EAT BETTER, LIVE LONGER
A fabulous eight-page pullout packed with delicious, easy-to-prepare dishes to help YOU defy ageing...
YOu are almost certainly unaware of their existence, but your entire digestive tract is home to thousands of different competing and co-existing microbial species, many fighting for supremacy inside you.
We used to think their job was pretty basic: to protect our gut from invaders, to synthesise a few vitamins and chomp their way through the fibre we might otherwise struggle to digest.
But in the past few years there has been a huge surge in research dedicated to understanding these gut bacteria, known as the microbiome. now we are beginning to realise just how influential they truly are.
These microscopic inhabitants not only help protect your digestive system from invaders (in the form of bugs, chemicals and disease that might creep into our food), but it seems they also regulate your entire immune system, too.
Having a supportive relationship with the bacteria in our bodies helps boost our immunity and fight disease, insulates us against toxins and allows better absorption of the nutrients in our food — all key to living a healthy life for longer.
On Saturday, i shared my anti-ageing tips and recipes in the Daily Mail and in Weekend magazine, followed by more healthy suggestions in yesterday’s Mail on Sunday.
Today, i’m bringing you another collection of life- enhancing recipes as we continue to show you how to defy the effects of ageing for a major series running all this week as part of the Mail’s good Health For Life month.
Emerging science points to the fact that the microbiome, which is made up of trillions of microbes in total, plays a key role in healthy ageing, protecting us against inflammation and a plethora of life-shortening diseases.
For instance, there is evidence that by super-charging the mix of bacteria in your gut you can cut the number of coughs and colds you get as well as reduce your vulnerability to a range of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even possibly dementia, as i explained in Saturday’s paper.
What’s also becoming clear is that our modern lifestyle — too much sugar, junk food, stress and sleep deprivation — has
created the worst environment for the diverse gut army we need to be healthy. As a consequence, many important and useful species in our gut are in decline.
Widespread overuse of antibiotics, used to treat us and also the animals we eat, is partly responsible for killing off many of the good guys and this has provided the perfect opportunity for bad guys to thrive.
The chemicals in processed foods — such as emulsifiers, which are added to extend shelf life — have also been shown to knock out good bacteria, and this may be enough to directly contribute to some gut problems and even type 2 diabetes.
But we can’t just blame stuffedcrust pizzas, ready meals or supersized fizzy drinks.
Many of us, even healthy eaters, now consume a narrow range of foods. Seventy-five per cent of the world’s food comes from just 12 plants and five animal species, and most families eat from a limited repertoire of set meals with a boringly small range of familiar fruit and vegetables.
The more limited the range of foods you eat, the more limited your bacterial diversity is likely to be — and the greater the risk to your overall health and longevity.
The good news is you can change this. It’s easy. And what you eat and the way you live will have a huge impact on the sort of creatures that thrive in your gut.
That’s where the delicious recipes in this pullout come in. They will help create a healthy mix of microbes, which in turn should help reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer and obesity, as well as bolstering your defences against infections.
With the help of nutritional therapist, Tanya Borowski and my wife, GP Clare Bailey, I’ve developed tempting gut-friendly recipes the whole family can enjoy. Each one is packed with key ingredients such as pulses, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, olive oil and vegetables such as leeks, garlic and onions which your ‘good’ microbes love.
In Weekend on Saturday, we suggested some mouthwatering ideas for breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
Today, we’re sharing recipes for tasty, but easy-to-prepare, suppers and irresistible desserts. I also urge you to top up on fermented foods such as live yoghurt and sauerkraut that are full of the sort of microbes that will help your guts thrive.
Keep them happy and they will keep you happy — and pave the way for a long and healthy life.