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Bree Dunbar
Snacking can be a great way to eat more fiber and look after your gut health, Emily Leeming, a dietitian and gut microbiome researcher at King's College London, told Business Insider.
The gut microbiome is the name given to the trillions of microbes that live in the colon lining, which studies have linked to our overall health — from the immune system to the brain.
Fiber, found in foods such as fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and beans, fuels the "good" microbes in the gut. And studies suggest that it helps create a more diverse microbiome, an indicator of a healthy gut. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults eat 22 to 34 grams of fiber each day.
Snacks make up around 20% of the average person's energy intake, Leeming said, so choosing more nutritious foods can be a "great strategy to making big inroads for our health."
"When you're feeling hungry, you can think, 'Okay, can I get at least five grams of fiber in a snack?'" Leeming, a trained chef and the author of "Genius Gut: The Life-Changing Science of Eating for your Second Brain," said.
Leeming shared her four go-to snacks that boost her gut health.
Fresh or dried fruit is a delicious snack, a great source of fiber, and easy to eat on the go, Leeming said: "I love fruit, I eat a lot of it."
Berries, in particular, are high in fiber, and can be sprinkled on top of a sweet breakfast such as oatmeal or Greek yogurt in seconds, she said.
Dried apricots, which contain seven grams of fiber per 100 grams, are another of her favorites.
As well as containing heart-healthy fats and plant protein, nuts are high in fiber.
They contain around seven to nine grams of fiber per 100 grams and typically require no prep, making them the perfect quick, gut-friendly snack.
Leeming keeps a jar of mixed nuts by the kettle in her kitchen, so she can eat them while she waits for it to boil.
"The things that I want to eat more of, I keep in my line of sight. That just visually prompts you to go for them as a first step," she said.
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Leeming likes to keep plant-based dips such as hummus or guacamole, and some chopped-up veggies in the fridge so she can grab them when she's feeling peckish.
"Just having some snacks that are more healthy and easily available really helps," she said."I really focus on things that are easy and simple that you just don't have to do lots of mental logistics to kind of make happen."
Vegetables contain fiber, as well as the chickpeas in hummus, and the avocado in guacamole.
85% strength dark chocolate is surprisingly high in fiber, Leeming said: "It's about 11 grams of fiber per 100 grams."
She loves to have two squares paired with some fruit as a snack. "That's making a significant contribution toward that 30 grams of fiber a day that we need," she said.
Dark chocolate, which contains antioxidants, also has other health benefits. A recent study based on around 110,000 nurses, published in the BMJ, found that those who consumed at least five servings of dark chocolate a week had a 21% lower risk of type two diabetes from the baseline than those who had none or rarely ate chocolate.
The authors said this could be because dark chocolate is high in epicatechin, a polyphenol that research suggests could help prevent metabolic disease.
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