5 tips to help keep your staff gut healthy

Good gut health has an impact on our overall health, not only our digestion but also inflammation, our immune system,?brain function?and could even affect our weight. My Gut Health workshop is one of the most requested online and in-person workshops. To book email [email protected] or call 07540 305 699.

In the meantime, here are a few things that you can do to improve the gut health of your workforce.

Provide more plant-based foods

A varied gut microbiome is not only associated with better digestion, but with better health overall. To keep a the bacteria thriving, you need to feed them well. A recent study found that people who ate 30 or more different plant foods each week had a much more varied gut microbiome than those who eat 10 or fewer. If your business has a canteen, provides snacks, or even just has a vending machine, try and include some plant foods. Some of my corporate clients are linking up with local food vendors to offer discounts on healthy, plant-based food for their staff. Nuts, seeds, fruit veg, wholegrains, herbs and spices all count. For more info, check out this page from ZOE. #30differentplantfoods

Include prebiotics

Prebiotics are fibres found in plant foods that we can’t digest but the bacteria in our gut can. In fact, gut bacteria live on prebiotics and digest them for us, giving us nutrients and beneficial compounds in the process. Our gut health has been shown to benefit from this in several ways such as reducing inflammation in the gut; having a protective anti-cancer effect and influencing the absorption of nutrients. This can translate into a reduction in sick-days because a healthy gut equals a healthier body. So if you must bring sweet treats into the office, make it a batch of fruit flapjacks (tons of fibre) rather than a tub of millionaire shortbread (almost zero fibre).

Offer polyphenols

Polyphenols are compounds found in fruit and vegetables, cocoa and drinks such as red wine and tea. As well as being thought to have general antioxidant function by "mopping up" particles that can damage DNA, they may also help gut health by encouraging the growth of “good” bacteria like?Bifidobacterium?strains, and inhibiting the growth of “bad” bacteria such as?C. difficile. A study found that access and availability of healthy food influences how much people eat so providing a fruit basket at work is one way to improve your employees' health.

Encourage hydration

For food to move through the digestive system and bowels it needs to be properly lubricated. This simply means drinking enough water or drinks that contain it.?Aim for around 2 litres of fluid every day. While tea and coffee do hydrate to a certain extent, it's good to encourage consumption of some non-caffeinated drinks too. Too much caffeine can inhibit good sleep too and nobody wants a sleepy workforce propped up on caffeine!

Make fermented foods available

Traditional fermentation of foods like yogurt, kombucha and kimchi, grows lactic acid bacteria which colonise the gut when eaten and may have a positive effect on metabolism. Bacteria are able to swap genes with each other so introducing new bacteria to your gut may help bacteria already living there. Stocking the fridge with kombucha and kefir offers tasty variety, but also good gut health.

For more information on in-person or online workplace nutrition workshops visit The London Nutritionist. To book, email [email protected] or call 07540 305 699.