Junk food and a life of stress were diet motivation

Nutritionist Jeannette Hyde devised her gut-boosting plan after battling illness.

She said: “As an 18-year-old student, binges on junk food followed by skipping meals left me permanently depressed.

“My digestion was terrible, my skin was a mess, I caught every cold going and gained three-and-a-half stone.

“I had depleted my healthy gut bacteria – which can make us crave sugary, processed foods to get enough calories.

“So I returned to the basics of healthy eating. I had three balanced meals a day which consisted of meat, fish and a large variety of vegetables. I had a boiled egg for breakfast and ate live yoghurts. By chance I’d returned to a diet that helped restore my healthy gut bacteria. Within four months I stopped feeling ill, my mood lifted and my energy levels returned.

“But my health crashed again at 34 trying to juggle a stressful job and two young kids. One morning I woke unable to move my neck. The pain was off the scale. So I gave up my job to study nutrition.

“I needed a gut-friendly fruit and veg-rich diet and to ditch all the junk food, coffee and alcohol that were depleting my natural bacteria levels. Now I have more energy, fewer colds, aches and pains – and my digestion has improved enormously.”