Goodgut health apriorityinthe month of February

Simple, smart swaps that are good for gut health:

 Swap whitebread for wholegrain bread

 Swap chips for wholegrain crackers

 Swap low-fibre cereal for highfibre cereal

 Swap plain yoghurt for probiotic yoghurt

 Swap biscuits and pastries for a piece of fresh fruit

 Swap sandwich meats like ham or salami for alegume-based dip likehummus

Quick and easy gut-loving meal ideas:

 Wholegrain bread with avocado and tomato

 Asmoothie made of milk, probiotic yoghurt and fresh fruit

 Wholegrain crackers with tzatziki and vegetable sticks

 High-fibre cereal with milk and fresh fruit

WITH Februarybeing Gut Health Month, locals are being encouraged to put the health of their gut first.

Statistics aren’t good -one in two Aussies have gut-health problems.

Further, the Bowel Cancer Foundation says one in 15 people are likely to develop bowel cancer in their lifetime, and 15 to 40 percentofthe population currently have bowel polyps (that can be pre-cancer).

Age increases the risk of bowel cancer, especially for people over 50 years old.

But most importantly, 99 per cent of cancers are preventable if treated early.

Some other gut issues include, but are not limited to, constipation -the Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA) estimates one in five adults have it -diarrhoea, inflammatory bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, coeliacdiseaseand lactose intolerance. GESA states that 15 per cent of people of European ancestry suffer from this, rising to 90 per cent in those with African and Asian ancestry.

On the positive side, more evidence is becoming available of the lifestyle factors that improve gut health.

Some of these factors include good sleep, low stress and daily movement, but most integral is a high-fibre diet and regular bowel motions (two to three times per week minimum; formed, sausage shaped and soft).

Other ways to optimise gut health is to minimise gut irritants, such as excessive alcohol and caffeine, lowfibre/highly processed foods, or ahighsaturated fat diet from animal sources -that is, the fat is solid at room temperature,suchasskinonchicken, lard, dripping or full fat dairy.

Ideally, drinking at least two litresofwater a day, and aplant-based diet is optimal. Advancesinthe gut microbiome continueand knowledge of pre-, pro- and post-bioticsisgrowing by the day, not to mentiondirectslinkswiththe gut and brainvia the vagus nerve.

There is now moreevidencethan ever that food affects ourmood, withmanypeople talking about being 'hangry' or 'seedy' and lethargic after abig nightout on the grog, or after bingeing on sweetrefined, highly-processed, saturated fatty foods.

Gut Health Month is agreat opportunity to include more gut-loving foods in your diet and improve your overall wellbeing.

Accredited dietitian, Simone Godde, will be hosting two free events about gut health this month, which locals are being encouraged to attend.

Thefirst will be held at Sale Medical Centre this Thursday (February 23) from 12.30pm to 1.30pm. For bookings to this session, call the centre on 5144 5766 or send an email to info@salemedical. com.au

The second will take place at The Nutrition Pod on Saturday,February 25 from 1.15pm to 2.30pm.

To book for this event, call 5143 1809 or send an email to thewholistic.hub142@gmail.com