Prebiotics are non-digestible fibres which are components of foods that act as fertilisers for the microbes in our gut since they give them something to feed on and therefore help them to thrive. It is estimated that a healthy person needs about 6 grams of prebiotics a day to keep both their microbes and themselves healthy.
Prebiotics can be found in in chicory root, Jerusalem artichoke, garlic, dandelion greens, leeks, onions, asparagus, wheat bran, wheat flour, broccoli, brussel sprouts, okra, cauliflower, bananas and some nuts, including cashews, almonds and pistachios. The amount of prebiotics in each of these varies enormously and decreases when cooked, hence why it’s better to enjoy your food al dente.
Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is the best way to increase your prebiotics consumption. My advice would be to add at least two prebiotic-rich foods to every meal, including breakfast. Alternatively, a teaspoon of diced chicory root or Jerusalem artichoke works well, as proposed by Dr Tim Spector, an expert in the gut microbiome.
Probiotics are foods that contain live gut-friendly bacteria, and consuming these helps increase the number and diversity of microbes in your gut microbiome, which is critical because we need a diverse range of microbes and a good number of them to have a positive impact on our immune system, anti-inflammatory pathways and overall health.
You can find these live microbes in live yoghurt, kefir, Kombucha, which is a slightly fizzy fermented tea, miso paste, sauerkraut and kimchi, but you need to eat them every day to be effective.
I have kefir daily for breakfast, usually with some soaked oats, a banana and some flaxseeds, or I make a smoothie with it. I also enjoy sauerkraut most days with my lunch or dinner – it’s great with eggs on toast!
When it comes to yoghurt, many commercial yoghurt brands are overselling their benefits, especially when they are only adding low doses of one or two microbial strains and also where the low-fat versions are full of sugar or pureed fruit, which could negate the benefits as sugar stops the bacteria from growing, so my advice would be to opt for plain full-fat greek yoghurt or better still, stick with plain kefir which hasn’t been messed around with. My favourite brand is Arla organic natural kefir.
Omega-3 is a type of polyunsaturated fat that is great for heart health and reducing inflammation. There is also research to suggest they lower our cancer risk and improve our mental health.
The 3 main types of omega-3s that are important for your health are: Alpha-linoleic Acid (ALA), mostly found in plant foods; Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), mostly found in fish; Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), mostly found in fish. The omega-3 ALA — which is mostly found in plant foods — is an essential fatty acid, meaning your body can’t make it. This means that food is the only way to get it. Your body can convert ALA into the two other main omega-3 types, EPA and DHA, but only in small amounts. So, eating foods with EPA and DHA is the best way to get these important fatty acids, which are often found in fatty fish.
The best omega-3 sources are: anchovies; herring; mackerel; rainbow trout; wild salmon; flaxseeds; chia seeds; walnuts.
It’s recommended to eat at least two portions of fish per week, one being fatty fish. Whilst fish is expensive, I buy wild salmon in a tin and make fish cakes with it, and I enjoy smoked mackerel, which is again reasonably priced, with scrambled or poached eggs for breakfast. I also snack on walnuts and add flaxseeds to my breakfast and salads.
Caffeine is the world’s most common psychoactive drug, consumed by 80% of the world.
Caffeine consumption has been shown to reduce risk of death and heart disease, but equally, too much of it can cause anxiety, poor sleep and heart arrhythmias.
Surprisingly, coffee has a high fibre content of half a gram per cup, and it’s the combination of fibre, plus polyphenols that provides food for our gut microbes to thrive. Our gut microbes break down the fibre to produce key short-chain fatty acids, which allow other helpful microbial species to increase.
Although tea contains polyphenols, it lacks the fibre of coffee; however, if you are not a coffee lover, then opting for green tea over black tea will still provide you with a host of health benefits since green tea is packed with antioxidants which help prevent cell damage and provide other health benefits to our heart and brain.
It’s important to remember when consuming caffeine that it has a half-life of 6 hours and a quarter-life of 12 hours, so if you’re drinking a caffeinated drink at lunchtime, you still have a quarter of this caffeine changing around your system if you’re going to bed less than 12 hours later. So try to consume your caffeinated drink before midday, so they don’t impact the quality of your sleep.
