Nutrition and Wellbeing Class - Recipe Booklet

Eating to support Gut Health

The large intestine is the primary location of bacterial colonisation in humans. The microbiota is the term used for different types of bacteria in the human gut. Broadly, the microbiota has a number of important roles: • Regulates the immune system • Regulates inflammation • Synthesises of vitamins and minerals • Influences mood and neurological process by interacting with the gut-brain Axis A range of fibrous foods is beneficial to the microbiota composition. It has been shown that in order to shift the composition of gut bacteria towards beneficial bacteria species, one should aim to consume around 30g-40g of fibre a day.

What does that look like in terms of ‘every day’ whole food sources:

• 150g of lentils • 125g of raspberries • 100g of banana • 60g of oats • 300g of sweet potato or squash Together = 40g of fibre

Roughly the list of foods above equates to 125g of carbohydrates in total and 500 kcal.

Other types of foods that feed bacteria in the gut are called prebiotic foods.Whole food sources of prebiotic foods are, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, garlic, leeks, chicory, oats and soy.