Eating and Shopping with Gut Health in Mind

Ugh. Another guide for gut health? Yep! But this one is as easy and 1, 2, 3. 

If you've been struggling with bloating, bellyache, diarrhoea, constipation, or gut health symptoms - have you checked in with the choices you make every day that might be helping or hindering how you feel?

If you're like the 238 people in this 2021 Cambridge study where 81% experienced at least 1 digestive symptom in the previous 4 weeks. Then we feel you. 

Is it wild, noisy belly rumbling? Is it bloating so bad that you don't want to move? Or a gassy ass? Or abdominal pains that make you feel rotten?

We'll cover a few things - shopping for gut-friendly foods and supplements - and our top tip to aid digestion. 

Even small changes can make a massive difference to how your digestive system works. But you gotta do them.

Shopping for better gut health

Yes, some foods are more gut-friendly than others. And yes, we all want to indulge and eat what we want.

But our guts haven't evolved as quickly as our modern lives of ready-made meals, fast food, industrial farming and just how available food is to us.  

1. Shop for natural, gut-friendly foods 

 An easy way to get started is to think about the colour of foods you're eating. The more colourful the better. We all know about our 5 a day.

But in a day are you eating a variety fresh veg and fruit ranging from red - oranges - yellow - green - blue - purple?

If there are more 🍆 emojis in your DMs than on your plate, then maybe it's time for a rebalance? 

Our eyes are hard-wired to be attracted to brightly coloured foods with the rainbow, are you getting bright colourful natural food in your meals? 

• For red fruit & veg we’re talking strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, cherries, tomatoes and apples 🍒 🍓 🍅
• Coming in on the orange vibes: orange peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, orange citrus fruits, papaya and apricots 🍊 🍑🥕
• Who is loving the yellow fruit and veg like lemons and other citrus fruits, banana, pineapples or mangoes? 🍋🍌🍍
• And we all know the greenies are no meanies! Pistachios, broccoli or cauliflower (both great for bloating), spinach leaves or kale, peas (great source of plant-based protein) 🍏 🥑 🥦
• And a shout out to blues and purples - blackberries, blueberries, grapes, plums, beetroot, and don't forget those aubergines!!! 🫐 🍇 🍆

Top tips for more (natural) colour in your diet

Keep it simple. Tell yourself, you'll add one new piece of fruit or veg a day.

• Buy a veg box subscription and get creative.
• Think about eating a range of colours and mix it up with soups, salads, stir fry, casseroles
• If you can't buy fresh, frozen fruit and vegetables are great too to have on hand to add into your meals, and can be a great time saver and helps reduce waste
• If you're still not getting enough, try green superfood powders to add to your smoothies or meals

These foods support gut health because they contain natural fibre which is fuel for the good bacteria in your gut. 

Bish, bash, bosh, done. Your gut is gonna love it. 

So aim to have as many different coloured foods on your plate as possible each day - you'll be getting a wide range of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that will help support the gut.

2. Consider a Gut-Boosting Supplement

There's a lot that goes on between chewing and pooing. You put your digestive system through a lot in your lifetime. So sometimes your gut might a little TLC. 

Adding a supplement can help maintain your gut health or help you after you've taken antibiotics or had stomach upset.

Even this quickest of google searches will show you that there's many different types supplements, so it's important to find one that is right for you.

Things to think about when choosing a supplement

Every gut is different so no product can claim to be the best probiotic for digestion or best supplement for gut health. But you can choose one to help boost your digestive wellbeing. 

Take a bit of time to do your research and read the reviews of any product you're considering buying. 

• Purpose - do you want a targeted supplement or a bit of al 'all rounder'?
• Quality ingredients - What's inside and where is the supplement made?
• How easy it is to take - Do you want to measure, blend, mix every day? Do you often buy pills then just not take them? 
• Check the bioavailability - Bioavailability is about the amount of nutrients that your body is able to absorb. Liquid supplements are absorbed into your system faster. 
• Reviews - What are other customers saying about it?

3. Eating with Gut Health in Mind - CHEWING

Are you eating so fast that you're not chewing and setting up your digestive system for a harder job? 

It's the number 1 thing that could be an easy fix for how you're feeling. 

This one is pretty simple. 

Slow down... OK, we'll say it again for those of you who didn't get it SLOW down. 

Enjoy your food, stop eating on the go and chew chew chew chew.

Not only does it help break down the food into smaller pieces for your digestive system to have less chunks but it also help get more salvia which you need to help start breaking things down. 

Read our chewing challenge here for more. 

Treat your gut like your best friend 

Eating with your gut in mind can mean a whole lot more but getting some of the basic right can completely change how you feel. 

It's time to treat you gut like it's your best mate. 

By eating more of the right kinds of foods that you gut needs will make a big difference in how you feel and you can give it a boost with a supplement. And chew everything until it's liquid-y - you might be shocked at how much of a difference this can make

There's no one-size-fits-all to fixing that gut relationship but we do know that you can make good gut choices to help avoid some of your unwanted symptoms. 

Your gut will look after you if you look after it. Whatever relationship you've had with it in the past, you can reset and forget the past.

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Team Gutsy