Essential Foods And Supplements For Gut Health—And The Microbiome’s Role

Why is a healthy gut microbiome so important? According to the National Health Service UK, with an estimated 13 million people suffering from gut issues, including IBS and 10-15% worldwide, it’s no surprise that there’s an appetite to learn why and how to best manage symptoms. The microbiome consists of trillions of living bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microbes inside your gut that play essential roles in digestion, immune system regulation and overall health.

“Many studies have shown that disturbance in the gut microbiome can affect the gut-brain axis and lead to various health problems, including anxiety, depression and even neurological disorders,” says Yang-Yu Liu, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Beyond your digestive system, experts say your gut microbiome also interacts with your brain and nervous system, your immune system and your endocrine system. So maintaining a healthy gut biome through a balanced diet, probiotics and other lifestyle factors is crucial for promoting overall well-being. Eating a varied diet of protein, grains, fruits and vegetables is advised plus bacteria-fermented foods like Kefir, Kimchi and Kombucha, all good sources of probiotics.

Here are some of the best best probiotic and prebiotic foods and supplements that could help reduce the risk of health conditions, from heart disease to diabetes. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria found in certain foods or supplements. Prebiotics are types of fiber that feed the friendly bacteria in the digestive system.

Symprove probiotic

Symprove, a once-daily probiotic liquid designed to populate your gut with good bacteria, is one of the few gut health supplements to be backed by science and recommended by experts. A 2019 clinical trial included people with various gastrointestinal diseases who were given either Symprove or a placebo over four weeks, to measure the supplement’s efficacy in reducing symptoms. The research study found that Symprove did reduce intestinal inflammation and was well tolerated. And a review in the US National Library of Medicine says that probiotic supplements are thought to improve IBS symptoms through manipulation of the gut microbiota. Probiotics can do more than improve your gut health. They also may indirectly enhance your brain, too according to Harvard Medical School who say that an estimated 90% of serotonin, the so-called 'happy hormone', is made in your digestive tract.

To have a healthy gut it’s important to maintain a balance of good and bad bacteria. Unlike most other powder and capsule probiotics, Symprove is a unique water-based probiotic that delivers billions of live and active bacteria directly to the gut where they get straight to work. Dr Sarah Jarvis says that “Symprove increases the quantity of 'good' bacteria in your microbiome. They can reduce the amount of gas produced in digestion, reducing wind, bloating and pain.” And Professor Simon Gaisford, Head of Pharmaceutics at University College London says: “Symprove is the product that consistently performs the best in my testing. The probiotics in Symprove are highly resistant to acid and more than 99% of them reach the gut alive. This is why it is so effective in improving gut health.”

Symprove comes in three palatable flavors: Original; Mango and Passionfruit; or Strawberry and Raspberry and can be ordered online from £39.99 per month.

Bio&Me prebiotic granola

Looking after your gut microbiome can include eating granolas, mueslis and porridges from British brand Bio&Me. Founder, Dr Megan Rossi, the “The Gut Health Doctor,” says that despite granola being most people’s healthy breakfast choice, the reality is that not all granolas are healthy. So she created her own food brand, Bio&Me, founded in science so it is both genuinely nutritious and legitimately able to make a “good for your gut” health claim. Low sugar, vegan granola made from fifteen different types of natural plant-based foods and prebiotic fibre means it really does boost gut diversity. The Bio&Me granola range comes in seven flavors including two new ones: Berry Burst and Cashew and Almond. Available in supermarkets or online, six 360gram boxes of Bio&Me granola are £21.

Gail’s Sour Dough Bread

Scientific research on the diversity of microbiomes in sourdough bread has shown it to be beneficial for IBS sufferers. Apparently the fibre and plant compounds, called polyphenols, act as an important fuel source for our gut microbes, which explains why sourdough is a gut-friendly choice. For high-quality sourdough, artisan breads from Gail’s Bakery are good choices. Gail’s sourdough range includes dark, white, seeded, San Francisco, “wasteless” which is made with porridge from surplus bread and a new house sourdough that includes wheat, emmer, spelt, rye and barley. Gail’s sourdough bread is from £4.

Yeo Valley Kefir Yogurt

Although traditional yoghurt can also be great for your gut health, kefir has a broader range of probiotic strains that could have potential health benefits. In addition, the fermentation process of kefir helps to break down lactose, the sugar found in milk that some people find hard to digest. Yeo Valley organic kefir yogurt contains 14 different live cultures and comes in tasty flavors like rhubarb, blueberry, strawberry and mango and passionfruit.

No 1 Kombucha

Tea, sugar, healthy bacteria and yeast are the ingredients in the probiotic, kombucha, a fizzy, fermented tea that has actually been around for 2,000 years. The type of tea used for the kombucha base affects the overall flavor of the drink and there’s much debate as to which tea is the best for fermentation. Green tea kombucha has a light, grassy flavor while the black tea version has a stronger and bolder taste. No 1 Kombucha was founded by England rugby legend, Jonny Wilkinson and his nutritionist wife who both discovered the role of bacteria in the gut and the idea of fermenting foods and began by brewing their own kombucha at home. This raw, unpasteurised sugar free kombucha, uses a green tea base and comes in raspberry, passion fruit, and ginger kombucha with turmeric. A 24 pack of 250 ml cans is around £35.