5 Gut Health Habits You Should Be Doing in 2024!

I think, or a least I hope, we are all on the same page that gut health is important. So much so that there isn't really any area of your health that won't benefit from working on your gut health. There's a lot of information out there these days though - from supplements, to powders, drinks and microbiome testing. It can be confusing and overwhelming to understand what will actually make a difference and where to start. 

Well, I've got good news. It actually doesn't need to be complicated at all. It can be, if you want to go down that path, but there are some really simple and basic low hanging fruit on offer for us to improve our microbiome, and that's what I want to share with you today. These 5 things are easy, maintainable and super achievable yet will have ENORMOUS impacts on your gut health if you adopt them into your every day eating. 

1. Eat a rainbow of fruits and veggies daily. Yes, this is drummed into us a lot with health messaging but diversity in plant foods is the NUMBER ONE thing science shows has the biggest results in improving microbiome composition. For example, are you a granny smith apple fan? Try red apples next week! Love some red capsicum in your Mexican bowls? Try yellow capsicum next week! Brown onion a staple in your kitchen? Try red onion next week! Follow the seasonal cycle as a great guide to get variety throughout the year. 
2. Add legumes to your weekly meals. I'm talking lentils, beans and chickpeas. These babies are jam packed with prebiotic fibre which our gut bugs absolutely love and we want to aim for legumes 3 x per week. If you have been worried to add them in or currently avoid them, start small - a tablespoon mixed into your meals and then gradually build your way up so my Lentil Veggie Curry, Quinoa and Chickpea Soup or my Mexican Veggie Bake can become regulars in your meal plans. Sometimes feel a big gasy with legumes? You should! A lot of fermentation goes on when we consume legumes and this is actually what makes them so beneficial. This side effect will reduce once you build up your tolerance to having more legumes. 
3. Enjoy fermented and probiotic foods daily. These provide those wonderful live cultures and other compounds that we want to populate our gut with. Try saurkraut, kim chi, probiotic yoghurt or kefir. 
4. Go nuts with nuts and seeds! What I mean here is not in terms of quantity but in terms of variety. There are so many options available from almonds, cashews, walnuts, Brazil nuts, pecans, peanuts (fun fact, actually a legume!), pine nuts, macadamias, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds and don't forget about spreads like almond butter, ABC butter and tahini. Which can you add to your shopping list to mix it up and give your gut bugs more variety?   
5. Embrace carbs! I'd like to say we're past the whole fear of carbs thing but I know that's not the case for everyone. CARBS ARE GREAT PEOPLE (well the wholegrain ones anyway 😜)! Such a fabulous source of different fibres and studies are showing that those on low carb diets are showing less favourable compositions for gut health. I'm not saying go and eat bowls piled up of pasta but we can absolutely find a balanced way to include them and reap the benefits. Starting with 1/4 of your plate each meal is a good guide. 

So there you have it. 5 super easy, achievable (and delicious if you ask me), ways you can have big impact on your gut health for 2024.

Struggling with a lot of gut health symptoms? These tips are a great place to start but you would also benefit seeing a clinical nutritionist, naturopath or dietitian where you can explore those more in depth option like testing, supplements and individual guidance.