Gut hub

Gut health advice online is everywhere, and most of it is written for no one in particular. Here, you'll find guidance that's actually built around your gut: general tips and reads if you're simply looking to eat and feel better, a structured plan if you're dealing with IBS or IBD, and a growing library of recipes and guidance for everyday gut support.

Good gut health

Your gut is home to trillions of bacteria and other microbes (collectively, your gut microbiome) that do far more than digest food. They help train your immune system, produce compounds that nourish your gut lining, and are in constant communication with your brain via the gut-brain axis (it's part of why your gut has a real hand in mood, energy and even food cravings, not just digestion).

A healthy gut isn't about eating a "clean" diet or cutting out entire food groups on principle. For most people, it comes down to a handful of things done consistently:

• Diversity of plant foods: different fibres feed different bacteria. People who eat 30+ different plant foods a week have measurably more diverse gut microbiomes than those who eat 10 or fewer. Variety is more important than any single "superfood".

• Prebiotic fibre and resistant starch: garlic, onion, leek, oats and legumes feed your beneficial bacteria directly; cooking and cooling rice, pasta or potatoes before eating boosts this further, at no extra cost.

• Fermented foods, most days: live yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut and kimchi support microbial diversity; look for "live and active cultures" on the label, since baking, filtering or pasteurising kills the live bacteria in many fermented products.

• Colourful, polyphenol-rich foods: berries, extra virgin olive oil, green tea and cocoa feed a different, complementary set of beneficial bacteria

• Enough protein: your gut lining is one of the fastest-renewing tissues in your body, and needs a steady supply of amino acids (particularly glutamine and glycine) to keep it strong.

• Going easy on the things that work against it: that includes excess added sugar, alcohol, and heavily processed foods, which are consistently linked with less diverse, more inflammatory gut bacteria.

One myth worth busting early: cutting out gluten or dairy isn't an automatic gut health upgrade for most people. Outside coeliac disease or a an actual intolerance, wholegrain and fermented dairy foods are actually valuable fibre and bacteria sources. Removing them without good reason can needlessly deprive you of essential nutrients.

This is general guidance for the average gut. If you have a diagnosed condition like IBS or IBD, some of this advice needs to be adapted — that's what the Good Gut Plan further down this page is for.