Recipe Alert: A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Homemade Kombucha

The trendy probiotic drink is typically sold bottled, but you can save money and customise the flavours by making homemade kombucha yourself. Here's how.

By now, we all know the benefits of probiotics: balanced gut bacteria, a boosted immune system, and less bloat, for starters. And now that there's a huge focus in the news on digestive health, there's a resurgence of probiotic waters and juices. But if that £5-per-bottle kombucha habit is getting expensive, try this recipe from The Roasted Root to make homemade kombucha.

Below is everything you need to know, from the confusing terminology (like, erm WTF is SCOBY?) to each and every step in the brewing process. Once you have the base down, it's easy to experiment with flavour combos to find the mix-and-match you love best.  Enjoy...

How to Make Homemade Kombucha

Large pot

1 or 2-gallon glass jug/container

Stick-on or floating thermometer

Cheesecloth and rubber band

Glass, sealable bottles (such as flip cap bottles)

Ingredients

1 kombucha SCOBY (you can purchase online or grow your own by following steps below)

1 gallon spring water (don't use tap water because it likely has chlorine or fluoride in it)

10 black or green tea bags (whichever you prefer)

1 cup organic cane sugar

1 cup 100% fruit juice (optional, for flavouring)

Step 1: Brew the Tea

In a large pot, heat the gallon of spring water until boiling, then remove from heat and add the tea bags. Steep for 15 minutes and remove the bags. Add the sugar and stir well. (Whatever you do, don't skip this step, as the SCOBY grows and ferments from the sugar—more on this in step 2).

Step 2: Add the SCOBY

SCOBY, or Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast, is the ingredient that transforms tea into kombucha through a sugar fermentation process (which you started in Step 1 when you added the sugar). After your tea is done steeping and has cooled to 75-80 degrees, transfer to a glass jug and add the SCOBY that's now grown. Place the thermometer in the jug, cover with cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band.

Step 3: Allow to Ferment

Place the jug in a dark, slightly warm environment (like a closet) and allow to brew for 7-10 days. The ideal temperature is between 75-80 degrees; any higher and you risk developing mould. (Below is what a healthy SCOBY looks like. If you begin to see mould similar to bread mould, throw the batch away and start again.) Your SCOBY will continue to grow in size—this is normal—but if it starts to become overgrown cut a few slices off to keep it healthy. After 7-10 days, your kombucha is complete—the longer you let it brew, the stronger the taste. 

Step 4: Remove the SCOBY

Now that your kombucha is done, slice the SCOBY off and place in a glass jug with enough kombucha to barely cover it, then cover the jug with cheesecloth. Let the SCOBY sit until you are ready to make another batch. If you like the taste as is, pour the kombucha into sealed glass bottles and place in the refrigerator until ready to drink. A batch typically lasts 3-5 days once the seal is broken.

NOTE: Steps 5-6 are optional, but often followed to develop more flavour within the kombucha. 

Step 5: Flavour the Kombucha

If you'd like to add more flavour to your kombucha, pour into a mixing bowl and add one cup of 100% fruit juice, or one cup fresh fruit and half-cup cane sugar. Stir, then divide into glass, sealable bottles. Place in the dark room where you grew your SCOBY and leave for three days. 

Step 6: Strain and Serve

After three days of fermentation, strain out any additional pieces of SCOBY that grew. Pour kombucha into sealed bottles and place in fridge until ready to drink. Be careful upon opening—the carbonation builds pressure in the bottles similar to shaken soda.

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The Health Benefits of Bananas

I LOVE BANANAS! Particularly in the morning.....they are my go-to energy source to eat before an early morning run, they add sweetness and texture to porridge and you can still use the overripe ones to make the best banana loaf, which toasted in the mornings is delicious.  So....this weekend...

All hail the humble banana!

You can eat it raw or mixed in your favorite smoothie. You can enjoy your own homemade peanut butter-banana sandwich, banana bread, or banana muffins. The possibilities are plentiful.



Plus, bananas:

• Can be found at your grocery store all year long
• Are easily stored
• Come in their own yellow carrying case when you’re on the go
• All that -- and they’re really good for you.

What a Banana Gives You

The right amount of carbs: Like all fruits, bananas have carbs. But not so many that folks with diabetes can’t enjoy them. If you have diabetes, you can enjoy half a banana when you need a snack.

They also won’t blow up a low-carb diet. A medium one gives you about 27 grams.

A Feast of Fiber: It’s no secret that the right amount of fiber in your diet is good for you. An average-size banana gives you 3 grams of it. That’s about 10% of what you need each day. That boost can help keep your bowels working at their best. It can also help keep your cholesterol and blood pressure in check, and help ease inflammation.

In general, foods that are high in fiber make you feel full without extra calories. That also makes them a good choice if you want to shed a few pounds.

Powerful Potassium: This mineral is a big player in heart health. Potassium-rich foods help manage your blood pressure because they help you get rid of more sodium when you pee. Potassium also relaxes the walls of your blood vessels, which helps lower your BP.
What’s more, potassium:

- May lower your risk of stroke
- Can help keep your bones healthy as you age
- Helps your muscles work better

But if you have kidney problems, too much potassium isn’t good for you. Check with your doctor to see how much you should have.

A Happier Belly: It seems bananas are good for your tummy, too.

The yellow fruit is a source of prebiotics. Those are carbs you don’t digest, but they’re a food source for the more-popular probiotics. Those are the good bacteria found in your gut.

There’s also evidence that probiotics can help with the annoying diarrhea people get after they take some antibiotics.

They can also help:

Improve yeast and urinary tract infections
Treat some gastrointestinal infections
Ease irritable bowel syndrome
Lessen lactose intolerance
Work on some allergy symptoms
Probiotics may even help make colds and the flu less severe.

More Reasons to Go Bananas

Bananas contain several other vitamins.

A medium one will give you a good chunk of the vitamin B6 you should get each day. It also helps with metabolism. And it plays an important role in brain development during pregnancy and infancy, as well as immune system health.

While citrus fruits like oranges are vitamin C giants, bananas also have it. One gives you about 10 milligrams. You should shoot for between 75 to 90 milligrams per day. So your morning banana can get you well on your way.

Vitamin C helps protect us from the damage caused by something called free radicals. Those are reactions in our body to the food we eat, cigarette smoke, pesticides, and other potentially harmful things.

Vitamin C also helps our immune system work better and can help you heal better.

Research suggest that bananas can also help you recover from strenuous workouts. One study says male cyclists who had a banana before pedaling went quicker and had a faster recovery than those who just drank water.

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Gut Health, Part 3: How To Nourish Your Gut

For background info, please refer to Gut Health, Part 1: Why we should focus on the health of our gut this January and NOT our weight, and Gut Health, Part 2: Probiotics and Prebiotics. The suggestions below are not intended to replace any medical or nutritional opinion.

To nourish our guts, we first need to remove any potentially inflammatory factors (this could be some foods), improve digestion, heal any gut permeability (often called leaky gut), optimise absorption of nutrients, and balance the gastrointestinal microbiota.   Simple….


…or not! I do always encourage that you work with a qualified professional if you have specific gut health issues. It can be complex and rather overwhelming to figure it all out by yourself. Here, I have laid out 3 steps of practical information to help you get started and I suggest that you take it slowly, choosing one thing at a time to incorporate. Get comfortable with the concept, integrate it into your daily life and make it a new habit. Allow it to become effortless. Only then move on to the next one. There is always greater benefit from making a few changes that last a lifetime, than making all of them at once.

Gut Health

Step 1: Remove factors that may be damaging your gut health.

If you have a specific food allergy or intolerance, this may need to be eliminated for a while, to allow your gut the time to heal. It’s best to speak to a Registered Nutritionist or Nutritional Therapist to advise you on this if necessary (head over to my FAQs page for info). Please be wary of any online company that supposedly offers at-home tests to find if you have any allergies or intolerances – these are not proven to be effective, and may result in you restricting your diet unnecessarily.
Cut down or eliminate as much heavily processed and/or junk food as possible from your diet, especially processed meats and high-sugar foods. What’s bad for your whole body health is inevitably bad for your gut health too.
Reduce Omega-6 fatty acid intake. Although these are technically essential (we need to eat a small amount to stay healthy), the average Western diet contains far too much. They are found mainly in vegetable oils – so ditch any sunflower, soybean or other ‘vegetable’ oils you may have in the kitchen, along with margarines, and minimise your consumption of fried foods. Embrace olive oil instead.
Stress is a big factor in overall gut health. Our brain and our gastrointestinal tract are connected – even our microbiota can influence or be influenced by our digestive system. Although we all feel stress, and a bit of it can actually be beneficial to us, too much is definitely unhelpful. Consider ways that you could target excessive stress in your life.
Be mindful of antibiotics. Of course, antibiotics can be life-saving and essential medications, so I am certainly not suggesting going against medical advice here. But if you do have the choice, or your doctor is even advising against antibiotics (patient.info/health/why-wasnt-i-prescribed-antibiotics), I would err on the side of caution, and avoid taking them unnecessarily wherever possible. Not only will this help cut down antibiotic resistance (an international concern – nhs.uk/video/Pages/what-is-antibiotic-resistance), but antibiotics can also have a dramatic effect on the gut microbiota, and restoration of this important ecosystem varies a lot between people (Dethlefsen and Relman, 2010).

Also, try to be mindful about how and when you take over the counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), such as Ibuprofen. This is because they may increase the permeability of the gut wall (and are also linked to the development of stomach ulcers and irritation if not taken carefully). This also happens when taking NSAIDS before exercise (which is often why they are taken in the first place) (Bjarnason et al., 1986) (Lambert et al., 2007). For more information on painkillers in general, take a look at this article: patient.info/health/painkillers. NB: if you have been prescribed NSAIDS (especially Aspirin) you should always continue to take them as your doctor recommends.

Step 2: Replace factors that may be lacking or limited

Start with the basics. Your digestion needs time to work properly (so sit down to eat, and try to give yourself at least 10 minutes). Chew your food well and give your digestion a break between meals (I suggest at least 5 hours). These simple factors can do an awful lot of good without changing a single thing in your diet.
Replace your cooking and dressing oils with olive oil, coconut oil or butter. Other healthy fats, such as avocados and nuts & seeds, are also very gut friendly.
If you are not eating wild, oily fish regularly, you may want to consider adding a high quality Omega-3 fish oil supplement into your daily routine.
A fibre-rich diet is associated with an increased diversity of the gut microbiota (and, in general, the greater the diversity the better), as well as helping to reduce constipation and other bowel-related problems. It can even help to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke (Wald, 2013) (Gobson and Shepher, 2010) (De Filippo et al., 2010). Plus, fibre is super filling and very low in available calories, so great for those who are watching their weight. Aim for at least 18g/day, which you can get from lots of fresh vegetables, beans and pulses, and unrefined, whole-grain carbohdyrates (oats, millet, quinoa, amaranth etc.)
Try to get plenty of relaxation and good quality sleep. Easier said than done, I know, but this is so important for gut health nonetheless.
Drink plenty of fluids. Your body maintains a finely tuned fluid balance by absorbing more water from your gut if you are getting a little dehydrated. This hardens the contents of your bowels, and is a common cause of slow gut transit time and constipation. Good hydration enables good elimination! For gut health, it is suggested that you aim for around 30-25ml fluids per kg of body weight per day (although this will vary according to the temperature and amount of exercise you are doing too). Good old water is the best way to do this.


Step 3: Repair any damage and help to protect your gut for the future

Consider adding in lots of what I call ‘Intestinal fuels’ to your diet. These are specific foods or supplements that can directly help to repair and protect our gut.

- Regular consumption of turmeric, or its active component, curcumin (White and Judkins, 2011). Take a look at my turmeric socca, smoothie, soup and salad dressing recipes for some ideas.

- Probiotic foods: organic fermented dairy products such as bio live plain yoghurt, sour cream, aged cheese or kefir (if you tolerate casein protein and lactose). Alternatively, kimchi, kombucha, miso, natto, sauerkraut and tempeh are fermented too. Do make sure that these contain ‘active, live cultures though’ – if they have been pasteurized or heat-treated after fermentation then they will no longer have significant probiotic function.

- Prebiotic foods: these include things like asparagus, under-ripe banana, aubergine, endive, garlic and onions, Jerusalem artichokes (check out this Eat in Season), leeks, pulses (such as beans, peas and lentils) and chicory. Unrefined and ideally organic wholegrains can also have some prebiotic function. See Part 2: Probtiotics and Prebiotics for more information on both of these.

- Plant polyphenols. These are important naturally occurring compounds that are found in a range of plants, fruits and vegetables and have all sorts of beneficial effects for both your gut and your body as a whole (Puupponen-Pimia et al., 2002).

Great sources include:
1. Citrus fruits (whole fruits though, not just the juice!). Why not try my Kale and Orange Saladon page 94-95 of Cook. Nourish. Glow. for a great polyphenol boost?
2. Dark green leafy vegetables (spinach, chard, cabbage, kale etc)
3. Green tea
4. Red and purple berries (I often recommend a portion a day for gut health, ideally organic if possible – frozen ones are fine too!)
5. Nuts and seeds, especially linseeds (also known as flax seeds), are gut friendly, although do soak them for a few hours or overnight before eating them for maximum nutrient absorption. Again, I would suggest trying to have a moderate portion every day (assuming you tolerate them well and have no allergies)
6. Cacao – yep, that means chocolate! Either go for raw cacao or organic cocoa powder, or look out for organic chocolate with a cocoa content of >85%. Check out my Eat in Season post about Chocolate for more information.

- Glutamine, an amino acid (the building blocks of protein), has also linked to gut health (particularly well researched in the critically unwell) (De-Souza and Greene, 2005). The good news for the rest of us is that it is found in lots of dietary sources: beef, pork, poultry (especially turkey), raw spinach & parsley, almonds, cabbage and organic milk and yoghurts. So as long as you are getting a varied diet, you should also be getting enough glutamine.


I do hope you’ve found this gut health series informative and helpful. Most importantly, I hope that you feel incentivised to really focus on the health of your gut. Please refer back to the other two articles: Part 1: Why we should focus on the health of our gut this January and NOT our weight & Part 2: Probiotics and Prebiotics in gut health.

Article & Images source, by Amelia Freer

8 Digestive Health Supplements

I'm a big believer in sorting out your gut health to ensure the body and mind can function efficiently. The below 'supplements' are used to aid gut health. 


Probiotics: Friendly Bacteria
Probiotics contain living organisms -- mainly bacteria and one type of yeast. These resemble good bacteria in the gut that help with digestion. The supplements are used to treat certain GI problems and for general digestive health. Some types of probiotics may provide relief from diarrhea and may also relieve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Consider adding them to malted milk or yogurt.

DGL (Licorice): Cooling Heartburn
Licorice has long been used to treat symptoms of indigestion like heartburn and acid reflux. These uses aren't backed by scientific evidence, though. In its unpurified form, licorice can also have side effects, including contributing to high blood pressure in some people. DGL is a specific extract of licorice with a certain chemical removed, and it doesn't seem to have as many side effects. Still, pregnant women should not take DGL -- or any other supplement -- without consulting their doctor.    

Peppermint Oil: To Ease IBS
While the jury's still out, several studies suggest that peppermint oil may lessen pain and bloating that comes with IBS. Enteric-coated capsules of it don't dissolve in the stomach. They pass through to the small and large intestines, where the oil is released. In small doses, peppermint oil appears to be safe.

Chamomile: More Than a Soothing Tea
Chamomile is widely used for multiple ailments. Naturalists have tried chamomile in an effort to treat digestive problems such as upset stomach, colic, and nausea, as well as anxiety and insomnia. People with some plant allergies like ragweed, though, could possibly have an allergic reaction to chamomile. Always discuss your use of any supplement with your doctor.

Ginger: Comfort for the Stomach
Asian medicine uses ginger to treat stomachaches. In the West, ginger is used to relieve nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Ginger is available as a powder, in capsules or tablets, or as freshly cut root. It's generally considered safe when taken in small doses -- 1 to 2 grams per day.

L-Glutamine: The Intestinal Helper

Glutamine is found naturally in your body; it supports the intestines and other organs. Some experts believe that the supplement L-glutamine may help relieve diarrhea induced by surgery, infections, or stress. It may help some people better absorb nutrients. That includes people with too much unfriendly bacteria in their digestive tracts, people who are taking cancer drugs, and people who've had part of their intestines removed. But more research is needed.

Psyllium: Fiber for Constipation
Psyllium is used as an ingredient in bulk laxatives. Because of its high fiber content, it's able to absorb water in the intestines. That makes the stool bulky and easier to pass. It's important when treating constipation to drink plenty of fluids. This helps you avoid dehydration or a worse case of constipation. People allergic to English plantain pollen, grass pollen, or melon could have a serious allergic reaction when taking psyllium. 


Artichoke: Relief of Stomach Upset
Artichoke leaf extract may relieve symptoms of indigestion. When used daily, the extract seems to lessen nausea, vomiting, gas, and abdominal pain. It also might help treat IBS and reduce cramps and abdominal pain. The extract has no known interactions with drugs. But it can cause allergic reactions in people who are allergic to ragweed and related pollens.

Check With Your Doctor First
Dietary supplements are not strictly regulated by the FDA. That means there is no guarantee of their quality, effectiveness, or safety. It's important to always read the labels. It's also important to talk with your doctor before starting any new supplement. That's especially true if you're pregnant, have an existing medical condition, or are taking other drugs, herbs, or supplements.

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Gut Health: Part 2

Part 2: Probiotics and Prebiotics in Gut Health

For background info, please refer to Gut Health, Part 1: Why we should focus on the health of our gut this January and NOT our weight.  
(Essential Jo: Click to See my blog post of 6th Jan 2017)

In the second part of this gut health series, we are going to look at the role of probiotics and prebiotics in gut health – possibly one of the most exciting new topics to emerge in nutrition in the last few years. If you missed Part 1: Why we should focus on the health of our gut do take a look at it first to give you a little more background.  
(Essential Jo: Click to See my blog post of 6th Jan 2017)

What are probiotics?

Probiotics are “live micro-organisms, which when consumed in adequate amounts, confer a health effect on the host”. Use of probiotic foods is an ancient tradition – even as far back as the time of Genghis Khan, fermented milk was being drunk as an elixir of strength and health.


Most often, probiotic foods or supplements contain strains of either Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium bacteria, usually from fermented dairy products. However, before starting to act, they have to survive the hazardous journey to reach our gut:

They need to first get through manufacturing, transportation and storage processes, to reach our shopping bags alive and in good condition.
Then they must make it through the acidic environment of our stomach (designed precisely to kill off any wayward bacteria) and through the swamp of potent digestive juices and enzymes secreted by the gallbladder and pancreas.
Finally, if they succeed in reaching their destination, the large bowel, they then actually need do some good for the host rather than just going along for a free ride, or even possibly doing some untoward harm.
Because of these difficulties with getting the right probiotics to the right place, it is important to point out that the benefits which are seen in clinical trials may not all be possible to achieve with the yoghurts, tablets or other supplements available over-the-counter.

Despite all these challenges, however, good quality strains of probiotics have been associated with beneficial effects in some disease processes. The best evidence base for them so far is with antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, but researchers are examining a huge range of other conditions, from cancer to eczema – even mental health – which may benefit from probiotics (Tuohy et al., 2003) (NHS Choices, 2015).

Limitations
Most of the clinical research that has been carried out on prebiotics has been in unwell populations, and even then they are not yet in widespread use. We do not yet know much about the impact that taking probiotics might have in generally healthy people (Puupponen-Pimia et al., 2002). Anecdotally I have found them to be of tremendous benefit for myself and some of my clients – I am always cautious to recommend any supplements on this sort of platform, but when I do use and prescribe probiotics, I go for the very highest quality.

Probiotics, even as tablets, are also still regarded as foods. Therefore they do not have to undergo the same rigorous testing as medicines do, so it is difficult to know if they actually contain the bacteria they claim, alive, in an adequate dose, and are able to give you a tangible benefit (NHS choices, 2015). The European Food Safety Authority has even gone so far as to ban the probiotic food industry from certain advertising claims, such as that they ‘boost the immune system’, because there is insufficient evidence to back such claims up at the moment. A healthy dose of skepticism is often helpful in nutritional science!

As Dr Alessio Fasano so neatly puts it, we can compare our current knowledge of the microbiota to our knowledge of space. We know the universe exists (our microbiota), and we are getting to grips with the fact the Milky Way is there (the major strains of bacteria), but we are far off knowing where London is! In other words, there is a lot of detail still to understand before we are able to fully utilize probiotics for health. Do take a look at some of Dr Fasano’s YouTube talks if you are interested – he makes the gut a really fascinating and understandable topic!



What about prebiotics – are they the same thing?

No. Prebiotics are a class of nutrients called ‘oligosaccharides’ (a type of fibre) which pass through the upper portion of the gut undigested, to feed and stimulate the growth of microbes further down. I think about it as nectar for gut bugs!

Types of prebiotic that are known to alter the microbiota include (Tuohy et al., 2003);

Inulin & Fructooligosaccharides – found in foods such as Jerusalem artichoke, asparagus, leeks, green bananas, chicory and onions (Sabater-Molina et al., 2009)
Lactulose
Galactooligosaccharides – found naturally in breast milk to help feed the microbiota of new born babies.

In general, a dose of more than 20g a day of all of these combined, may lead to unwanted side effects such as flatulence and bloating (Tuohy et al., 2003). Especially if you suffer from IBS, I would suggest it is a sensible idea to ‘start low and go slow’ on introducing these to your diet.

As an added benefit, when our gut microbes break down these prebiotic fibres, especially inulin, they release a compound called butyric acid (Scott et al., 2013). This is especially important in gut health, as not only is in anti-inflammatory, but it also helps build up the gut defence barrier and decreases oxidative stress. All really useful effects. Plus it might even help to signal to our brain that we are full and satisfied at the end of a meal (Hamer et al., 2007).

My pragmatic approach, if you are generally well, and would like to boost your probiotic and prebiotic intake, is to use functional foods wherever possible. 
In Part 3: How to nourish your gut health, we will explore lots of ideas on how to do this.

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Why we should focus on the health of our gut this January and NOT our weight

Gut Health: Part 1

Part 1: Why we should focus on the health of our gut this January and NOT our weight

Hippocrates supposedly said that ‘all disease starts in the gut’. Clearly this isn’t true all of the time (take genetic disorders, for example), but a significant proportion of chronic diseases are indeed linked to gut health. It has just taken medical science a few thousand years to catch up!

This topic is a real interest of mine. I often see clients who are struggling with all sorts of problems – ranging from skin disorders to obesity – which may stem from poor gut health, yet they usually have no idea that this could be the root cause of their symptoms. Once we have worked together to heal and soothe the gut, often their symptoms significantly improve and any excess weight starts to drop off naturally too.

That is why I start off by encouraging almost all of my clients to stop focusing on their weight as a primary outcome of the changes they are making, but instead to focus on the health of their digestion. I hope that after reading my 3-part guide, you might consider thinking this way too!

What do we mean by the ‘gut’?

The gut is a collection of organs, running from the mouth to the bowels, with help from the stomach, liver, pancreas and gallbladder along the way. All of these structures work together to extract the greatest amount of nutrition from whatever we choose to eat.
But newer research has also discovered the powerful impact of our gut microbiota. This consists of trillions of microbes (bacteria, yeast, funghi and viruses), which live inside our bowels, interacting not only with the food we eat, but also with each other and with us. Each microbiota is unique to each person.
When in harmonious balance, these microbes helpfully aid our digestion, make vitamins and other nutrients, break down dietary toxins, strengthen the body’s internal barrier against the contents of gut, prevent overgrowth of bacteria which can make us unwell, and can even influence our immune system and mood (Butel, 2014). But when out of balance, these microbes can also have the potential to wreck health havoc too.

I therefore now see the ‘gut’ not only as an organ system, but as an ecosystem too.

All sorts of factors will affect the composition and function of our microbiota, and therefore our gut health, including:

What is a ‘healthy’ gut?
There is actually no specific definition of what makes a healthy gut, because that depends so much on the individual. But in general, I would consider a healthy gut to:

• Be free from persistent digestive symptoms (such as bloating, abdominal pain or disrupted bowel habits). We all get the odd symptom from time to time though, which is absolutely normal. If bloating is your main problem, take a look at my post ‘Do you often feel bloated?’ for more information
• Eliminate regular, formed (but easily passed) stools.
• Allow complete digestion and absorption of nutrition. The average time for the entire process of digestion / absorption is 24 hours, although this does vary a lot between individuals.

What is an ‘unhealthy’ gut?
There are certain unhealthy gut symptoms which are known as ‘red flags’. These are important warning signs that should be discussed with a doctor as soon as possible. Although some of them may represent a harmless condition that will settle itself, it is important if you have any of these symptoms to seek a medical opinion promptly.

• A sudden, persistent change your bowel habits
• Any bleeding, or black, tarry stools
• Increasing heartburn, indigestion or stomach pains
• Losing weight unintentionally
• Any difficulty or pain on swallowing
• Within the scope of my nutritional practice, I would also look at all sorts of other symptoms (even if they are not necessarily directly related to the gut), such as skin, mood, energy, weight and much more.

How might gut health affect weight?

We know that our gut needs to function effectively to be able to digest and absorb the nutrition that we are eating. This can lead to both underweight and overweight. Perhaps the most important question to ask is firstly whether there could be an underlying medical problem that is driving poor digestion? The best way to work out if this is a possibility is to speak to your doctor or other healthcare provider. These problems usually lead to an unintended decrease in weight (although not always).

Once this has been ruled out, the next step would be a more comprehensive look at overall digestion, and whether there are any signs and symptoms of maldigestion, gut inflammation or irritation. This is often highly variable between people, so I would suggest that you find a well-qualified Nutritional Therapist or Registered Nutritionist (see FAQs for more info) –  ideally with some training on Functional Medicine –  to help you, if necessary. I run stool, blood, urine and saliva tests where necessary in my practice to help identify what might be going on for each individual.


There is also a lot of interest in the science world at the moment around the potential role of the gut microbiota in the development of obesity, and obesity-related diseases. Lots of this revolves around how certain microbes alter energy absorption by the body. In simple terms; the composition of our microbiota can cause us to either absorb less, or more, energy from exactly the same plate of food.

I think about it in terms of ‘energy harvesting’ – some microbes help us to do this more efficiently than others. One of the ways that our microbes do this is by producing specialized enzymes that help to break down carbohydrates and proteins that would normally be indigestible (Krajmalnik-Brown et al., 2012). The more energy we harvest, the more we absorb.

Unfortunately, we do not know enough about this topic yet to know which types of microbe would help us to lose weight (or indeed, help us to gain weight). However, there are some promising studies emerging (Kadooka et al., 2010). Watch this space!

Further reading

Part 2 & Part 3 of this gut health series will be launched over the next two weeks, exploring the world of probiotics, prebiotics and lots of advice on how to take the first steps to improving your gut health.

For further reading, Gut by Guilia Enders is a fantastic and easy to understand read for anyone interested in improving their knowledge and gut health.

Source Article with References  By Amelia Freer