health and wellbeing. As well as aiding the digestion of your food, protecting and maintaining the health of your gut

A healthy gut helps to:

• maintain the integrity of the gut barrier to keep unwanted microbes and toxins at bay
• strengthen the immune system; around 70–80 per cent of the body’s immune cells are found in the gut
• keep the bowel wall cells healthy and help them recognize and eliminate the DNA mutations that can contribute to colorectal cancer
• promote fluid and electrolyte uptake in the large bowel.

Most people in the US eat and drink too many calories, too much saturated fat, sugar and salt, and not enough fruit, vegetables, oily fish or fiber. Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good gut health, and can help you feel your best. This means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions, and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

• People with special dietary needs or a medical condition should ask their doctor or a registered dietitian for advice.

The American Guidelines recommend including the following components when developing your healthy eating pattern ¹:

• A variety of vegetables: dark green, red and orange, legumes (beans and peas), starchy and other vegetables.
• Fruits, especially whole fruit.
• Grains, at least half of which are whole grain.
• Fat-free or low-fat dairy, including milk, yogurt, cheese, and/or fortified soy beverages.
• A variety of protein foods, including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes (beans and peas), soy products, and nuts and seeds.
• Oils, including those from plants: canola, corn, olive, peanut, safflower, soybean, and sunflower. Oils also are naturally present in nuts, seeds, seafood, olives, and avocados.

The best way to eat for health is to choose a variety of foods from each of the 5 food groups every day:

1. Vegetables and legumes (beans)
2. Fruit
3. Grains and cereals
4. Lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, legumes (beans) tofu, nuts, seeds
5. Milk, cheese, yogurt or alternatives

Each food group has important nutrients.

The amount of each food you need will vary during your life, depending on factors such as how active you are and whether or not you are growing, pregnant, breastfeeding and more.

The Eatwell Guide shows that to have a healthy, balanced diet, people should try to:

1. Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day
2. Base meals on higher fiber starchy foods like potatoes, bread, rice or pasta
3. Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks)
4. Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other protein
5. Choose unsaturated oils and spreads, and eat them in small amounts
6. Drink plenty of fluids (at least 6 to 8 glasses a day)

If you’re having foods and drinks that are high in fat, salt and sugar, have these less often and in small amounts.

Try to choose a variety of different foods from the 5 main food groups to get a wide range of nutrients.

The Eatwell Guide does not apply to children under the age of 2 because they have different nutritional needs.

Between the ages of 2 and 5 years, children should gradually move to eating the same foods as the rest of the family in the proportions shown in the Eatwell Guide.

Figure 1. Gut health diet

Fiber

Fiber is the name given to a range of compounds found in the cell walls of vegetables, fruits, pulses and cereal grains. Fiber that cannot be digested helps other food and waste products move through the gut more easily. It’s a good idea to try to eat more fiber or roughage, as most people in the US do not get enough. A diet rich in fiber can help digestion and prevent constipation. There is strong evidence that eating plenty of fiber is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer. Fiber can help keep your bowel healthy and can help you feel full, which means you’re less likely to eat too much.

Aim for the recommended dietary intake of 30g of fiber a day.

Potato skins, wholegrain bread and breakfast cereals, brown rice, and wholewheat pasta are good sources of this kind of fiber. This makes wholegrain starchy foods and potatoes eaten with their skins on a particularly good choice if you’re trying to lose weight.

Some types of fiber – present in fruits and vegetables such as apples, carrots, potatoes, oats and pulses – can be partly digested, and may help reduce the amount of cholesterol in your blood.

Children under the age of 16 don’t need as much fiber in their diet as older teenagers and adults, but they still need more than they get currently:

• 2 to 5 year-olds: need about 15g of fiber a day
• 5 to 11 year-olds: need about 20g
• 11 to 16 year-olds: need about 25g

On average, children and teenagers are only getting around 15g or less of fibre a day. Encouraging them to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables and starchy foods (choosing wholegrain versions and potatoes with the skins on where possible) can help to ensure they are eating enough fibre.

For a healthy bowel, you need fiber from a variety of sources, such as:

• wholemeal bread
• brown rice
• fruit and veg
• beans
• oats

Some people find cereals and grains bring on bloating and irritable bowel syndrome. If that’s the case, get your fiber from fruit and vegetables instead.

Listed below is the fiber content of some example meals.

• Fiber at breakfast: Two thick slices of wholemeal toasted bread (6.5g of fiber) topped with one sliced banana (1.4g) and a small glass of fruit smoothie drink (1.5g) will give you around 9.4g of fiber.
• Fiber at lunch: A baked jacket potato with the skin on (2.6g) with a 200g portion of reduced-sugar and reduced-salt baked beans in tomato sauce (9.8g) followed by an apple (1.2g) will give you around 13.6g of fiber.
• Fiber at dinner: Mixed vegetable tomato-based curry cooked with onion and spices (3.3g) with wholegrain rice (2.8g) followed by a lower fat fruit yogurt (0.4g) will give you around 6.5g of fiber. Bear in mind that fruit yoghurts can sometimes be high in added sugars, so check the label and try to choose lower-sugar versions.
• Fiber as a snack: A small handful of nuts can have up to 3g of fiber. Make sure you choose unsalted nuts, such as plain almonds, without added sugars.

Total: Around 32.5g of fiber

Fiber on food labels

The above example is only an illustration, as the amount of fiber in any food can depend on how it is made or prepared and on how much of it you eat. Most pre-packaged foods have a nutrition label on the side or back of the packaging, which often gives you a guide about how much dietary fiber the food contains.

How to get more fiber into your diet

It’s important to get fiber from a variety of sources, as eating too much of one type of food may not provide you with a healthy balanced diet.

To increase your fiber intake you could:

• Choose a higher-fiber breakfast cereal such as plain wholewheat biscuits (like Weetabix) or plain shredded whole grain (like Shredded wheat), or porridge as oats are also a good source of fiber. Find out more about healthy breakfast cereals.
• Go for wholemeal or granary breads, or higher fiber white bread, and choose wholegrains like wholewheat pasta, bulgur wheat or brown rice.
• Go for potatoes with their skins on, such as a baked potato or boiled new potatoes. Find out more about starchy foods and carbohydrates.
• Add pulses like beans, lentils or chickpeas to stews, curries and salads.
• Include plenty of vegetables with meals, either as a side dish or added to sauces, stews or curries.
• Have some fresh or dried fruit, or fruit canned in natural juice for dessert. Because dried fruit is sticky, it can increase the risk of tooth decay, so it’s better if it is only eaten as part of a meal, rather than as a between-meal snack.
• For snacks, try fresh fruit, vegetable sticks, rye crackers, oatcakes and unsalted nuts or seeds.

Fruit and vegetables

Fruit and vegetables are a good source of vitamins and minerals and fiber, and should make up just over a third of the food you eat each day. It’s recommended that you eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. They can be fresh, frozen, canned, dried or juiced. There’s evidence that people who eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers. Eating 5 portions is not as hard as it sounds.

A portion is:

• 80g of fresh, canned or frozen fruit and vegetables
• 30g of dried fruit – which should be kept to mealtimes
• 150ml glass of fruit juice or smoothie – but do not have more than 1 portion a day as these drinks are sugary and can damage teeth

Just 1 apple, banana, pear or similar-sized fruit is 1 portion each.

A slice of pineapple or melon is also 1 portion, and 3 heaped tablespoons of vegetables is another portion.

Adding a tablespoon of dried fruit, such as raisins, to your morning cereal is an easy way to get 1 portion.

You could also swap your mid-morning biscuit for a banana, and add a side salad to your lunch.

In the evening, have a portion of vegetables with dinner and fresh fruit with plain, lower fat yogurt for dessert to reach your 5 A Day.

Starchy foods

Starchy foods are our main source of carbohydrate and play an important role in a healthy diet. Starchy foods are a good source of energy and the main source of a range of nutrients in our diet. As well as starch, they contain fiber, calcium, iron and B vitamins. Some people think starchy foods are fattening, but gram for gram they contain fewer than half the calories of fat. Just watch out for the added fats used when you cook and serve them: this is what increases the calorie content.

Starchy foods should make up just over a third of everything you eat. This means your meals should be based on these foods. Choose wholegrain or wholemeal varieties of starchy foods, such as brown rice, wholewheat pasta, and brown, wholemeal or higher fiber white bread. They contain more fiber, and usually more vitamins and minerals, than white varieties. Potatoes with the skins on are a great source of fiber and vitamins. For example, when having boiled potatoes or a jacket potato, eat the skin too.

During cooking, aim for a golden yellow color or lighter when baking, toasting, roasting or frying starchy foods like potatoes, root vegetables and bread.

These tips can help you increase the amount of starchy foods in your diet:

• Breakfast:
  • Opt for wholegrain cereals, or mix some in with your favorite healthy breakfast cereals.
  • Plain porridge with fruit is perfect as a warming winter breakfast.
  • Whole oats with fruit and low-fat, lower-sugar yogurt make a great summer breakfast.
• Lunch and dinner:
  • Try a baked potato for lunch – eat the skin for even more fiber.
  • Instead of having chips or frying potatoes, try making oven baked potato wedges.
  • Have more rice or pasta and less sauce – but don’t skip the vegetables.
  • Try different breads, such as seeded, wholemeal and granary. When you choose wholegrain varieties, you’ll also increase the amount of fiber you’re eating.
  • Try brown rice – it makes a very tasty rice salad.

Types of starchy foods

Potatoes

Potatoes are a great choice of starchy food and a good source of energy, fiber, B vitamins and potassium.

In the US, people also get a lot of their vitamin C from potatoes – although they only contain vitamin C in small amounts, people generally eat a lot of them. They’re good value for money and can be a healthy choice.

Although potatoes are vegetables, in the US people mostly eat them as the starchy food part of a meal, and they’re a good source of carbohydrate in your diets.

Because of this, potatoes don’t count towards your five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, but they can play an important role in your diet.

Potatoes are a healthy choice when boiled, baked, mashed or roasted with only a small amount of fat or oil and no added salt.

French fries and other chips cooked in oil or served with salt are not a healthy choice.

When cooking or serving potatoes, try to go for lower-fat (polyunsaturated) spreads or small amounts of unsaturated oils, such as olive or sunflower oil, instead of butter.

In mashed potato, use lower-fat milk – such as semi-skimmed, 1% fat or skimmed milk – instead of whole milk or cream.

Leave potato skins on where possible to keep in more of the fiber and vitamins. For example, eat the skin when you’re having boiled potatoes or a baked potato.

If you’re boiling potatoes, some nutrients will leak out into the water, especially if you’ve peeled them. To stop this happening, only use enough water to cover them and cook them only for as long as they need.

Storing potatoes in a cool, dark and dry place will help stop them sprouting. Don’t eat any green, damaged or sprouting bits of potatoes as these can contain toxins that can be harmful.

Bread

Bread – especially wholemeal, granary, brown and seeded varieties – is a healthy choice to eat as part of a balanced diet. Wholegrain, wholemeal and brown breads give us energy and contain B vitamins, vitamin E, fiber and a wide range of minerals.

White bread also contains a range of vitamins and minerals, but it has less fiber than wholegrain, wholemeal or brown breads. If you prefer white bread, look for higher-fiber options.

Some people avoid bread because they’re concerned that they’re allergic to wheat, or they think bread is fattening. However, cutting out any type of food altogether might mean you miss out on a whole range of nutrients people need to stay healthy.

If you’re concerned that you have a wheat allergy or intolerance, speak to your doctor or dietician.

Bread can be stored at room temperature. Follow the “best before” date to make sure you eat it fresh.

Cereal products

Cereal products are made from grains. Wholegrain cereals can contribute to our daily intake of iron, fiber, B vitamins and protein. Higher-fiber options can also provide a slow release of energy.

Wheat, oats, barley, rye and rice are commonly available cereals that can be eaten as wholegrains. This means cereal products consisting of oats and oatmeal, like porridge, and wholewheat products are healthy breakfast options.

Barley, couscous, corn and tapioca also count as healthy cereal products.

Many cereal products in the US are refined, with low wholegrain content. They can also be high in added salt and sugar.

When you’re shopping for cereals, check the food labels to compare different products.

Rice and grains

Rice and grains are an excellent choice of starchy food. They give us energy, are low in fat, and good value for money.

There are many types to choose from, including:

• all kinds of rice – such as quick-cook, arborio, basmati, long grain, brown, short grain and wild rice
• couscous
• bulgur wheat

As well as carbohydrates, rice and grains (particularly brown and wholegrain versions) can contain:

• fiber – which can help the body get rid of waste products
• B vitamins – which help release energy from the food we eat and help the body work properly

Rice and grains, such as couscous and bulgur wheat, can be eaten hot or cold and in salads.

There are a few precautions you should take when storing and reheating cooked rice and grains. This is because the spores of some food poisoning bugs can survive cooking. If cooked rice or grains are left standing at room temperature, the spores can germinate. The bacteria multiply and produce toxins that can cause vomiting and diarrhea. Reheating food won’t get rid of the toxins. It’s therefore best to serve rice and grains when they’ve just been cooked. If this isn’t possible, cool them within an hour after cooking and keep them refrigerated until reheating or using in a cold dish.

It’s important to throw away any rice and grains that have been left at room temperature overnight.

If you aren’t going to eat rice immediately, refrigerate it within one hour and eat within 24 hours.

Rice should be reheated thoroughly, reaching a core temperature of 70C for two minutes (or equivalent) so it’s steaming hot throughout.

Rice shouldn’t be reheated more than once – it should be discarded. Don’t reheat rice unless it’s been chilled down safely and kept in the fridge until you reheat it.

Follow the “use by” date and storage instructions on the label for any cold rice or grain salads that you buy.

Pasta

Pasta is another healthy option to base your meal on. It consists of dough made from durum wheat and water, and contains iron and B vitamins. Wholewheat or wholegrain are healthier alternatives to ordinary pasta, as they contain more fiber. We digest wholegrain foods more slowly, so they can help us feel full for longer.

Dried pasta can be stored in a cupboard and typically has a long shelf life, while fresh pasta will need to be refrigerated and has a shorter lifespan.

Check the food packaging for “best before” or “use by” dates and further storage instructions.

Milk and dairy foods

Milk and dairy foods, such as cheese and yogurt, are good sources of protein. They also contain calcium, which helps keep your bones healthy. They can form part of a healthy, balanced diet.

Unsweetened calcium-fortified dairy alternatives like soya milks, soy yogurts and soy cheeses also count as part of this food group and can make good alternatives to dairy products.

To make healthier choices, go for lower fat and lower sugar options.

Choose semi-skimmed, 1% fat or skimmed milk, as well as lower fat hard cheeses or cottage cheese, and lower fat, lower sugar yogurt.

Dairy alternatives, such as soy drinks, are also included in this food group.

When buying alternatives, choose unsweetened, calcium-fortified versions.

Healthy dairy choices

The total fat content of dairy products can vary a lot. To make healthier choices, look at the nutrition information on the label to check the amount of fat, including saturated fat, salt and sugar, in the dairy products you’re choosing.

Much of the fat in milk and dairy foods is saturated fat. For older children and adults, eating too much fat can contribute to excess energy intakes, leading to becoming overweight. A diet high in saturated fat can also lead to raised levels of cholesterol in the blood, and this can put you at increased risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

Milk

The fat in milk provides calories for young children, and also contains essential vitamins. But for older children and adults, it’s a good idea to go for lower fat milks because having too much fat in your diet can result in you becoming overweight. If you’re trying to cut down on fat, try swapping to 1% fat or skimmed milk, as these still contain the important nutritional benefits of milk, but are lower in fat.

Cheese

Cheese can form part of a healthy, balanced diet, but it’s good to keep track of how much you eat and how often as it can be high in saturated fat and salt.

Most cheeses, including brie, stilton, cheddar, Lancashire and double Gloucester, contain between 20g and 40g of fat per 100g.

Foods that contain more than 17.5g of fat per 100g are considered high in fat.

Some cheeses can also be high in salt. More than 1.5g salt per 100g is considered high. Eating too much salt can contribute to high blood pressure.

Try choosing reduced-fat hard cheeses, which usually have between 10g and 16g of fat per 100g.

Some cheeses are even lower in fat (3g of fat per 100g or less), including reduced-fat cottage cheese and quark.

If you’re using cheese to flavor a dish or a sauce, you could try using a cheese that has a stronger flavor, such as mature cheddar or blue cheese, because then you’ll need less.

But remember, it’s recommended that “at risk” groups, such as infants and young children, people over 65 years of age, pregnant women and those who have a long-term medical condition or weakened immune system, avoid eating certain cheeses.

These include mold-ripened soft cheeses like brie or camembert, ripened goats’ milk cheese like chèvre, and soft blue-veined cheese, such as roquefort.

These cheeses may carry bacteria called listeria.

But these cheeses can be used as part of a cooked recipe as listeria is killed by cooking. Baked brie, for example, is a safer option.

Other dairy foods

Butter is high in fat and saturated fat. It can often be high in salt, too, so try to eat it less often and in small amounts. Choosing lower fat spreads instead of butter is a good way to reduce your fat intake.

Cream is also high in fat, so use this less often and in small amounts, too. You can use lower fat plain yogurt and fromage frais instead of cream. Or you could opt for reduced fat soured cream or reduced fat crème fraîche in recipes. But remember, these foods can also contain a lot of saturated fat.

When eating yogurts or fromage frais, choose lower fat varieties, but look at the label to check that they’re not high in added sugar.

Plain lower fat yogurts are a good choice as they usually do not contain added sugars.

Dairy intake for pregnant women

Dairy foods are good sources of calcium, which is important in pregnancy because it helps your unborn baby’s developing bones form properly. But there are some cheeses and other dairy products that you should avoid during pregnancy, as they may make you ill or harm your baby.

Make sure you know the important facts about which foods you should avoid or take precautions with when you’re pregnant.

During pregnancy, only drink pasteurized or ultra-heat treated (UHT) milks. These milks have been heat-treated to kill bacteria and prevent food poisoning.

Cows’ milk that’s sold in shops is pasteurized, but you can still find unpasteurized or “raw” milk for sale from some farms and farmers’ markets. Check the label if you’re unsure.

Dairy intake for babies and children under 5

Milk and dairy products are an important part of a young child’s diet. They’re a good source of energy and protein, and contain a wide range of vitamins and minerals, including calcium, that young children need to build healthy bones and teeth.

Giving your baby breast milk only (exclusive breastfeeding) is recommended for around the first 6 months of your baby’s life. If you choose not to, or are unable to breastfeed, the only alternative is infant formula.

Cows’ milk should not be given as a drink until a baby is 1 year old. This is because it does not contain the balance of nutrients babies need. But babies who are around 6 months old can eat foods that use full-fat cows’ milk as an ingredient, such as cheese sauce and custard.

Babies under 1 year old should not be given condensed, evaporated or dried milk, or any other drinks referred to as “milk”, such as rice, oat or almond drinks.

Between the ages of 1 and 2 years, children should be given whole milk and dairy products because they may not get the calories or essential vitamins they need from lower fat alternatives.

After the age of 2, children can gradually move to semi-skimmed milk as a drink, as long as they’re eating a varied and balanced diet and growing well.

Do not give skimmed or 1% fat milk as a drink to children under 5 years old. It does not contain enough calories and other important nutrients for young children.

Children between the ages of 1 and 3 need to have around 350mg of calcium a day. About 300ml of milk (just over half a pint) would provide this.

Goats’ and sheep’s milk in your child’s diet

Like cows’ milk, goats’ milk and sheep’s milk are not suitable as drinks for babies under 1 year old because they do not contain the right balance of nutrients.

Once a baby is 1 year old, they can drink full-fat goats’ milk and sheep’s milk as long as the milks are pasteurized.

They can be given to babies from the age of 6 months in cooked foods such as cheese sauce and custard.

Cheese in your child’s diet

Cheese can form part of a healthy, balanced diet for babies and young children, and provides calcium, protein and vitamins like vitamin A. Babies can eat pasteurized full-fat cheese from 6 months old. This includes hard cheeses such as mild cheddar cheese, cottage cheese and cream cheese.

Full-fat cheeses and dairy products are recommended up to the age of 2, as young children need fat and energy to help them grow.

Babies and young children should not eat mold-ripened soft cheeses, such as brie or camembert, ripened goats’ milk cheese like chèvre, and soft blue-veined cheese like roquefort. These cheeses may carry bacteria called listeria.

You can check labels on cheeses to make sure they’re made from pasteurized milk. But these cheeses can be used as part of a cooked recipe as listeria is killed by cooking. Baked brie, for example, is a safer option.

Milk allergy and lactose intolerance

Milk and dairy foods are good sources of nutrients, so do not cut them out of your or your child’s diet without first speaking to a doctor or dietitian.

There are 2 conditions that cause a reaction to milk.

Lactose intolerance

Lactose intolerance is a common digestive problem where the body is unable to digest lactose, a type of sugar mainly found in milk and dairy products.

Lactose intolerance can cause symptoms such as bloating and diarrhea. It does not cause severe reactions.

Cows’ milk allergy

Cows’ milk allergy is 1 of the most common childhood food allergies. Cows’ milk allergy typically develops when cows’ milk is first introduced into your baby’s diet either in formula or when your baby starts eating solids.

More rarely, it can affect babies who are exclusively breastfed because cows’ milk from the mother’s diet passes to the baby through breast milk.

As with all food allergies and intolerances, if you think you or your baby have a milk allergy or intolerance, make an appointment to talk to a doctor or another health professional.

Dairy alternatives and substitutes

Some people need to avoid dairy products and cows’ milk because their bodies cannot digest lactose (lactose intolerance) or they have an allergy to cows’ milk protein. There are a number of lactose-free dairy products available to buy that are suitable for people with lactose intolerance. These contain the same vitamins and minerals as standard dairy products, but they also have an added enzyme called lactase, which helps digest any lactose so the products do not trigger any symptoms.

Some people also choose not to have dairy products for other reasons – for example, because they follow a vegan diet.

There are a number of alternative foods and drinks available in supermarkets to replace milk and dairy products, such as:

• soya milks, yogurts and some cheeses
• rice, oat, almond, hazelnut, coconut, quinoa and potato milks
• foods that carry the “dairy-free” or “suitable for vegans” signs

Remember that milk and dairy foods are good sources of important nutrients, so do not cut them out of your or your child’s diet without first speaking to a doctor or dietitian.

If you’re not able to, or choose not to, eat dairy products, you may not be getting enough calcium in your diet.

Proteins

Beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and plant proteins are all good sources of protein, which is essential for the body to grow and repair itself. They’re also good sources of a range of vitamins and minerals.

Meat is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, including iron, zinc and B vitamins. It’s also one of the main sources of vitamin B12.

Choose lean cuts of meat and skinless poultry whenever possible to cut down on fat. Always cook meat thoroughly.

Try to eat less red and processed meat like bacon, ham and sausages.

Eggs and fish are also good sources of protein, and contain many vitamins and minerals.

Oily fish is particularly rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Aim to eat at least 2 portions of fish a week, including 1 portion of oily fish. You can choose from fresh, frozen or canned, but remember that canned and smoked fish can often be high in salt.

Pulses, including beans, peas and lentils, are naturally very low in fat and high in fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals.

Nuts are high in fiber, and unsalted nuts make a good snack. But they do still contain high levels of fat, so eat them in moderation.

Oils and fats

Some fat in the diet is essential, but on average people in the US eat too much saturated fat. Eating lots of saturated fat can raise your cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease. Therefore it’s important to get most of your fat from unsaturated oils and spreads. Swapping to unsaturated fats can help lower cholesterol. Remember that all types of fat are high in energy and should be eaten in small amounts.

Less than 10% of your daily calories should come from saturated fats. Foods that are high in saturated fat include butter, whole milk, meats that are not labeled as lean, and tropical oils such as coconut and palm oil. Saturated fats should be replaced with unsaturated fats, such as canola or olive oil.

Saturated fat is found in:

• butter, ghee, suet, lard, coconut oil and palm oil
• cakes
• biscuits
• fatty cuts of meat
• sausages
• bacon
• cured meats like salami, chorizo and pancetta
• cheese
• pastries, like pies, quiches, sausage rolls and croissants
• cream, crème fraîche and sour cream
• ice cream
• coconut milk and cream
• milkshakes
• chocolate and chocolate spreads

US health guidelines recommend that:

• the average man aged 19-64 years should eat no more than 30g of saturated fat a day
• the average woman aged 19-64 years should eat no more than 20g of saturated fat a day

Eat less saturated fat, sugar and salt

Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease.

Regularly consuming foods and drinks high in sugar increases your risk of obesity and tooth decay.

Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure, which increases your risk of getting heart disease or having a stroke.

How to restore your gut health

The bacteria that live in and on you are an integral part of your immune system and influence much of your health and well being – they even talk directly to your brain and influence your mood and cravings. They protect you from infections, regulate and activate your immune system and even regulate your weight and metabolism.

However as a result of the modern diets, sedentary lifestyles and over exposure to stress, toxins and medications, your gut health is deteriorating. This deterioration has been linked with the obesity crisis, rising levels of diabetes and metabolic syndrome and a whole range of auto immune-related diseases from asthma and allergies, inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), to rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis (MS).

If you suffer from digestive problems, food intolerance or even weakened immune system, you may want to consider taking steps to restore your gut health before your symptoms deteriorate. Here is are five step plan to reset and restore your gut health:

Removing Harmful Foods and Toxins

Your first task is to remove a number of harmful chemicals and ingredients in your diets and lifestyles right away. There are also a number of indulgences that harm your gut when consumed in excess. Here are the main ones to look out for:

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are one of the most significant medical breakthroughs since their discovery and subsequent commercial production over 70 years ago. Antibiotics have saved countless lives – without them a small untreated cut or graze could result in death. However their success has come with widespread usage in farming and with significant over-prescription and unnecessary usage by patients – with grave consequences for the health of the gut microbiota. If your doctor does recommend a course of antibiotics – feel free to discuss how necessary they are and if in doubt seek a second opinion. Meanwhile if you are given a course of antibiotics many experts recommend taking the course.

Sugar

Sugar in your diet feeds the types of bacteria and pathogens you want to keep in check – so a diet rich in sugar can lead to an over growth of these bacteria and a resulting in balance and dysbiosis in your gut. Furthermore a study at Oregon State University found that altered gut bacteria as a result of a high-sugar diet, appeared to impact “cognitive flexibility,” in ones ability to adjust to changing situations – and also showed an impairment of early learning for both long-term and short-term memory. Its also worth noting that sugar is addictive and refined sugar contains no nutrients –only calories which are quickly absorbed causing blood sugar levels to jump and then collapse – causing hunger and further cravings. Artificial Sweeteners Concerns over the health effects of artificial sweeteners have long been raised – and that consuming them prompts hunger and further cravings when the expected sugar hit doesn’t arrive – however recent studies have shown that artificial sweeteners also harm the balance of your gut bacteria – promoting growth in the undesirable strains of bacteria associated with obesity and diabetes – as well as inflaming the gut lining.

Processed foods

Processed foods are defined as foods prepared with chemical additives or processes to alter the flavor or shelf life, are very harmful to your gut bacteria as a result of the additives and ingredients they contain. How to identify which foods are processed? They could be described as anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food or if you read the label any ingredient you don’t recognize (typically with a scientific name).

Preservatives and Emulsifiers

Preservatives are added to most packaged foods in order to slow or prevent the processes of oxidation and bacterial growth or put another way they are designed to kill bacteria. There are many natural preservatives such as salt and natural acids, oils and vinegars which are easily digested and do no harm however most preservatives in our food are synthetic man-made and studies have shown they could be doing serious harm to your gut. Emulsifiers are very common in packaged foods which also extend the shelf life of foods and keep ingredients—often oils and fats—from separating. Emulsifiers are found in many common household foods from mayonnaise to ice cream, biscuits to peanut butter with common emulsifiers including ingredients such as polysorbate 80, carboxymethylcellulose, lecithin, carrageenan, polyglycerols, and xanthan. Some major studies have shown how emulsifiers negatively affect the make up of your gut bacteria and disrupt the protective mucous layer that shields your intestinal tract, resulting in inflammation and can lead to bacterial infection. Another side effect is an interference with the signal of ‘satiety’ – or feeling full – leading to overeating and get fatter.

Artificial Food Coloring

The use of food coloring in processed food is now widespread to encourage sales, and many of the popular colorings used today have been found to have antibacterial properties. This was previously considered a positive affect but now scientists are increasingly aware of the damage such chemicals have on your gut flora.

Alcohol

Alcohol is very effective at killing bacteria which is why it is used in sanitary wipes, mouth wash and for cleaning cuts and grazes – so consuming high levels of alcohol or binging will not do your gut microbiome much good. However there are benefits to drinking low levels of certain drinks. Some alcoholic drinks – red wine is a great example – contain many nutrients in addition to alcohol such as as polyphenols which come from the skins of the fruits used to make them – and these are very beneficial to your microbiome.

Meat and Dairy

Eating excessive (red) meat is widely identified as a cause of heart disease, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Studies have show that a diet high in meat is associated with more of the wrong gut bacterial species. Meat in your diet should be reduced to make way for more plant based foods and switched to free range meat and dairy. Aside from any ecological or welfare concerns, there are a number of reasons to avoid or remove intensive or factory farmed meats for the sake of your gut microbiome.

Here are some of the most harmful meat products and ingredients to watch out for:

Processed Meat

As with processed foods – processed meats – such as bacon, sausages, hams and salamis are prepared with chemical additives and processes which are very harmful to your gut bacteria and should be removed from your diet

Antibiotics in meat and dairy

Much meat and dairy produced through intensive farming contains varying quantities of antibiotics– despite withdrawal guidelines designed to limit this. Long used in commercial meat and dairy farming to fatten livestock they’re now banned in Europe (for fattening purposes) but are still used widely in the USA, South America and Asia They were initially introduced to control the spread of disease and infection in animals reared in cramped conditions as farming intensified. However they were soon discovered to promote weight gain in the livestock as a by product – increasing the farmers yields and profits. Only now do scientists understand that the effect of antibiotics on the animals gut bacteria, results in dysbiosis, increasing energy absorbed from their feed and making them fatter (much the same as the effect on humans). There is also a growing concern about antibiotic-resistant bacteria developing in intensive farming and being transferred to humans organic products are less likely to contain these antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Pesticides and Herbicides

These are chemicals formulated to destroy unwanted organisms and unsurprisingly are also effective at destroying the bacteria in your gut. Pesticides from animal feed end up in the meat you eat in a similar way to antibiotics. Fat-soluble pesticides used to produce animal feeds have been shown to transfer to tissues and eggs and then to humans.

Repairing your gut

Foods to help reduce gut inflammation, repair and strengthen your gut lining.

Curcumin

Curcumin is a compound found in turmeric, the yellow spice common in Indian and south Asian cooking. A number of studies have demonstrated the beneficial antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Turmeric, together with its ability to inhibit the growth of pathogens or ‘bad’ bacteria and microbes, as well as protecting the wall of the intestine.

Butyrate

Butyrate is also a strong anti-inflammatory that, in addition to helping control the growth of the cells in your gut lining plays a key role in maintaining gut health. It is the major source of energy for your colonic mucosa (the mucous lining that protects your colon) and it also helps reduce inflammation,reducing associated pain, bloating, and gas. Foods high in fiber will help to increase butyrate levels as they feed the ‘good’ bacteria in your large intestine and colon that produce this chemical. However if you have an inflamed or diseased gut, eating a lot of fiber may inflame it further – in which case a phased introduction may be required.

Apples

As the old saying suggests – an apple a day will indeed feed your gut health and keep the doctor away. High in fiber and low in sugar apples also help generate butyrate upon digestion feeding our good bacteria.

Resistant Starch

While health experts advise removing sugary foods and refined starch – resistant starch on the other hand is a good way to feed the good bacteria that releases butyrate. While refined starch is broken down and absorbed rapidly upsetting the balance of your microbiota and piling on the calories, resistant starch is hard to digest so will pass through the stomach and small intestine largely undigested to reach the large intestine. Here it feeds the good bacteria releasing butyrate – helping to reduce inflammation and strengthen the intestinal lining. Resistant starch can be found in grains, seeds, legumes, pulses and in unripe bananas and green peas. Interestingly however some of the starch present in both pasta and rice.

Probiotics

There are many companies advocating the consumption of probiotics or live bacteria to add the right bacterial communities to your gut. While some of these strains may already exist in your gut, the wrong diet will be inhibiting their growth. It is therefore more important to build the foundations for a healthy gut microbiome through healthy diversity in the right food and particularly fiber in your diet. This will in turn feed and promote the growth and diversity in the desirable ‘good’ bacteria for a healthy gut.

Changing your lifestyle

In addition to your diet, your sleep patterns, stress, exercise and exposure to the healthy outdoors all play a role in the number and diversity of your gut microbiome.

Regular Exercise

This is an important component in kickstarting your gut microbe makeover. Many studies have shown the benefits of exercise on the health and diversity of our gut bacteria – there are even companies examining the fecal microbes of elite athletes in order to harvest probiotic strains. Rather than being over ambitious we recommend any form of exercise that is easy to do regularly and fit in to your routine as consistency is key. If you can find sports or group activities this may help you become more motivated as they contain a social or competitive element which makes it more rewarding. If you are looking to maximize the gain many studies have found significant benefits from High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) which have been shown to significantly raise the calorie ‘after burn’ rate for many hours after the exercise.

Fasting

The benefits of fasting to your gut bacteria and to your health in general have emerged only recently. A recent study published in the National Academy of Sciences shows how fasting may help protect the gut microbiome and in turn protect the body by activating an anti-inflammatory response in your gut, protecting both you and your bacteria. While this research was conducted on fruit flies which express many of the same metabolism- related genes as humans, providing important clues about how your own gut microbiota and your metabolic systems operate. One fascinating discovery that emerged from the study was that the flies that fasted – activating the gut-brain axis lived twice as long as the flies who did not.

Sleep

Getting too little sleep alters the balance of bacteria in the gut studies have shown. Researchers found that moderate sleep loss in healthy men over two days altered the balance of their gut bacteria. In other studies have shown how sleep-deprived patients to lose sensitivity to insulin the hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels, and results in weight gain.

Dirt

Get outside in the garden and get your hands dirty. The soil in your garden or park has its own microbiome and there is mounting evidence to show that getting out in your garden, getting dirty, breathing in, playing in, and digging in dirt can be good for your health and your gut health. There is also clear evidence to show how childhood exposure to microbes in the air and soil is linked to a more robust immune system. In another study children in rural Bavaria playing in animal stables and drinking farm milk had drastically lower rates of asthma and allergies throughout their lives than their neighbors who did not. In a series of experimental studies, researchers have been examining the effect of injecting certain microbes from the soil directly into human body with very interesting beneficial effects on the patients. One bacterium in particular Mycobacterium vaccae has received a lot of favorable press and found to influence cognitive function and mood in mice. As this is an abundant species of bacteria simply getting outside you are likely to encounter this.

Stress

Stress is a result of your fight or flight response to threats you encounter – where your body releases epinephrine (adrenaline) and hormones that cause an increase in blood pressure and pulse rate, faster breathing, and increased blood flow to the muscles. It has a negative effect on your gut microbiota as well as the brain-gut axis – the communication between our gut bacteria and our brain. Prolonged stress can lead to a range of disorders such as diarrhea and leaky gut, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), peptic ulcers, reflux (GERD). Meditation is a powerful technique that that has been practiced for thousands of years to help manage stress and reduce anxiety. It has been recognized as an effective means of reducing stress enabling better relaxation, cardiovascular health and mental focus when performed regularly. It is designed to create a state of deep relaxation – controlling your breathing, your blood pressure and heart rate. If you suffer from stress in your work or elsewhere in your life try to taking a daily meditation session

References

1. Dietary Guidelines. Food and Nutrition. https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines