Summer is here! With the warmer weather, it is easier to eat more salads and summer fruits, so we’ve made a list of the best seasonal fruits and veggies to help improve your gut microbiome and they taste delicious.

Bananas

Are delicious, cheap and easy to eat on the run. They help stabolise good gut bacteria. They are great at helping with diarrhea and help upset tummies.

Hot tip: green bananas are a good source of resistant starch. Resistant starch is a type of starch that isn’t fully broken down and absorbed by your body during the time of digestion. It is turned into fatty acids by intestinal bacteria. Resistant starch helps keep cholesterol in check.

Blueberries

Help prevent constipation and maintain regularity for a healthy digestive tract because of their fibre content. High fibre foods help keep you feeling full and may assist with weight management.

Pomegranate

Are high in antioxidants which protect your cells from damage and prevent diseases, they also reduce inflammation and the effects of aging. They are sweet and delicious, full of flavour and can give variety to your summer salads.

Tomatoes

This is one of our favourite prebiotic foods. Prebiotics are a group of dietary fibres that act as food for specific species of bacteria. When you consume prebiotics, the friendly microbes in your gut take them and use them as fuel. They can also convert it into a short-chain fatty acid called butyrate. Butyrate can help to reduce inflammation, as well as repairing and enhancing the gut lining.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers are low in calories and high in vitamins and minerals. The high in water content is great for hydration and can aid weight loss. Pickled cucumbers are a great source of healthy prebiotic bacteria which improves your digestive health.

Red capsicums

Are full of iron and vitamin C, which increases the absorption of iron in the gut. They are also low in calories making them an excellent addition to a healthy diet.

Always try and eat organic. If you cannot always eat organic, follow the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 rule.

EWG’s 2021 Dirty dozen and Clean 15 – lists the fruits and veggies that have high number of pesticides which includes:

1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale
4. Nectarines
5. Apples
6. Grapes
7. Peaches
8. Cherries
9. Pears
10. Tomatoes
11. Celery
12. Potatoes

Clean 15

1. Avocados
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapple
4. Onions
5. Papaya
6. Sweet peas (frozen)
7. Eggplants
8. Asparagus
9. Cauliflower
10. Cantaloupes
11. Broccoli
12. Mushrooms
13. Cabbage
14. Honeydew melon
15. Kiwi