AS well as regulating digestion, our guts also help with immunity, hormones and even aspects of mood and energy.
So how do you keep them in tip-top shape?
The best way is with a varied diet, eating wholefoods with fibre. Think beans, oats, fruit, veg and fermented foods.
But there are some added extras which can help, too. Today, I try some out . . .
LATTE
LAUNCHED earlier this year, drinks brand Good Kynd has produced the UK’s first iced chai latte infused with prebiotic fibre.
It is made from oats, date- juice concentrate, black tea and – the important bit – chicory root inulin.
Each 250ml can has 4g of fibre.
Being prebiotic, it is not fully digested in the small intestine so reaches the colon where it becomes food for beneficial gut bacteria.
It was milky but refreshing and, thanks to the ginger extract, had a fresh and warming flavour.
With 178 calories per can, it is filling and I had it instead of breakfast, on the go.
From £2.25 a can, goodkynd.com
SEEDS
THE Daily 30+ got its name because of its long list of ingredients, which includes six seeds, three nuts, five herbs and spices plus eight mushrooms including lion’s mane, seaweed and kombucha.
In tests, users who took a 15g daily scoop had more energy and were less hungry as well as having decreased indigestion and constipation.
With 5g of fibre per scoop, it is great for gut health.
I am obsessed with it and now have it every single day.
A bit on scrambled eggs, over cottage cheese, on pasta. It is crunchy, savoury and delicious, with warming spices.
It is good for all ages, too, so sometimes I sneak some into my son’s baked beans – and he does not moan.
From £33.25 for a month’s worth, zoe.com
KOMBUCHA
THIS is a tea-based drink that originates in China where, for thousands of years, it has been used as a health drink, thanks to its probiotic and anti-inflammatory properties.
It contains live bacteria and is naturally low in sugar.
Spraga is Ukraine’s No1 kombucha, now available in the UK.
It comes in four flavours including Pomegranate and Apple & Pear, which I loved. Zesty, sparkly, refreshing, it’s not really sweet and does not have the yeasty taste some kombuchas do.
It is made from organic tea, cane sugar and fruit juice, with a living SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast).
This tastes like an adult drink, something you could shove in a wine glass and have of a summer evening.
From £2.90 for 330ml can which has 66 calories, spraga.uk
