Practitioner Action Plan for Digestion

Caroline Peyton’s Digestion Must-Do’s

Slowly increase your intake of plant-based foods.
Without any doubt the abundance and variety of plant food is key to supporting the growth and diversity of our gut microbiome. Not sure where to start? Add seeds and nuts to cereal or yogurt; include some salad vegetables with your lunch; add two additional vegetable portions to your dinner.

Think colour.
Yes, we do want to eat dark green vegetables like broccoli, but also choose other vegetables like cauliflower, mushrooms, fennel, coloured peppers, butternut squash, and aubergine as every vegetable type provides different benefits to the gut.

Have a portion of berries every day.
These dark-coloured fruits are not only low in sugar but contain polyphenols which help the growth of beneficial bacteria. This also includes pomegranate. In winter, keep bags of frozen berries that you can add to smoothies or porridge.

Make stewed apples without sugar!
Add cinnamon as a natural flavouring. Stewed apple is rich in pectin, a soluble fibre that promotes healthy bowel movements. Apple acts as an anti-inflammatory to the gut mucosal barrier and feeds beneficial bacteria.

Make (or buy) bone broth.
Use the leftover bones from your roast dinner. It is rich in collagen (good for skin too!) and with the gelatin and vitamin A helps strengthen and heal the gut barrier.

Sonia’s Digestion Must-Do’s

A healthy diet is one of the most powerful tools you have to support your digestive system. By focusing on nutrient-dense whole foods, healthy fats, and fermented foods, you can reduce symptoms of common digestive issues like IBS, bloating, and acid reflux. Avoid processed, sugary, and low-fat foods, which can disrupt your digestion and worsen symptoms.

Plan your shopping.
Aim to plan your shopping so that you always have healthy meal and snack options available. Use a list for your supermarket shop and buy as much as you can from local or more sustainable suppliers. I get my organic veg box delivered by Milk and More, but there are lots of options. I buy my staples from Well Easy who offer an amazing range of whole foods. I buy my meat and fish online from Field and Flower, but again other sustainable meat box companies are available.

Try herbal supports.
Herbs and supplements like fennel seed, marshmallow root and lemon balm can naturally support your digestive system. Aim to find supports that work for you and have things on hand ready for when you need them.

Build healthy lifestyle habits.
Lifestyle changes, including mindful eating and stress reduction are essential for long-term digestive health. Start to build things into your life that will become healthy habits. You could make your own fermented foods and pickles. Start growing some vegetables of your own at home. Make time for baking and make healthy breads, cakes and snacks. Batch cook and freeze or share with friends and family.

Reduce toxin exposure.
Reducing toxin exposure is another important lifestyle change as we are exposed to so many day-to-day toxins from external sources and this is a lot for your liver to detox while you sleep! Filter your drinking water (and drink some pure water every day), avoid storing and cooking food in plastic, switch your cleaning products to natural ones and aim to do the same with bathroom products as well.