AD: This post is in partnership with Atlas Biomed.

Today we’re back with another gut health guide and this month I am talking about improving your microbiome. With winter in full swing, immunity is on everybody’s minds. Not only does our gut microbiome help our gut feel better but even help fend off colds (source) and our general immunity. Our gut microbiome has also been linked to our mental health which I talked about previously in this post.

With starting Humira for my Crohn’s Disease, I feel extra conscious about making sure I can do as much as I can to eat well at the moment. You might have seen on my Instagram stories that I recently got my vitamin D tested as that’s another important consideration in the winter months. Thankfully, it was adequate so that’s one thing ticked off my list.

For this blog post, I’ve teamed up with Atlas Biomed who I’ve worked with several times previously.

When anyone ever asks me about starting probiotics, I always advise them to get their gut bacteria tested rather than just start a random type of probiotic because we’re all so different!

These used to be really expensive but over the years have become more and more affordable and are now around £150, which given how many different types of probiotics I’ve tried is actually priceless!

Not only does Atlas Biomed give you an insight into your own gut bacteria but, and more importantly, it actually gives you targeted advice on the kind of foods that could help. Because what’s the use of test results if you can’t actually act on them?

Once you’ve done your microbiome test, you’ll find out the specifics: such as how your gut bacteria protects you from diseases,your microbiome’s ability to break down dietary fibre that is the main source of nourishment for the beneficial gut microbes (more on this here) , and how diverse your bacteria is.

These results can seem a bit scary but they’re merely an outline of how our gut bacteria can influence lots of different facts. You’ll also find specific dietary suggestions because improving your microbiome to potentially target your results: it is not just about supplements, it should be about the food you eat every single day.

A lot of these foods are prebiotics, which feeds our good gut bacteria and these are actually just as important as probiotics. I must admit when talking about gut health I always forget about prebiotics but I shouldn’t because without them all those fancy probiotic foods you take won’t actually flourish and grow.

Atlas has actually got even cleverer with the launch of their new food tracking app which you’ll get when you purchase a kit (or have purchased previously): simply log in and see your recommended foods (based on the test you’ve done), you can then use a food diary to log your food each day and it’ll let you know how many of their suggested foods you’ve eaten, like the examples below show:

You can even click on each one to learn more about it and how it can help your gut microbiome; along with clicking on specific recommendations, for example, which foods can help prevent type two Diabetes and Vitamin B1 synthesis.

I thought I’d share what I’ve learned from the app since using it and the foods I’m trying to incorporate into my diet based on their personalised recommendations. Of course, to get a better understanding you’d ideally do your own test but these are some useful tips regardless if you’re looking to improve your gut microbiome through the foods you eat…

1. Chicory Root

One of my first recommended foods was chicory root; which contains inulin prebiotic.

Chicory root is often recommended for constipation so I can’t eat it in big doses (since having IBD I don’t have this problem!) but it’s really great food for our microbiome and is thought to help with type 2 diabetes. Some people choose to switch their coffee for roasted chicory drink.

2. Almond

Almonds were another recommended food. Not only are these a great source of healthy fats but they’re another prebiotic and a study showed almonds helped increase the populations of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus (source). I have almond butter on toast most mornings as I find nuts blended in butter so much easier for my belly than eaten whole!

3. Kefir

I’ve talked about goat’s kefir on my Instagram stories previously. Chuckling Goat, which I’ve tried previously, have teamed up with Atlas so you can buy your supply at the same time but there are other types of kefir, such as dairy-free ones made from coconut, which I’ve also previously tried.

As a fermented food, kefir has been linked to a wide range of health benefits and contain plenty of probiotics.

4. Apple

An apple away keeps the doctors away? Well the humble apple is actually great for your gut so I was pleased to see it as one of my recommended foods. Apples contain the fibre pectin which acts as prebiotic so I guess apple crumble is back on the menu!

5. Sweet Potato

Sweet potato was another of my recommendations which I was happy about because I cook sweet potatoes all the time. Sweet potato is great in the colder months because it contains vitamin C but it also has much more fibre than regular potatoes (fibre is just one of many things our microbiome needs to flourish).

I’ll be trying to incorporate these foods into my diet daily but if you haven’t already, definitely do check out Atlas Microbiome to get your own personalised reports too-there’s currently a Christmas sale where you get 20% off your kit.