It Takes Guts is a fun educational book, to explain how bodies turn food into fuel. For any age, learn how food and digestion play on your mood and immune system and how acids break down food without burning a hole in your stomach! And learn how billions of helpful bacteria help your gut. The author takes stomach-turning detours also to investigate the science behind burps, barfs and farts!
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people & pets (many human foods are unsafe around animal friends).
Foods That Promote Digestive Health
- Fibre is the unsung hero of digestion. Found in fruits like apples and berries, vegetables such as carrots and broccoli, whole grains, and legumes, fibre keeps things moving. It adds bulk to your stool, helping prevent constipation, and maintains bowel health.
- Fermented foods are your gut’s best friend. Plant-based yoghurt, kefir, and sauerkraut are packed with probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria that support a healthy gut flora. A balanced gut can improve digestion and reduce problems like bloating.
- Staying hydrated helps everything flow smoother, including your digestion. Water aids in breaking down food, ensuring efficient nutrient absorption. Consuming water-rich foods like cucumbers and watermelon can also add to your hydration levels.
- Rushed meals often lead to overeating and poor digestion. Slow down. Savour each bite. You’d be amazed at how this simple act can enhance your digestive health. When you’re distracted, your digestive system takes a backseat.
- Our bodies love routine. Eating at regular intervals helps your digestive system work more efficiently. It knows when to expect food, allowing it to prepare the necessary digestive juices. Consistency can help iron out some of those common gut problems.
- Bigger isn’t always better, especially when it comes to meal sizes. Overloading your plate can strain your digestive tract. Keep your portions in check to see a big impact on how you feel after meals.
What You Poo Says About You!
Ready for a big of fun ickiness? It’s totally true that your poo is good indicator of what’s going on inside your digestive system. All the experts now say to avoid red meat (or at least limit it) to reduce risks of stomach cancer and the like. But did you know that you can your use poo as a good barometer of what tweaks you need to make to your diet? Let’s get advice from nutritionist Joy McCarthy:
Eating licorice would turn poop black (even spinach and blueberries can make it darker), and eating lots of beets will temporarily turn it pink. Obviously see a GP for anything serious.
- Skid marks! Poop that sticks to the toilet is caused by mucous, which means either you have an intolerance to (or eat too much) dairy or wheat (gluten). Try leaving both out for a week, and see what happens. You can ‘repair your poop’ by eating high-fibre foods (fruits and veggies, lentils and beans) to help things along.
- Smelly poop. Usually it’s due to meat, which has no fibre and too much acid, so putrefies inside. Drink plenty of water and high-fibre foods, to ‘sweep out your intestines’.
- Greasy poop is often due to fast food, which messes your liver. Make a fruit salad! Joy says if your poop ‘looks like an oil spill in your toilet’, it’s your liver and gall bladder begging for love. Same advice as before, give up alcohol and take a vegan supplement.
- Race car poop! This is when the poop shoots out your butt like in Formula 1. Give up tea, coffee and energy drinks! Cut back slowly to avoid detox systems, get lots of rest, take up yoga and eat plant-based live yoghurt, to restore bacteria.
- Rabbit poop that plops! Usually this is due to dehydration/constipation, due to lack of fibre. Switch from white (bread, pasta, rice) to brown, eat your veggies and eat less meat.
Gut Supplements in Sustainable Packaging
Dr Vegan Gut Works is an award-winning supplement for anyone suffering from digestive problems including IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). The supplement is plant-based and sold in a metal tin for your first order, then just buy eco-friendly refill pouches. Formulated by experts, expect results within a couple of months.
Before taking supplements, check with GP if pregnant/nursing or you have medical conditions or are taking medication. Keep supplements away from young children & pets.
This is a high-strength probiotic, so the company advises looking at a child-friendly version for people under age 13, talk to their nutrition experts online for advice.
This supplement includes 6 clinically-studied probiotic strains and prebiotics, and has been show to be three times more effective than other probiotic supplements. 88% of users experience positive effects within 4 weeks (see before/after photos on the site of bloated tummies which return to normal).
Sold in a daily delayed-released capsule, the supplement repopulates healthy gut bacteria which also relieves fatigue, constipation, diarrhoea, gas, poor sleep and weight gain. Many users report 10 years of feeling sluggish, and within weeks have started to feel normal again (read reviews online).
Other people report being less sensitive to certain foods and other users are now able to visit the bathroom more comfortably than before. Some users have also reported relief from excessive wind and gas, stomach cramps and acid reflux/heartburn.
Gut Works is three times more effective than standard probiotics due to the unique formula of prebiotics and 6 clinically-studied live strains of bacteria with 50bn CFU (compared to less than 20bn CFU in standard probiotics and fewer strains (or the wrong strains).
To use, take one capsule each day (at least 20 minutes before or after hot drinks) as probiotics are very sensitive to heat and warm air, so only add a few capsules to your refillable pill tin at a time, and keep the rest in the resealed pouch.
Keep the pouch away from warm or moisture (including shower or kettle steam or radiators). You can even store in a frost-free fridge. NHS recommends taking probiotics for at least 4 weeks to manage IBS symptoms. You can also take them alongside antibiotics, with your doctor’s permission.
Organic Water Kefir (good for your tummy!)
PiQi Kefir is a unique company that makes ‘water kefir’, a naturally fermented drink in glass bottles, that is ideal for people with iffy tummies. This ‘living water’ uses organic sugar and a mix of kefir culture (bacteria and yeast) for a light tangy taste and natural probiotics, teeming with vegan lactic acid bacteria. A bit like the benefits of yoghurt, but without the dairy. And hydrating too.
Raw authentic kefir has a short shelf life, so store chilled in the fridge, to prevent fermenting further.
Not for pregnancy/breastfeeding due to small amounts of alcohol (and butterfly pea powder). Avoid grapefruit for some medications (check paper inserts). If you are new to fermented drinks, enjoy in small qualities (a shot or two) before drinking up to 1 small bottle a day.
The range includes:
- Ginger and Lemon
- Grapefruit and Cardamom
- Fig-Infused
- Butterfly Pea Flower
Popular in South America, water kefir has been enjoyed for years in Mexico, where it was first created. It kind of tastes like a natural tart soda.
