Increase the friendly bacteria in your gut and drop the pounds

5-step gut booster

1 fill up on fibre Eating lots of fruit, vegetables, pulses (like baked beans, chickpeas and kidney beans) and whole grains is the key to helping the good bacteria in your gut flourish. Try to make these foods fill three quarters of your plate. The fibre they contain can’t be digested by the body, but feeds our gut bacteria instead, growing their numbers.

2 Veg out Some vegetables are extra useful for gut health, as they contain ‘prebiotic’ fibre – a type that acts like fertliser for your good bugs. Foods highest in prebiotics are onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus and Jerusalem artichokes, but they are also in bananas (greener ones have more), and chicory ‘coffee’ (eg, Prewett’s Roasted Chicory drink, £2.59, Holland & Barrett).

3 chill your pasta Studies show that we don’t extract as many calories from starchy foods that have been cooked, cooled and then refrigerated. So cook your pasta or potatoes one day and reheat the next (or eat chilled in a salad). The bonus to your gut is that the resistant starch in these cooked then chilled foods is another good fuel for your friendly bacteria.

4 eat fermented foods The most familiar fermented food is probiotic (‘bio’) yogurt, but you could try whizzing kefir (fermented milk) into a smoothie (Mlekovita Kefir, £1.40 for a litre from Tesco), or even help yourself to some fresh sauerkraut (Raw Health Sauerkraut, £4.60 for 410g, from Planet Organic). The natural cultures in these foods help keep your own good bugs alive and kicking.

5 dial down the Sugar Too many sugary and low-fibre processed foods can cause undesirable shifts in the bacterial composition of our guts, helping the bugs that promote inflammation and weight problems to predominate. Cut down on cakes, biscuits chocolate and puddings and get your sweet hit from fruit instead.

angela recommends: try to eat in a calm, stress-free environment and chew well to keep your gut happier.