The HAPPY GUT challenge

If you're suffering with digestion difficulties, perhaps it's time to think green and get more plants on your plate. Here's how...

- JO DUNBAR

We've long been told consuming enough fruit and veg is vital for a balanced diet, but our health relies on more than just an apple a day. Research from the University of California San Diego Medical School has found that expanding the number and type of plants we consume gives us a more varied selection of gut bacteria, which should help ward off tummy bugs and improve our immune systems. The researchers found that by dramatically increasing volunteers' plant intake, gut health thrived.

'The study found that volunteers who consumed more than 30 types of plants per week were more likely to have a healthier gut microbiome, as compared with those consuming less than 10,' explains registered associate nutritionist Dr Hazel Wallace, Founder of The Food Medic.

BE BIOME AWARE

We've heard the term 'biome', but what does it mean? 'Your gut biome is the trillions of microbes, mainly bacteria, found in your intestines that function as an organ and significantly impact health,' says Dr Wallace. 'Having a healthy, diverse gut microbiome has been seen to impact immunity and body size, as well as reducing a number of medical issues including food allergies, gut and metabolic diseases.' We can't see it, or even feel it, but our gut biomes are vital to our overall health and no one biome is like another.