Your gut is a well-calibrated system of bacteria, also referred to as the ‘microbiome’. Disturbing the balance can have a huge affect on your wellbeing, but if we learn to look after our gut, our gut will look after us. According to Dr. Edward Chambers, Imperial College London, the most powerful way of maintaining a healthy balanced microbiome is by eating a diet rich in prebiotic fibre. The recommended daily amount of dietary fibre is 30g/day but according to Dr Edward, only five per cent of the UK population does this, he adds “everyone else is at risk of microbiome imbalance , where the integrity of our gut barrier is weakened, allowing bacteria to leak into the body and cause illness and inflammation”. By simply cutting down on processed foods and refined sugars and instead eating a diverse range of fibre-rich, colourful fruits, vegetables, legumes (lentils, chickpeas, beans) and wholegrains, we can facilitate microbial diversity of good bacteria in the gut and also strengthen the gut wall (coz no one wants a leaky gut!) . In short, a healthy well balanced Microbiome can…
✅ Improve Immune function and ability to fight infection
✅ Reduce inflammation and risk of Irritable bowel syndrome
✅ Reduce bloating
✅ Improve mood and mental wellbeing
✅ Sharpen focus and cognitive ability
So, who’s up for a challenge.....?
1. Can you eat the 7 colours of the rainbow every day?
2. Can you eat a range of 30 different fruits, veg, wholegrains, seeds, nuts, pulses, legumes every week??
GUTLUCK!! 👍