WHY HAVING A PROPER NIGHT’S SLEEP IS VITAL FOR GUT HEALTH

Lack of sleep can really mean trouble for your gut biome, encouraging the growth of ‘bad’ microbes.

So any moves that you can make to improve your sleep will be good news for your gut health.

And it appears to work both ways — there is evidence that eating a diet that is packed with fibre (as we recommend with the healthy gut diet) could help you to sleep better, while on the other hand, eating saturated fat and sugar can lead to poorer quality sleep.

Look out for packets of ‘potato starch’ in health food stores. It contains a special type of soluble fibre that one particular family of gut bacteria really enjoy, helping them to produce certain hormones that improve not only your gut health and weight, but potentially your brain.

There is growing evidence that a teaspoon taken in the early evening might help you sleep better, too. It’s also important to avoid stress where possible.

Keeping calm soothes the gut and reduces levels of hormones such as cortisol, which can upset the balance of your gut biome.