11 Foods & Tips to Nourish Your Gut This Winter.

The gut plays a pivotal role in maintaining a healthy immune system with the gastrointestinal tract housing 70-80% of the immune system. Nurturing your gut health and microbiome can strengthen your body’s defence against seasonal illnesses. Here are some foods and tips to help nourish your gut this Winter.

Stay hydrated: Even though you might not lose as much fluid through sweating and may even feel a reduced need to hydrate, it is important to drink plenty of water during Winter. When you are hydrated, you can enjoy the benefits of a more efficient digestive system, glowing skin, more energy, and a stronger immune system during Winter.

Limit alcohol: If you are experiencing gut symptoms, it’s best to avoid it completely. Alcohol can affect the gut in several ways. It can impact stomach acid production and the ability for the digestive system to destroy harmful bacteria. It can also irritate stomach lining causing inflammation (or compounding already present inflammation).

Bone broth: Warming and nourishing for the gut, bone broth contains healing compounds like collagen and amino acids used in strengthening the cell lining of the gut, supporting overall health and wellbeing. Switch out the evening red wine for a nice cup of Gevity bone broth (my favourite) to wind down.

Include a variety of fibre rich foods: Minimally processed foods packed with fibre. Most adults are not consuming enough diversity of fibre rich foods. Many fibres also act as prebiotics that feed a range of beneficial gut bacteria. A diverse Microbiome is associated with better health outcomes.

Root vegetables: Incredible sources of fibre and nutrients and can be prepared in so many ways. Roasting with different herbs and spices can vary the taste profile and add to diversity. Cooked and cooled roast potato is a great source of resistant starch for the gut microbiome. Some of my other favourites are carrots, beets and sweet potato.

Citrus fruits: Stay on top of your vitamin C intake and help iron absorption over winter to boost your immune system with some amazing seasonal citrus fruits. The oranges and grapefruits have been amazing.

Fermented foods: Incorporate fermented foods into your daily intake. Probiotic rich foods if consistently consumed can help to maintain a healthy balance of beneficial gut bacteria, supporting your digestion and immune function for the cooler months. Be sure to reach out if fermented foods tend to create more havoc for your digestion as this can indicate dysbiosis.

Cooked foods with herbs & spices: Prioritise hearty, nourishing and slow-cooked meals to encourage warmth, stimulate circulation and aid digestion. Think soups and slow-cooker stews, roast vegetables, warm quinoa or lentil bowls, warm oatmeal and egg dishes for breakfast over cooler foods like salads and smoothies. Incorporate warming spices like ginger, turmeric and cinnamon.

Nuts & seeds: They provide a nourishing environment for the gut as they are rich in fibre and beneficial fats so incorporating a handful into your daily intake can be a great idea.

Warm herbal teas: As mentioned, staying hydrated is crucial for gut health and a warm herbal tea can be a nice cosy way to do so in Winter. Opt for herbal teas with ginger, peppermint or chamomile as they can be soothing for the digestive system helping to alleviate bloating or reflux and ease discomfort (depending on your individual picture, they may worsen it so be sure to tune in to your body).

Individualised probiotic/prebiotic supplements: If you are struggling with gut related symptoms, it’s important to seek an individualised approach to probiotic and prebiotic supplementation through metagenomic microbiome testing as each individual picture can be very different ranging from intestinal permeability and inflammation to bacterial overgrowth and/or pathogens.

I encourage you to use the ‘more’ mindset this Winter. More wholefoods, more vegetables, more fruits, wholegrains and legumes and more hearty slow-cooked meals and broths with good quality protein to nourish the gut and support your immune system.