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Dr Ruairi Robertson’s nutrition plan for a healthy gut

The health of your gut has never been more important - new research proves its central role to your physical health and wellbeing.

One sure way to look after your gut is to have a nutrition plan in place. To start you on your way, here is expert advice from our gut health specialist.

General tips

Up the plants

Fibre is found in plants and not animal foods. Humans don’t have the enzymes capable of digesting fibre, but your gut microbes do. This makes fibre the perfect food for your gut and its microbes. This doesn’t mean that we all have to become vegan, as animal food still contain lots of important nutrients, but we should all be eating more plants for our gut health.

Vary the plants

Aim for 30 different plant foods a week. Use a food diary or just notes on your phone to note down every different type of plant-based food that you eat every day. Add up and beat your record from the previous week.

Go for grains

There are so many more grains available than rice and pasta. Most supermarkets these days have a whole shelf full of various grains beside the rice including quinoa, bulgur wheat, pearl barley and many others.

Be a smart shopper

Every time you go shopping, pick up a new plant-based food that you don’t usually buy. This could include fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, beans or anything that hasn’t come from an animal.

Sprinkle with seeds

Fill up a jar with a mixture of different chopped nuts and seeds. Any time you have a salad, cereal, sprinkle a couple of spoonfuls of this nut/seed mixture on top to gain a little fibre boost.

Have a can-do attitude

Tinned beans/legumes/chickpeas are some of the most underrated gut-friendly foods. They are high in fibre and protein and therefore provide a great alternative to meat/fish which doesn’t contain fibre. These are super easy to cook (just open the tin, pour into a bowl and microwave for 3 mins) and can be added to any soup, stew or salad or as a replacement for meat in meat dishes such as lasagne, Bolognese or shepherds pie.

Better your bread

Swap out ‘white’ versions of bread, pasta and rice with ‘brown’ versions. For bread, choose wholegrain or sourdough. Brown versions of these foods contain much more fibre. White versions have all of the gut-loving fibre removed.

Spice up your life

Remember, spices can count in your 30 a week. Many spices are great foods for your gut microbes. Just like your fruit/vegetables, diversity is key. Make a collection of spices and experiment with different types in different meals.

Dress it up

Add a handful of spinach or salad leaves to your plate at each lunch/dinner (with a little bit of olive oil and vinegar dressing) to add an extra fibre boost.

Double down on portions

Whenever you make dinner, double up the portions and keep second portion for lunch the next day. Better yet, triple/quadruple the portions and freeze extra portions.

Planning makes perfect

Plan out your meals for the week on a Sunday evening for the following week. This doesn’t have to be anything detailed, but make a rough list of meals on a piece of paper or your phone. Remember, dinners on one night can be doubled up for lunch the following day.

Power up on plants

There is a misconception that protein has to come from animals. Many plant-based foods, such as beans and nuts are great sources of protein and also provide lots of fibre that isn’t found in animal foods.

Diversify your diet

No diet is perfect for everyone. As boring as it sounds, the best diet is one that is varied, includes lots of plant-based foods and is one that you can enjoy and stick to in the long-term. Unless you have a very specific allergy/intolerance, there is no single food or food-group that you should avoid entirely.

Good meals for your gut

As the key to a gut-friendly diet is diversity, the meal possibilities are endless. Try experimenting with different vegetables, beans and whole grains to find recipes that you like, are easy to cook and that can add to your 30 plant-based foods per week.

Good meals for your gut

As the key to a gut-friendly diet is diversity, the meal possibilities are endless. Try experimenting with different vegetables, beans and whole grains to find recipes that you like, are easy to cook and that can add to your 30 plant-based foods per week.

Foods high in prebiotics

Prebiotics are food for your good gut microbes. They are mostly types of fibre found in a wide variety of plant foods listed below. Some of these are less-common foods whilst others are found on all supermarket shelves. Including prebiotic-rich foods can help keep a healthy gut.

  • Chicory Root
  • Jerusalem artichoke
  • Dandelion leaves
  • Leeks
  • Onions
  • Garlic
  • Asparagus
  • Legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas etc)
  • Raspberries (and other berries)
  • Whole grains (wheat bran, oats)
  • Nuts and seeds
  • Seeds
  • Root vegetables
  • Avocado
  • Cocoa
  • Bananas
  • Apples

    • Daily meal planner

    Get Dr Ruairi Robertson’s meal plan for a healthy gut when you subscribe to Sons probiotic supplement.

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