5 Top Tips for maintaining a Healthy Gut this Summer
Summer appears to have (slowly) but surely arrived, and we’re all ready to jet off on our holidays, plonk ourselves down on the beach with a good book in hand and indulge ourselves with a large plate gorgeous local cuisine!
But these summer months of indulgence need not be so damaging after all, and it’s possible to maintain a healthy lifestyle filled with a variety of delicious food (in abundance, may we add) without ever counting calories or going hungry.
We asked nutritionist and expert in all things gut-health Jeannette Hyde, author and creator of The Gut Makeover, to share with us her top tips for maintaining a healthy gut this summer…
1) You can never have too many vegetables
Eat seven portions of plants a day the size of your fist in volume, five as vegetables, and two as fruit. The fibre and plant chemical colours provide food for the billions of bacteria in your gut. Soups, salads and breakfast shakes are in The Gut Makeover Recipe Book show you how.
2) Variety is the Spice of Life
As well as volume, try to have as much variety of plants as you can in a week – try to get up to 30 different types. Just look at your plate and make it as colourful as you can, eg sprinkle over some pomegranate seeds, spring onions, grated carrot, and seeds.
3) If in doubt, add a splash more oil
Include extra virgin olive oil in your cooking and on salads. The polyphenol plant chemicals in it feed your good bacteria, and help protect it from damage when cooking. Including oil on your plants means you’ll absorb the vitamins from many of your vegetables better too for health and feel fuller too.
4) Give your gut some time off
Have an overnight 12 hour fast every night. Super easy, and gives your gut bacteria a chance to recover and bloom. After a few days you may really see a reduction in your hunger levels by doing this.
5) Love your food!
Enjoy food! Sit down, relax, chew properly. Focus on food when you’re eating rather than trying to work or be on the run at the same time. Relaxing and chewing can massively help improve digestive issues and help reduce weight as you’ll be present and able to recognize the full signal!
Jeannette’s Gut Makeover Recipe Book is out today! It’s filled with over 100 easy-to-follow recipes designed to fit around a busy lifestyle, that will nourish your gut and boost your health.
The Gut Makeover Philosophy:
Based on revolutionary new science that reveals that the state of our gut is central to our weight and health, The Gut Makeover is more than another fad diet but is a lifestyle choice. It promotes eating the right foods in abundance and comes with a whole host of bonuses from a brighter mood and better skin to increased energy levels and better sleep. Crucially this diet serves to reduce any longstanding digestive problems such as bloating and IBS, whilst strengthening your immune system.
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