Eat these three foods for a healthier and happy gut!

Eating a healthy and varied diet packed full of nutrients will make you and your body feel better and more energised.

In addition to this, focusing on gut health will optimise your physical and mental health. This is something many Brits are taking a keen interest in, with 1.6k monthly searches for “best foods for gut health” and questions from AlsoAsked data such as:

• How do I repair my gut?
• What fruit has the most probiotics?
• Which drink is good for digestion?
• What 3 foods are good for your gut?

Kim Plaza is a registered nutritionist and senior technical advisor for Bio-Kult and notes the importance of introducing gut-healthy foods into our diets: 

“The gut microbiota consists of trillions of different microbes, all with their own characteristics and influence on our digestive health¹. Some microbes may be helpful to us, and some not so much. We can influence which types of microbes we have in our gut by eating particular foods¹. Foods high in specific types of fibre, for example, contain antioxidants and beneficial bacteria that are thought to be especially helpful for supporting the gut microbiome and potentially contribute to good gut health^2–5.”

Encouraging a highly diverse gut microbiome is great for digestive health, so Kim has detailed some of the best foods you should be introducing into your diet:

1. Kefir

Kefir is a traditional soured milk drink that’s very versatile. It can be used as a plain or flavoured drink, added to breakfast cereals and smoothies, or used as a base for sauces and dips. 

A wide range of different beneficial species have been identified in traditionally fermented kefir, including L. paracasei, L. acidophilus, L. delbrueckii, L. plantarum and most predominantly, L. kefiri^6,7. Some of the suggested benefits of kefir are improved protein digestibility, immune support and gastrointestinal symptoms, with some evidence suggesting benefits for the oral microbiome too^4,8. 

2. Onion 

The benefits of onions are often overlooked but they contain a variety of beneficial compounds, which could be helpful for immune support, detoxification and inflammatory modulation⁹. 

When incorporating more onions into cooking, Kim recommends sautéing, baking, frying or grilling them. “These cooking methods improve our accessibility to beneficial compounds¹⁰. Additionally, onions also contain specific types of fibres that are good for our gut health and may promote the growth of beneficial Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria breve species¹¹.”

3. Bright berries

Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, cranberries and raspberries all include many different nutrients¹². Add strawberries to summer salads, cranberries to roasted veg and blackberries to breakfast smoothie bowls to increase and diversify your intake of these nutritional powerhouses. 

For gut health, these berries supply polyphenols, which may influence the representation of beneficial microbes, ward off less helpful bugs and support gut barrier function, which helps manage inflammatory processes^13,14.

Along with increasing the consumption of gut-friendly foods, many people also take a live bacteria supplement, such as Bio-Kult Everyday, which has been scientifically developed to target the digestive system.

Head to Bio-Kult’s website to get more information on the best foods you should be eating for optimal gut health.

1. Syromyatnikov M, Nesterova E, Gladkikh M, Smirnova Y, Gryaznova M, Popov V. Characteristics of the Gut Bacterial Composition in People of Different Nationalities and Religions. Microorganisms 2022; 10. DOI:10.3390/MICROORGANISMS10091866.
2. Ribeiro MC, Levi YLAS, Moraschini V, Messora MR, Furlaneto FAC. Effects of Prebiotic Therapy on Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Individuals with Different Inflammatory Conditions: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. Probiotics Antimicrob Proteins 2024; 16: 673–95.
3. Reider S, Watschinger C, Längle J, et al. Short- and Long-Term Effects of a Prebiotic Intervention with Polyphenols Extracted from European Black Elderberry—Sustained Expansion of Akkermansia spp. J Pers Med 2022; 12: 1479.
4. Melini F, Melini V, Luziatelli F, Ficca AG, Ruzzi M. Health-promoting components in fermented foods: An up-to-date systematic review. Nutrients. 2019; 11. DOI:10.3390/nu11051189.
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6. Yüksekdag ZN, Beyatli Y, Aslim B. Determination of some characteristics coccoid forms of lactic acid bacteria isolated from Turkish kefirs with natural probiotic. LWT – Food Science and Technology 2004; 37: 663–7.
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8. Wang L, Alammar N, Singh R, et al. Gut Microbial Dysbiosis in the Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Case-Control Studies. J Acad Nutr Diet 2020; 120: 565–86.
9. Yüksekdag ZN, Beyatli Y, Aslim B. Determination of some characteristics coccoid forms of lactic acid bacteria isolated from Turkish kefirs with natural probiotic. LWT – Food Science and Technology 2004; 37: 663–7.
10. Cattivelli A, Conte A, Martini S, Tagliazucchi D. Influence of Cooking Methods on Onion Phenolic Compounds Bioaccessibility. Foods 2021; 10. DOI:10.3390/FOODS10051023.
11. Aisara J, Wongputtisin P, Deejing S, et al. Potential of inulin-fructooligosaccharides extract produced from red onion (Allium cepa var. viviparum (metz) mansf.) as an alternative prebiotic product. Plants 2021; 10. DOI:10.3390/PLANTS10112401/S1.
12. Mostafa H, Cheok A, Meroño T, Andres-Lacueva C, Rodriguez-Mateos A. Biomarkers of Berry Intake: Systematic Review Update. J Agric Food Chem 2023; 71: 11789–805.
13. Della Lucia CM, Oliveira LA, Dias KA, Pereira SMS, da Conceição AR, Anandh Babu PV. Scientific Evidence for the Beneficial Effects of Dietary Blueberries on Gut Health: A Systematic Review. Mol Nutr Food Res 2023; 67. DOI:10.1002/MNFR.202300096.
14. Duda-Chodak A, Tarko T, Satora P, Sroka P. Interaction of dietary compounds, especially polyphenols, with the intestinal microbiota: a review. Eur J Nutr 2015; 54: 325.