Follow This 5 Step Plan To Boost Your Gut Health!

New research shows your intestinal flora affects everything from your weight to your happiness. We reveal how with our five-step plan to improve your gut health – and your wellbeing!

- Angela Dowden

Thanks to TV yoghurt ads and the many rows of mini probiotic drinks in chiller cabinets, most of us are aware there’s a host of bacteria – many good, some not so good – living in our guts. And with a recent flurry of diet and lifestyle plans designed to improve health and control weight through revamping your gut bacteria, it’s clear this is an area of science that’s really catching the popular interest. But although we’ve known about gut bacteria for several decades, science is only just starting to grasp the full ramifications for your health – both body and mind. ‘We’re just beginning to unravel the effects of our gut flora – or microbiome [the genes of the microbial cells] – on health, and it’s very exciting,’ says Dr Robynne Chutkan, gastroenterologist and author of The Microbiome Solution (Avery, £17.87). ‘Everything from our weight to our cravings and even our mood and immune system could be affected by what’s going on with the bacterial zoo inside us.’

What your bacteria do