• Our modern lifestyles are thought to damage our gut health in a way that raises the risk of colon cancer.
• Lifestyle changes can improve the gut microbiome, which could in turn lower the risk of colon cancer.
• As well as eating healthily, GI surgeon James Kinross eats enough vitamin D to prevent the disease.

Colon cancer is rising in people under 50. James Kinross, a gastrointestinal surgeon who researches how the gut microbiome affects our risk of the disease, told Business Insider that poor gut health could be partly to blame.

Research suggests the gut microbiome, the trillions of microbes that live in the digestive tract, has a wide-ranging effect on our health. But our sterile, urbanized lifestyles, appear to have made them less diverse overall and, therefore, weaker, according to Kinross, who is based at Imperial College London.

"You're seeing a generational loss in our internal ecology, which is being hammered with a series of environmental hits that it simply cannot adapt to," he said, referring to factors including microplastics, ultra-processed foods, and minimal access to nature. Many studies have linked these changes in the gut microbiome to an increase in colon cancer risk.

But, the gut microbiome is changeable, meaning there are things we can do to increase its diversity, which in turn could help lower colon cancer risk. "It is an ecosystem which you can adapt, and you can modify," he said.

Kinross previously shared with BI how he eats to boost his gut microbiome. He shared the three things he does aside from healthy eating to lower his colon cancer risk.

Don't take antibiotics if you don't need to

As a surgeon, Kinross is acutely aware that antibiotics are often necessary and save millions of lives each year, but he believes we use them too liberally — particularly to treat viral infections they can't tackle.

"In my house, to qualify for antibiotics, you've really got to have a pathogen that you need treated," Kinross said.

Kinross and his family limit their use of antibiotics as much as possible because taking them can disrupt the ecosystem of the gut microbiome, killing off good bacteria along with pathogens, and reducing diversity.

He likened it to pouring weed killer all over your garden. "Your garden won't really grow into a lovely garden full of wild meadows and flowers and color. It will just be brown and lifeless," he said.

Take vitamin D

Kinross takes a vitamin D supplement because evidence suggests that having enough of the nutrient is important for gut health.

Vitamin D is crucial for several biological processes, including calcium absorption and cellular repair — but also keeps the lining of the small intestine strong. If the lining becomes weak, microbes can pass through it into the bloodstream and cause inflammation. Chronic inflammation is linked to a higher risk of chronic diseases, including cancer.

Vitamin D is found in foods including oily fish, egg yolks, and red meat, as well as from sunlight. In countries with climates like the UK's, where Kinross lives, it can be difficult to get enough vitamin D in the colder months, and residents are advised to supplement from October to March.

Socialize

Kinross goes cycling with friends regularly and makes sure to sit down to eat dinner with his family in the evenings. As well as being a pillar of overall health, research suggests that socializing positively impacts the composition of our gut microbiomes, Kinross said.

We exchange microbes through physical touch, and studies have found that friends, family members, and spouses have similar gut microbes to one another.

A 2024 study published in the journal Nature, based on 1,787 adults from 18 isolated villages in Honduras, found that people in the same social network shared more similarities in their gut microbiomes compared to those outside of it. This was regardless of diet, water sources, and medications. Spouses and people living together had the highest amount of microbial sharing, but the phenomenon still occurred among friends and even friends of friends.

"Our social interactions, our real-world social interactions, define so much of our health," Kinross said. "It's good for all aspects of our health. It's good for our mental health, it's good for our cardiovascular health. It's good for everything. But if you're not having real-world social interaction, you are not really optimizing your gut health, I believe."

• Anissa Armet is a dietitian who helped to develop the plant-based, high-fiber NiMe diet.
• She ate in a similar way for years to manage her ulcerative colitis.
• Armet shared three of her favorite NiMe diet recipes that she eats to manage her gut health.

A dietitian who helped develop a gut-healthy diet shared her three favorite recipes.

Anissa Armet, a registered dietitian and researcher at the University of Alberta, Canada, and her colleague Jens Walter, studied whether eating a pre-industrial, or "ancestral," diet could improve the gut microbiome.

The gut microbiome is the trillions of microorganisms that live in the digestive system. Research has linked a diverse range of microorganisms in the gut to many health benefits, including better digestion, immune response, and mental health.

The resulting NiMe diet (non-industrialized microbiome restore) is plant-based, high in fiber, and low in ultra-processed foods, dairy, and wheat products.

It was based on the eating habits of rural Papua New Guineans who do subsistence farming and lead non-industrialized lives. Walter previously compared their gut microbiomes with those of people from the US, and found the Papua New Guineans' were more diverse.

For the NiMe study, 30 healthy participants followed the diet, which featured foods readily available in the West, for three weeks. By the end of the study, their gut microbiomes weren't more diverse. But they did have fewer signs of chronic disease in their guts, including a lower pH, fewer microbes that cause inflammation, and a healthier mucus lining.

The benefits of the NiMe diet were similar to those of the hugely popular Mediterranean diet, the authors said, in that both appeared to prevent damage to the heart and reduce inflammation. However, they said the participants may have benefited from eating a more nutritious, controlled diet than they usually would.

Armet has followed a diet similar to NiMe — one very high in fiber, minimally processed, and plant-based — for 10 years to manage her ulcerative colitis symptoms.

Prior to making dietary changes, Armet said she experienced bloating, abdominal cramps, and stomach pain, and was making endless trips to the bathroom, where she was passing a lot of blood. But once she overhauled her diet, her symptoms eased. The cause of ulcerative colitis is unknown, but research suggests it's an autoimmune condition.

It's usually treated with medication or surgery, and dietary changes aren't typically prescribed as a treatment. But research suggests that a high-fiber diet could help reduce inflammation in the gut and improve quality of life for ulcerative colitis patients.

We can't be sure that Armet's diet improved her ulcerative colitis symptoms, but she said: "I've personally felt the benefits of following a very high fiber, plant-based, minimally processed diet, which does fit in with the principles of the NiMe diet."

Armet shared three recipes from the NiMe meal plan and her own diet that are nutritious, versatile, and easy to make.

Sautéd vegetables and grains

One of Armet's go-to easy dinners is sautéed vegetables with some grains, which she said comes together in 15 minutes.

She chops up onions, bell peppers, garlic, and frozen leafy greens such as kale, and sautés them with olive oil, along with any other vegetables she has on hand. She adds a drained can of beans, and adds flavor with white wine and vegetable broth.

She said it's a great meal to prep ahead of time or keep in the freezer, and recommended serving it with a whole grain, such as brown rice or quinoa.

Overnight oats

"I'm a creature of habit, so I have the same thing every single morning, which is overnight oats," Armet said. She makes five portions on Sunday, which she keeps in the fridge for a quick, easy breakfast on weekdays.

"I just mix rolled oats with things like hemp hearts, chia seeds, or flax seeds. I mix that with milk and then keep that in the fridge," she said.

She loves how customizable the oats are. "You can add protein powder or yogurt for an extra boost of protein, or whatever additions you like — peanut butter, frozen berries, shredded coconut, nuts, a tablespoon of coffee if you need a little stimulant in the morning," she said.

Business Insider's health correspondent Rachel Hosie has previously shared her favorite high-protein oat-based breakfasts.

Sweet potato black bean hash

This sweet potato black bean hash recipe was labeled a breakfast in the NiMe study, but Armet said that it is "versatile and customizable enough to meal prep and pull out whenever you need."

To make it, chop a sweet potato, bell peppers, and an onion, and season with olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Roast the vegetables until they are soft but not fully cooked. Then add black beans and cooked millet, and put the mixture back in the oven until the vegetables are soft.

"You can also use quinoa, or have the vegetables on a bed of brown rice and leafy greens — whatever you like," Armet said.

She likes this recipe because it combines some of the main foods of the rural Papua New Guinean diet, including sweet potatoes, vegetables, and black beans, which provide plant-based, fiber-rich protein.

• Caring for your gut microbiome is one of the buzziest health topics right now.
• The evidence that a happy gut improves our overall health is piling up.
• The message is spreading online, and businesses are cashing in.

Is half of your social circle suddenly obsessed with their gut health? You're probably not alone.

From 2015's "The Good Gut" by Erica and Justin Sonnenburg to Netflix's 2024 documentary "Hack Your Health," numerous documentaries, books, and articles in the last decade — including by Business Insider — have explored the potential benefits of caring for the gut. Between December 2021 and April 2022, Google searches for "gut health" doubled, the search engine's data shows, and have kept rising since.

In turn, the global digestive health market — which encompasses functional foods and dietary supplements, from probiotic yogurts to juice "cleanses" — is projected to be worth $71.95 billion in 2027, up from $37.93 billion in 2019, according to market research by Fortune Business Reports.

But the increase in interest doesn't seem to be because significantly more people have gut problems than in previous decades, Dr. Kyle Staller, a gastroenterologist and director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, told BI.

← removed sentence in brackets and added line break And our diets haven't changed enough in recent years to have worsened gut health on a population-wide scale, he said.

Instead, health experts told BI the buzz comes down to a combination of growing research suggesting gut health plays a larger role in our overall health than previously thought, the rise of wellness influencers, and a post-pandemic obsession with preventative health.

The link between the gut microbiome and our general health is clearer than ever

The trillions of microorganisms in our digestive system, known as the gut microbiome, are at the center of this health craze. Early research suggests that a healthy gut microbiome is one that contains a diverse range of microbes, nurtured by things such as high-fiber and fermented foods, and is linked to many physical and mental health benefits.

This research was advanced with the launch of the Human Microbiome Project at the National Institutes of Health in 2007, and influential gut-health labs have since been established at institutions including Stanford University and King's College London.

And there's been a 4,300% increase in the number of academic papers mentioning the terms "gut health" or the "gut microbiome" in the last decade — from three papers in 2014 to 132 papers in 2024 — according to data from Elsevier's Scopus research database.

This explosion of research coincided with the rise of social media and the erosion of certain taboos, including talking about gastrointestinal issues, Staller said, especially for women.

With greater social awareness, comes greater misunderstanding

People being candid about their digestive problems on social media has made us more aware of the gut's role in our health and wellbeing, Stephanie Alice Baker, a sociologist at City St George's, University of London, who researches online health misinformation and wellness culture, told BI.

And as fad diets fall out of fashion, gut health has become a socially acceptable replacement, she said.

The idea of wanting to lose weight is more taboo now than it was 15 years ago, Baker said. "Now, people still want to be slim, but they'll often frame that goal through the lens of health or self-optimization," she said, because it's more socially acceptable.

And when a health trend gains awareness online, an influx of companies, products, and services will always appear in response, she added.

But Staller said that the research is still new, and we understand much less than people might think. He cautions against jumping to conclusions based on one or two scientific studies or anecdotal evidence being shared online. Don't believe that products marketed as "natural" are automatically beneficial, he added.

"People seem to think that somehow we might be able to hack our guts and cultivate the ideal microbiome," Staller said, with probiotics or fermented foods. But we don't know how to create the "ideal microbiome" because we don't know what one looks like yet, he said.

While there's no "magic trick" or miracle product for good gut health, Staller recommended focusing on generally healthy habits: getting enough sleep, eating a nutritious diet including enough fiber, and being active.

• Gut health is a buzzy topic, but the oral microbiome might be the next big trend.
• The evidence that a clean mouth could lower the risk of chronic diseases is piling up.
• Big voices in the longevity space like Andrew Huberman are starting to spread the word.

You may know that caring for the bugs in your gut, or the gut microbiome, could help you live longer. But a different collection of micro-organisms is getting attention for its health credentials.

Researchers have known for decades that people with problems like gum disease, cavities, and missing teeth, are more likely to experience stroke and develop chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer's.

"I've been in this business for over 50 years," Judith Jones, a professor who researches oral disease at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry, told Business Insider, "centenarians have more teeth than the people who don't live that long."

The potential reasons for this are "messy," she said: "It's not simple science."

Losing teeth, for instance, can affect our self-esteem and quality of life. We are less likely to socialize if we feel self-conscious and will struggle to eat nutritious but difficult-to-chew foods such as nuts, vegetables, and lean protein.

But growing research suggests the microbes that live in the mouth (the oral microbiome) could play a larger role in our health than previously thought.

Bryan Johnson and Andrew Huberman are talking to their followers about oral health

Some of the loudest voices in the longevity space are mainstreaming the idea that a clean mouth could help us live longer.

Last month, tech CEO-turned-biohacker Bryan Johnson shared his nine-step oral health "protocol" in his newsletter, which involves tongue scraping and tea tree oil to prevent chronic disease.

Days later, Andrew Huberman dedicated an entire episode of his chart-topping "Huberman Lab" podcast to the potential link between the oral microbiome and physical and mental health.

And the industry newsletter Fitt Insider reported on microbiome-focused products entering the $55 billion oral care market, including a prebiotic toothpaste featuring ingredients personalized according to the bugs that live in a customer's mouth.

From 2023 to 2024, the sale of oral care products in the US increased by 6.3%, from $10.8 billion to $12.2 billion, according to market research firm Mintel. Those investing are likely hoping to repeat the success of the global digestive health market, which is projected to be worth $71.95 billion in 2027, up from $37.93 billion in 2019, according to market research by Fortune Business Reports.

Both the mouth and the gut have a microbiome

Just like the gut, the mouth microbiome houses a collection of "good" and "bad" microorganisms, but it functions differently.

A healthy gut microbiome is one with a diverse range of inhabitants. These microbes have been linked to a variety of physical and mental health benefits — from a stronger immune system and better mood to a lower risk of diseases, including type two diabetes and colon cancer. In contrast, a healthy oral microbiome is relatively sparse.

Brushing and flossing hits the reset button and prevents harmful microbes from colonizing and maturing, Johnathon Baker, an assistant professor at Oregon Health and Science University who studies the oral microbiome, told BI.

He likened the ecosystem of the oral microbiome to a landscape following a volcanic eruption. It's barren (after a thorough clean), but plants eventually grow and change the environment, allowing secondary plants such as moss to grow. After a few years (or a few days of not brushing well enough), moss breaks down the rock, and more plant species emerge, until, eventually, you have a whole rainforest of microbes.

The more mature species of microbes are what can cause infections that break down the barrier between the gums and blood, enabling them to enter the bloodstream. That's why bleeding gums are a hallmark of periodontal disease, Baker said.

Once in the bloodstream, bacteria can travel to different parts of the body and cause damage and inflammation, he said. Gum disease-causing bacteria have been found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's, the tumors of colon cancer patients, and in heart tissue of people with cardiovascular disease.

Whether these microbes are causing chronic illness, contributing to its development, or just making the body more vulnerable to disease by causing inflammation is uncertain, Baker said, because research into the oral microbiome is in its infancy.

But evidence suggests there is a strong link between good oral hygiene and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, with one study suggesting flossing weekly appeared to lower the risk of an ischemic stroke by over a fifth. Similarly, a review of studies into oral health and chronic disease published in 2019 found the most frequently reported correlation was between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease.

Baker believes that as our understanding develops we may one day see "advances that will help our overall health significantly."

Brush and floss thoroughly daily

Jones, who started her career as a dental hygienist, said that good oral hygiene involves brushing your teeth thoroughly at least once a day. "Most dentists recommend twice a day. I think part of that is so people get it done really well at least once a day. And part of it is making people's breaths smell better," she said.

It's also important to floss daily because a toothbrush can't reach the spot in between the teeth and the gums, which is known as the periodontal pocket, where disease occurs, she said.

"Flossing helps you keep your teeth," Jones added.

When it comes to what kind of floss you should use, she thinks simple is best. "They say now even the water jets are effective, although I can't imagine that they are, quite honestly," she said.

Baker reiterated the importance of flossing. "Before I entered this field, I was definitely one of those people who didn't really floss very much," he said. But as a grad student, he saw "very graphic images" of advanced periodontal disease.

"I was like, I'm flossing every day from now on, and I have," he said.

• Federica Amati is a nutritionist who has her own version of the '5 a day' rule for good gut health.
• She eats five key food types every day, including whole grains and omega-3s.
• She shared how she gets the five foods into her diet every day.

We've all heard that it's important to get your "five a day," meaning five servings of fruits and vegetables.

But Federica Amati, the lead nutritionist at ZOE, a science and nutrition company, told Business Insider she has her own take on the rule that she follows for a healthy gut.

Amati, who is also a postdoctoral medical scientist at Imperial College London, incorporates five types of food into her diet every day to maintain diversity in her gut microbiome: nuts and seeds, legumes, omega-3 fatty acids, fresh fruit, and whole grains.

The gut microbiome is the collective name for the trillions of microorganisms in the digestive tract that help digest food. It's important for overall health because it impacts other systems, such as the metabolism and immune response. A diverse, nutritious diet helps the microbiome to thrive, because different microorganisms use different types of food as fuel.

Amati based her five a day on the findings of a 2019 study published in the journal The Lancet. The study looked at the effects of diet on the participants' risk of dying. It used data from thousands of sources in 195 countries, including censuses, hospital data, and existing studies.

It found that an unhealthy diet — meaning one that is high in sodium, low in whole grains, low in fruit, low in nuts and seeds, low in vegetables, and low in omega-3 fatty acids — contributed to more deaths than any other risk factor, including smoking.

Amati shared how she incorporates each of her "five a day" foods into her diet.

Nuts and seeds

Amati said she snacks on mixed nuts — her favorites are walnuts and almonds — two or three times a day. She keeps a pack of nuts in her bag so she can eat them while she's out. She also sprinkles a mixture of seeds on her meals, including chia seeds, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.

Nuts and seeds contain lots of fiber and are also a great source of plant-based protein.

Legumes

"I eat legumes every day," Amati said. "Beans all day — often for lunch, but also at dinner, and sometimes breakfast. I don't discriminate."

She keeps jars of uncooked lentils and beans in her kitchen, as well as ready-to-eat beans, which she can warm up for a quick lunch.

For example, a recent lunch consisted of cheese, spring onions, beans, and microwaved eggs topped with seeds, alongside some bread and extra virgin olive oil for dipping.

For breakfast, she has butter beans or chickpeas on toast, sometimes with tomatoes or mushrooms.

"Beans and pasta are also a match made in heaven," she added.

Like nuts and seeds, legumes contain lots of fiber and are also an environmentally friendly source of protein.

Omega-3s

Amati gets omega-3 fatty acids from chia seeds, walnuts, and oily fish, which she eats two times a week. She often adds a tin of sardines to her salads.

She also includes prawns and shellfish in the category of "oily fish" because they are good sources of omega-3s.

Omega-3s can help reduce chronic inflammation, lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease, and improve eye health.

Fresh fruit

Amati said she always has some fruit with her to snack on, like an apple or banana. And when she's not eating beans for breakfast, she often yogurt or porridge topped with frozen fruit.

Berries are especially high in fiber, with raspberries containing 8g per cup, compared to 3g for one cup of chopped apple.

Blueberries are high in antioxidants, which help protect against cell damage, while kiwis are high in vitamin C, which supports the immune system.

Whole grains

Most mornings, Amati eats oats in some form — either cooked as oatmeal or as overnight oats with kefir and chia seeds.

When making a stew or soup, she often adds whole grains like spelt into the dish. Or, when she's short on time and wants a quick lunch fix, she'll have microwaveable whole grains, such as quinoa, with vegetables or oily fish.

Whole grains are a great source of fiber, and they contain nutrients such as B vitamins, iron, folate, selenium, potassium, and magnesium.

• More people under the age of 50 are developing colon cancer.
• James Kinross, a colon cancer surgeon, said changes to the microbes in our gut could be a contributing factor.
• Following a vegetarian diet is one of the ways Kinross tries to reduce his risk of colon cancer.

Rates of colon cancer in people under the age of 50 are rising. James Kinross, a GI surgeon who researches how the gut microbiome affects our risk of the disease, believes "an internal climate crisis" among people in Western countries could be partly to blame.

But "the gift of the gut microbiome is that you can change it," said Kinross, referring to the trillions of microbes that populate our digestive system, and which research suggests have a wide-ranging affect on our health. "It is an ecosystem that you can adapt," the researcher at Imperial College London told Business Insider.

To lower his own risk of developing colon cancer, the second deadliest form of cancer disease in the US, Kinross follows dietary principles including eating a vegetarian diet. However, as BI has previously reported, a person's diet is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to colon cancer risk.

Environmental factors such as ultra-processed foods, the use of antibiotics, which kill gut bacteria, microplastics, and limited exposure to nature, are thought to have made our gut microbiomes less diverse, he said. That means it's less healthy and resilient.

He gave the example of a child who is born by C-section, which means missing out on microbes that would have been passed on via the birth canal, to a mom whose gut microbiome is depleted by antibiotics, and fed a diet of ultra-processed foods, he said.

"You're seeing a generational loss in our internal ecology, which is being hammered with a series of environmental hits that it simply cannot adapt to," Kinross said.

The consequence is "a very unhappy microbiome," which produces harmful molecules and toxins that affect colon cancer risk, he said.

Kinross shared how he eats to lower his risk of colon cancer.

Eat 30 grams of fiber a day

"What I really want in my gut is diversity," Kinross said, "and the way you get that is by having a really good diverse diet which is really high in fiber."

Fiber is found in plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains, and studies suggest that a diverse gut microbiome is linked to a range of health benefits, such as a strong immune system.

Kinross aims to eat 30 grams of dietary fiber a day, as recommended by the Food and Drug Administration. He tries to "eat the rainbow," ensuring that his plate is filled with plant foods of lots of different color and, therefore, nutrients.

Follow a vegetarian diet

Research has found a strong link between eating processed and red meats and colon cancer risk, so Kinross tries to follow a vegetarian diet as much as possible.

One 2020 study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology looked at data from around 500,000 people over a seven-year period to assess whether eating meat affected their cancer risk. It found that those who ate 79 grams of red or processed meat, or the equivalent of three slices of deli meat per day on average, had a 32% higher risk of colon cancer compared to those who ate less than 11 grams.

In 2015, The International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer research agency of the World Health Organization, classified processed meat as a "definite" cause of cancer, and red meat as a "probable" cause.

"I don't necessarily believe that we all have to be vegetarian, but I think meat consumption is a big part of our problem," he said, referring to rising colon cancer cases.

Eat fermented foods daily

Fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, kefir, and kombucha, contain probiotics, the "good" bacteria that live in the gut.

Kinross eats a serving of them daily, as research suggests they can improve the diversity of the gut microbiome. A 2021 study by Stanford University found that people who ate a diet high in fermented foods for 10 weeks had even more diverse microbiomes than those who ate a high-fiber diet.

His go-to's are sourdough bread and kimchi, a Korean fermented cabbage dish.

"My daughter's completely obsessed by kimchi. She makes loads of it. So we've always got a big bucket of it in our house," he said.

"They've got to be part of your regular food consumption, otherwise, the microbes just don't culture and graft into your gut," he said.

• Katie Couric has advocated for colon cancer awareness since losing her husband to the disease in 1998.
• He was diagnosed at 41 years old, with symptoms like fatigue and digestive changes.
• Detecting colon cancer early is key to treatment, and innovations in AI and blood testing could help.

When Katie Couric's husband, Jay Monahan, was diagnosed with colon cancer at 41 years old, it came as a complete shock. By the time he was diagnosed, the cancer was stage 4. He died nine months later, weeks after his 42nd birthday.

"Colon cancer didn't even cross our minds. He of course had symptoms, and in hindsight, I wish we had known what they were," Couric told Business Insider.

Monahan had been tired, but that was understandable — he was a busy lawyer and legal analyst for NBC News and a parent to their two daughters. That fatigue, along with some digestive changes, were vague symptoms of his illness. They're common early signs of colon cancer that can be easy to miss.

At the time of his diagnosis in 1997, the recommended age for having a colonoscopy was 50. Now, it's 45 — changed in 2021 in response to a concerning rise of colon cancer among younger people.

Since his death, Couric said, she's made it her mission to help others catch colon cancer before it was too late.

"Two of the worst words in the English language are 'what if.' You don't want to be wondering, 'What if I had gotten screened?' when it's too late," Couric said. "I hate to be that blunt, but it's true."

Couric spoke to BI during Colorectal Awareness Month as part of her partnership with Cologuard Classic by Exact Sciences, a PGA tournament to support patients and caregivers affected by the disease.

After 27 years of advocacy, Couric shared what she now knows about how to spot colon cancer early and new breakthroughs that could transform how people are diagnosed and treated.

Early warning signs of colon cancer to watch for

There's been a disturbing increase in colon cancer diagnoses in people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s over the past two decades.

Potential factors like diets high in processed foods and red meat, drinking habits, and microplastics could all be driving the rising rates of colon cancer in younger people.

Couric said she's grateful that there's now more awareness of major symptoms of colon cancer, such as:

• Fatigue
• Unintentional weight loss
• Changes in bowel habits
• Blood in stool

One reason colon cancer is misdiagnosed or missed is that symptoms can be vague and attributed to other digestive illnesses.

While the recommended age to start screening for colon cancer was lowered to 45 in 2021, Couric said she finds it "very disturbing" that only about 20% of people between 45 and 49 have been screened.

"If you or someone you know falls into that category, please get your butt to the doctor!" she said.

Before a colonoscopy, you can try an at-home stool test

But don't wait for a blood test or other future innovations if you're worried about your risk now. Colon cancer is very treatable when detected early, so getting screened is crucial.

Colonoscopies are one option, especially for people with known risk factors such as a family history of colon cancer or polyps or digestive diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease.

Another less-invasive option for people with average risk is a stool test, which can be done at home.

"I've learned the best test is the one that gets done, so do your research and figure out what works best for you," Couric said.

She said her advice is to pay attention to anything out of the ordinary, get medical attention, and advocate for yourself at the doctor's office.

"The important thing is to talk to your doctor, and if your doctor isn't taking either your symptoms or desire to get screened seriously, find another doctor, preferably a gastroenterologist," Couric said.

2 scientific breakthroughs could help prevent colon cancer

Major scientific breakthroughs in diagnostic blood tests and innovations driven by artificial intelligence could prevent colon cancer and make it more treatable than ever, Couric said.

"I'm excited to see the capabilities that AI will have on new treatments and screening opportunities," Couric said.

The FDA approved a first-of-its-kind blood test for colon cancer screening in 2024. It works by detecting warning signs in the blood, such as DNA shed by tumors, although it's not a substitute for other screening such as colonoscopies.

AI is already being used to further colon cancer research. It can organize datasets so scientists can better understand the difference between healthy and diseased cells, leading to breakthroughs like the "gut atlas," a map of 1.6 million cells that make up the most comprehensive look at the human digestive system to date.

The technology could eventually make screenings more accurate by helping doctors spot polyps and other abnormal growths, although more refinements are needed to reduce AI-related false alarms.

• Ultra-processed foods are often marketed with misleading claims to seem healthier, a researcher says.
• Labels like 'low fat' and 'low calorie' can be a red flag that foods are full of additives.
• Being skeptical of health claims can help you get the most of out grocery shopping for a nutritious diet.

Grocery shopping can be a minefield of faux health foods that are biting into your budget and damaging your long-term health.

That's why, when Dr. Tim Spector is walking down the food aisle, he keeps his eyes peeled for red flags — things that sound healthy, but are quite the opposite.

Spector, a medical doctor and professor of epidemiology at King's College London, co-founded the science and nutrition company ZOE, which gives members nutrition advice, among other features.

He took a particular interest in nutrition research after he had a mini-stroke in 2011. He was just 53, and felt pretty healthy, but he began to take a closer look at his eating habits.

"I said, 'I need to change what I'm doing and do massive research to work out what I should be eating, what I should be doing, health-wise to keep me living longer,'" Spector, co-founder of the science and nutrition company ZOE, told Business Insider.

Now, he has made it his mission to help consumers spot "health halos" — misleading advertising on ultra-processed foods making them seem nutritious when they can be detrimental to your health.

Here are four red flags he looks for that can help you spot dubious claims at the grocery store, and how to stock your kitchen with healthier options instead.

1. 'Low-fat' foods have extra additives

Spector said he steers clear of anything labeled "low-fat," which includes margarine and butter substitutes, yogurts, and other dairy.

Low-fat products have a long history in the fad diet industry. The craze really took off in the 1980s because of concerns that saturated fat could worsen heart health and cholesterol levels. Companies selling low-fat substitutes for popular foods also cashed in on the myth that eating more dietary fat causes you to gain more body fat.

The problem is, trimming the fat from a food has a major catch. Since fat brings flavor and texture to food, swapping it out means adding sugars, starches, and binding agent so the final product is still appetizing.

That's good news for manufacturers, who saved money by using lower-cost additives, but bad news for consumers, who are now missing out on some heart-healthy fats that naturally occur in foods, and eating more preservatives instead.

The extra refined carbohydrates that are added in place of fats can wreck havoc on our health, raising the risk of heart disease and messing with metabolic health.

"Big food loved it because it was cheaper to have these sort of fat replacements than actually paying for the natural fat got in our diets," Spector said.

If you're trying to watch your cholesterol levels, Spector said skip the low-fat products. Instead, he avoids cooking oils and spreads, and uses extra virgin olive oil, which offers a dose of beneficial fatty acids and polyphenols.

He also buys full-fat butter, since emerging research suggests that the fat in dairy products can have a protective effect, potentially reducing risk of illness and promoting healthy aging.

2. 'Low-calorie' can be misleading

Labeling products as low in calories is a marketing ploy which often signals a food is ultra-processed and loaded with additives, Spector said.

"It means they've tampered with it. They have probably taken out some sugar and added artificial sweeteners to disguise how much sugar is in there," Spector said.

Many low- or no-calorie artificial sweeteners are no better for your health than sugar, according to a 2022 study.

For example, consuming aspartame, the no-calorie sweetener used in many diet sodas, carries some of the same health risks as excess sugar, like higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. It may also cause you to eat more as the sweet taste prompts your body to expect a boost of energy that never arrives.

Spector has another gripe with the low-calorie label: calories alone aren't a good indication of whether a food is nutritious, he said. It's more important to focus on the nutrients in your food than one siloed metric. Plus, research suggests calorie labels can be off by as much as 20%.

"Calories are completely the wrong way to summarize a food. They're not accurate. They're not useful, as most people cannot follow a calorie-restricted diet or calorie count reliably," Spector said.

3. 'Added vitamins' tend to be low-quality nutrition

It's pretty common for food packages to declare "added vitamins" or "added minerals" — from cereals to juice to milk.

However, while getting an extra boost of vitamins and minerals in your food may seem like a bonus, it's another sneaky way to disguise processing, Spector said.

Ultra-processed foods are designed to have a long shelf life, with a hyper-palatable flavor and texture, tempting you to keep eating. That manufacturing process strips out naturally-occurring nutrients like vitamins and minerals. By law, manufacturers have to add them back in, Spector explained.

That's why Spector is not so impressed by foods advertised as "fortified" with vitamins and minerals.

Vitamins and minerals are most effective in the form of whole foods, since they're in larger quantities and in higher-quality form, easier for the body to absorb and use than the manufactured, isolated version.

4. Be wary of claims like 'immune-boosting' or 'gut healthy'

Food manufacturers will often hype up the appeal of their products by adding very small amounts of ingredients with promising nutritional benefits, even if the doses aren't large enough to do much good. In the supplement world, this is called "fairy dusting."

"You can claim immune health by adding a microscopic amount of zinc into it; gut health with a bit of manganese… all sorts of nonsense," Spector said

Misleading health claims also includes labels that advertise added fiber, since you may not be getting an effective dose.

"Big food doesn't make money out of fiber. There's no big fiber lobby. It's just quiet cheap, and it's healthy. And of course, it fills you up. So you eat less of it," Spector said.

The easiest way to navigate food labels is to check the actual quantities of ingredients and serving sizes, to make sure you're getting what you want, Spector said. Not all processed foods are created equal, since certain types of processing can retain the nutrients you want.

Spector's approach to getting enough nutrients is to aim to eat 30 different plants per week, including things like nuts, seeds, spices, coffee, and even high-quality chocolate.

• A scientist tested out 15 buzzy longevity hacks to see if they made him feel healthier.
• John Tregoning tried things including calorie restriction, microbiome testing, and exercising more.
• He kept up with exercising more, drinking less, and eating more vegetarian meals instead of red meat.

As he neared his 47th birthday, John Tregoning could no longer ignore the signs that he wasn't a spring chicken anymore.

He had to hold his phone further and further away from his face to read it, and the pile of hair he left behind at the hairdresser was markedly more gray than blond.

"The period of denial was finally over," Tregoning, a professor of vaccine immunology at Imperial College London who has been a clinical researcher for 25 years, told Business Insider.

Entering middle age, he began to wrestle with the idea of his own mortality, and whether there was anything he could do to delay it, or at least make his journey more pleasant.

So he did what comes naturally to him when faced with a problem — a series of experiments.

Tregoning researched the latest buzzy longevity hacks. Although it would be almost impossible to pinpoint whether they were extending his life, he wanted to see which were the most sustainable and made him feel healthier.

He ruled out anything that didn't have at least a large clinical trial supporting its efficacy, and focused on interventions that would prevent diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. These conditions are responsible for 74% of all deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

He landed on a list of around 15 lifestyle changes, medical tests, and treatments that are said to boost longevity.

They were: gene sequencing, whole-body blood analysis, an ECG, more exercise, cold water swimming, eating beetroot, eating less salt, dry January and alcohol replacement, eating less red meat and more vegetables, brain training apps, sleeping more, a calorie restriction diet, eating more fiber, microbiome sequencing, and drinking more water.

He documented his experience in his book "Live Forever? A Curious Scientist's Guide to Wellness, Ageing and Death."

He said his approach of experimenting on himself "is definitely more illustrative than scientific" because his findings are anecdotal. But he deemed anything that he continued to do after the experiment was over long-term a success.

Tregoning shared the three longevity treatments he stuck with.

Exercising more

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As the heart is a muscle, working it through exercise makes it stronger and better able to pump blood around the body more efficiently, Tregoning wrote. So he decided to be more active in the name of heart health.

Tregoning said that a year after setting himself the goal of exercising more, he still's at it. He likes to fit exercise into his commute, so he'll often get off the train a stop or two early and run the rest of the way. He also goes on runs with his daughter.

Exercise also provides many health benefits that indirectly help the heart, he wrote, such as lowering body weight, reducing cortisol levels, and burning glucose. It also reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, stroke, and cancer.

Drinking less alcohol

Alcohol can damage the body in many ways, including causing certain types of cancer, contributing to heart failure and strokes by increasing blood pressure, and liver disease, Tregoning wrote.

Tregoning attempted Dry January but didn't make it to the end. He has, however, continued to be more conscious of how much he drinks and records "no drink days" on an app, which he finds motivating.

Eating more vegetarian meals (and less red meat)

Eating a diet high in red and processed meat has been linked to a higher risk of colon cancer while piling your plate up with high-fiber foods such as leafy greens and seeds appears to lower the risk.

Eating meat can, in part, be counterbalanced with fiber, Tregoning wrote, by promoting smooth digestion and regular poops, which means the meat is in contact with the colon for less time.

Instead of cutting red meat out altogether, which didn't feel realistic, Tregoning decided to add more vegetarian meals to his weekly repertoire. His favorites are three-bean chili, vegetable curry, and tomato pasta.

He said that he still eats two vegetarian meals a week a year after ending the experiment.

• Jens Walter researches the gut health of people in industrialized and non-industrialized countries.
• His team's research suggests people in non-industrialized countries, like Papua New Guinea, have better gut health.
• He shared high-fiber recipes from the "non-industrialized microbiome restore," or NiMe, diet.

When Jens Walter first watched a documentary about Papua New Guinea as a child, he could never have predicted it would spark an obsession with the tropical Pacific island, which would not only shape his career but what he eats.

But 15 years later, his diet (heavy on plants, light on processed foods) is based on his research into what rural Papua New Guineans eat, which he believes could help improve the gut health of people in the West.

Walter, a professor of microbiology at University College Cork, Ireland, who specializes in gut health, told Business Insider that he first started studying Papua New Guinea in 2015, after he asked researchers in the country for poop samples the non-industrialized society. The majority of people (87%) in Papua New Guinea live in rural communities and rely on semi-subsistence farming, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

By studying the poop, Walter wanted to understand whether industrialization affected the type and number of microbes in people's guts. Research suggests a diverse gut microbiome, the trillions of microorganisms that inhabit the digestive system, is linked to a range of health benefits, from better digestion to a stronger immune system.

He found that Papua New Guineans' gut microbiomes, — and, ergo, poop — were very different from those of people in industrialized, Western countries.

In the following decade, Walter started eating more vegetables, fewer processed foods, and less meat.

He now follows the "non-industrialized microbiome restore," or NiMe, diet which he and other researchers devised for a study published earlier this year in the journal Cell.

The NiMe diet is linked to a lower risk of chronic diseases

For three weeks, 30 healthy participants followed an "ancestral" diet comparable to what people eat in Papua New Guinea to see if their Western gut microbiomes could be restored to a pre-industrliazed state.

The study included meals that were plant-based, low in ultra-processed foods, low in dairy and wheat products, and contained, on average, double the amount of fiber the participants typically ate.

Staple foods in Papua New Guinea include sago, a starch extracted from the stems of palm plants, high-protein karuka nuts, sweet potatoes, cassava, breadfruit, and coconuts. However, the researchers created NiMe to combine the principles of a Papua New Guinean diet with foods accessible in the West.

The participants' gut microbiomes weren't restored to a fully pre-industrialized state, but the diet did improve their gut health. They had fewer signs of chronic disease risk found in the gut, including fewer microbes that cause inflammation, a lower pH, and better maintenance of the mucus lining, which can also cause inflammation if broken down. They also had lower cholesterol levels and increased insulin sensitivity.

The effects were similar to those seen in followers of plant-based and Mediterranean diets, the researchers wrote, suggesting that the abundance of whole foods and fiber in all three is linked to better overall health.

"I follow the diet with very few exceptions," he said. "But I sometimes cheat a little bit on the no dairy rule, because I like cheese a lot."

Here are four of the team's recipes.

Breakfast hash

For this breakfast hash recipe, season chopped Jerusalem artichokes, russet potatoes, and onion with salt, black pepper, and olive oil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Making this dish ahead of time and reheating it throughout the week could provide extra health benefits, the researchers said.

Reheating starchy foods, including potatoes, converts some of that starch into resistant fiber, which can reduce blood sugar spikes and has been linked to the prevention of type two diabetes and obesity, BI previously reported.

Salmon dinner

To make a gut-healthy salmon dinner, the researchers suggested serving a salmon fillet, baked with maple syrup, soy sauce, minced garlic, and black pepper, with brown rice.

They paired these with Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes roasted in olive oil, salt, black pepper, and minced garlic.

Salmon is a great source of omega-3, which has been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease and better joint health.

Rice pudding

For breakfast or dessert, the researchers developed a rice pudding recipe. To make it, boil cooked brown rice, non-dairy milk (as the diet is low in dairy), cinnamon, vanilla, raisins, and honey until the mixture has thickened. Take off the stove and stir in some walnuts.

Different plant-based milks have varying nutritional benefits, but dietitians have previously told Business Insider that it's best to choose a milk alternative that is fortified with vitamins and minerals.

Quinoa tabbouleh

This quinoa tabbouleh is a great source of plant-based protein, the researchers said. Although plant-based sources of protein contain less of the macronutrient than meat, they contain much more fiber, which is a key part of the NiMe diet.

To make it, combine cooked quinoa and cannellini beans with chopped cucumber, red bell pepper, and green onions. Season with dried parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and black pepper.

• A top nutrition scientist keeps his kitchen stocked with nutritious foods.
• These include frozen spinach, lentil pasta, kimchi, and miso paste.
• Having healthy foods on hand makes it easier to whip up gut-friendly meals.

Tim Spector, a top nutrition scientist, tries to eat 30 different plants a week for his gut health — but they're not all fresh, as you might expect.

In his cookbook, "Food For Life," which is due to be published in the US and Canada on May 27, Spector calls jarred, tinned, and frozen foods the "unsung heroes of eating well," because they are affordable and nutritious.

So Spector not only stocks his fridge with whole foods that make healthy eating easy, but his pantry, freezer, and kitchen counters, too.

Here's what the epidemiologist at Kings College London and the cofounder of the nutrition company ZOE keeps in his kitchen.

Grains, tinned vegetables, and healthy flavorings in his pantry

Spector's cupboards always contain a variety of grains, such as buckwheat, spelt, pearl barley, and quinoa, which are great alternatives to rice and pasta, he wrote in the cookbook. But he keeps wholegrain and lentil pasta on hand because he's a "big pasta fan," he told Business Insider.

As many varieties of beans and pulses as he can find are also on his grocery list, because they are affordable sources of protein, fiber, and nutrients.

Spector's recipes often call for tinned and jarred vegetables, such as tomatoes, sweetcorn, olives, and artichokes, which tend to be cheaper than fresh vegetables and have a longer shelf life. But watch out for additives, Spector said, such as salt or preservatives.

Spector also keeps miso and nutritional yeast to hand as alternatives to bouillon cubes, which tend to be highly processed. He previously told BI that he tries to avoid ultra-processed foods to care for his gut health.

Vegetables, fruits, and fermented foods in his fridge

There are always plenty of vegetables, fruits, and leafy greens in Spector's fridge, as well as a small amount of "traditional cheese," he wrote, which is fermented. More research is needed to confirm the health benefits of fermented foods, but a 2022 review of studies linked them to a lower risk of type two diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Fermentation "experiments," such as homemade kefir and pickles, can also be found in his fridge, as well as miso and gochujang: two flavorful fermented pastes that add flavor to dishes.

Spector recommends stocking the "four Ks" in your fridge — kefir, kombucha, kimchi, and 'kraut (sauerkraut). He previously shared three tips for eating more fermented foods with BI.

Berries, soup, and soffritto in his freezer

There are yet more vegetables in Spector's freezer, including frozen cubes of spinach, peas, and mushrooms.

He also has a bag of soffritto — which is chopped vegetables (usually onions, carrots, and celery) that can be used as a base for many dishes — and frozen herbs to flavor his home-cooked meals.

Spector keeps mixed berries and fruit in the freezer too, which he uses in his go-to healthy breakfast of yogurt with toppings.

"I always try to make sure I have a nice, thick, Italian-style vegetable soup in the freezer that I can simply defrost and reheat when I'm pressed for time," he wrote. For example, the Minestrone soup recipe in his book.

Fruit and nuts on the counter

Spector keeps a fruit bowl where he can see it on his kitchen counter, as well as containers of mixed nuts. That way, if he's tempted to snack, he's more likely to go for the healthy ones that he can see.

He previously told BI about his "diversity jar" that is full of different nuts and seeds, which he keeps on hand to sprinkle on his meals and help him eat 30 plants a week.

• Valerie Taylor studies the link between our gut health and mental health.
• She said gut microbes, the brain, and central nervous system can influence one another via the "gut-brain axis."
• Her tips for caring for gut health include eating a nutritious diet that suits you best.

A professor of psychiatry shared three ways caring for our gut health could improve our mental health.

Valerie Taylor, who is based at the University of Calgary, studies the relationship between the gut microbiome — the trillions of microorganisms in the digestive system — and the brain.

The gut microbiome is a rapidly growing area of research, with more than 40 times as much funding for related research in the US in 2016 as there was in 2007.

Research suggests that gut microbes, the brain, and the central nervous system can influence each other via what is known as the "gut-brain axis," including by regulating the production of certain chemicals.

For example, when people get stressed, their bodies release more of the "stress hormone" cortisol, which can make the gastrointestinal system digest food faster, leading to diarrhea or an upset stomach, Taylor said.

Although the research is promising, Taylor doesn't think that addressing gut health can "cure" mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.

But a greater understanding of the gut-brain axis could encourage people to make lifestyle changes that could improve their gut and mental health, Taylor said. Experts are increasingly questioning the idea that depression, for instance, is solely caused by low serotonin levels, instead believing it is linked to a combination of biological, genetic, environmental, and psychosocial factors — including the gut-brain axis.

Taylor said, based on her research, the following gut-friendly lifestyle changes could help those with mental health issues to maintain a more stable mood after their symptoms improve — with therapy, drugs, or time — and could prevent particularly serious symptoms in people who are predisposed to them.

1) Eat a nutritious diet that fits with your lifestyle

Certain diets and foods can make your brain and your gut bacteria "very happy," Taylor said.

These include the Mediterranean diet and vegetarianism, and fermented foods such as kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickles preserved using natural processes instead of vinegar.

Look for the words "naturally fermented" on labels and bubbles in the liquid when you open the jar, which signal that there are live organisms inside, Taylor said.

"At the end of the day, as long as you're eating healthy and getting the right balance of essential nutrients, there's no one magic diet, just as long as it's a reasonable diet that people feel well when they eat it," she said.

A 2020 review of studies published in the journal BMJ suggested an anti-inflammatory diet, meaning high in fiber, polyphenols, and unsaturated fatty acids, could help to reduce depressive symptoms, but that doesn't mean that a poor diet causes depression.

BI has previously reported on how to start eating healthily.

2) Consider taking probiotics

After someone's mental health improves, emerging evidence suggests probiotics could help to maintain gut flora and prevent further symptoms, Taylor said — although it's hard to measure how well a treatment prevents something.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, while probiotics have shown promise for treating gastrointestinal issues, we still don't know which specific ones are helpful, how much to take, or who might benefit from them.

But Taylor said she knows anecdotally of people feeling better and having more stable moods with probiotic use. "At the end of the day, there's probably no harm," she said. "And if it helps, it helps."

3) Avoid ultra-processed foods

Taylor said that trying to avoid ultra-processed foods might be helpful for people who are predisposed to conditions such as depression and anxiety.

A 2022 meta-analysis published in the journal Nutrients found that across 17 studies involving 385,541 participants, those who ate more UPFs were at a higher risk of experiencing depressive symptoms.

The researchers suggested that this could be because additives found in UPFs, such as emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners, could disrupt how the body makes and releases chemicals that regulate mood, including dopamine and serotonin.

They also suggested that UPFs could change the way the gut microbiome works and cause inflammation, which has also been linked to mental health issues.

Bonus tip: Don't take antibiotics unless a doctor prescribes them

You should take antibiotics when prescribed by a doctor, Taylor said.

But it's helpful to be aware that they can strip the gut of essential bacteria. When there is "nothing else in your system that replicates what those particular bacteria do," it can cause gastrointestinal issues, Taylor said.

"We've become a society that really likes to take antibiotics for everything," Taylor said. Antibiotics can help treat bacterial infections, but sometimes people take them when an infection could go away on its own.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages healthcare providers to use antibiotics sparingly to prevent antimicrobial resistance and an unbalanced gut microbiome.

• Fiber is crucial for gut health, but most Americans don't eat enough.
• Those who follow the Mediterranean Diet, packed with veggies and beans, eat twice as much fiber.
• Christina Soteriou's tips for adding fiber to dishes include using blended beans.

Eating a diet packed with fiber is second nature to Christina Soteriou, a plant-based chef who spent most of her childhood in Cyprus.

Fiber, found in plants such as vegetables, beans, and nuts, is crucial for our digestive health. It feeds "good" bacteria in the gut microbiome, or the microbes that line the colon. A diverse gut microbiome is associated with better overall health and a lower risk of chronic diseases, including colon cancer.

In the US, where the Western diet is common, over 90% of women and 97% of men don't eat the recommended 14 grams of fiber per 1,000 calories each day, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans state. People who follow a Mediterranean-style diet, however, eat double the amount of fiber each day, according to a 2021 literature review published in the journal Nutrients.

Soteriou, the author of "Big Veg Energy," told Business Insider it's easy to add fiber to meals without compromising flavor, using the whole foods that are a staple of the Mediterranean diet.

Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a dietitian and the author of "How Not to Eat Ultra-Processed," said Soteriou's tips are an excellent way to consume more fiber to support digestion, gut health, and energy levels.

1) Add blended beans to sauce to make it creamier

Soteriou likes to think about what she can add to a meal versus what to restrict.

One of her favorite high-fiber additions is blended beans, as they also add a creamy flavor to a dish. "Instead of somewhere you might put cream in, you can blend beans," she told Business Insider.

She often mixes blended lima beans into pasta sauces.

"The flavors could be something like harissa and roasted red peppers, or you could just literally throw some pesto into the blender with some beans, and that makes a creamy sauce," she said.

Another favorite is fresh herbs, spinach, half a can of beans, lemon juice, and a tablespoon of tahini.

"If you love pasta, you're eating pasta, but also getting all of these yummy nutrients and protein and fiber," she said.

2) Sprinkle mixed seeds on meals

Seeds are high in both fiber and healthy fats and contain plant-based protein. They're also easy to add to any meal or snack, Soteriou said.

She buys packs of mixed seeds to help her reach her goal of eating 30 plants a week, a number experts believe helps promote gut microbiome diversity.

"If you have a seed mix that has 10 different seeds in it, that's 10 points already," she said.

She sprinkles them over oats, salads, and roasted vegetables.

3) Try different whole grains

Whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, and bulgar wheat are an essential part of the Mediterranean diet, and they tend to be high in fiber.

To eat more fiber, Soteriou changes the whole grains she uses and tries new ones.

"If you think, 'Okay, I've had rice, what other grain can I eat with this thing?' There's so many different grains," she said. "Experiment with different grains where you can."

You could try using pearl barely instead of Arborio rice in a risotto, for example, or millet instead of couscous, she said.

4) Top dishes with fermented foods

Dashing some fermented vegetables, such as pickles, kimchi, and sauerkraut, into a grain bowl or on top of a salad is quick and easy and will up the fiber content and flavor profile, Soteriou said.

These foods also introduce live bacteria into the gut, which research suggests boosts gut health.

Fermented foods tend to last for ages, so you don't have to worry about them going bad like fresh vegetables, she said.

• Jonathan Wolf was a tech exec who ate a lot of ultra-processed foods before cofounding a nutrition company.
• Wolf improved his diet by making small changes over a few years.
• They include eating fewer UPFs and switching from milk to dark chocolate.

When Jonathan Wolf co-founded the nutrition company ZOE eight years ago, his diet was "not great." He was eating lots of ultra-processed food and tons of sugar, he told Business Insider.

But he began making incremental changes to his diet in 2017, after he met ZOE co-founder Tim Spector, an epidemiologist who studies nutrition and gut health at Kings College London.

Wolf was previously the chief product officer at an advertising tech company. Spector made him aware of how he could improve his diet, including by caring for his gut microbiome, or the microorganisms that live in the gastrointestinal tract. Evidence suggests that a diverse gut microbiome, partly achieved by eating fibrous and fermented foods, is linked to better physical and mental health.

Here are the positive steps Wolf took.

1) Eating fewer ultra-processed foods

In the last 18 months, Wolf has become more aware of and reluctant to eat ultra-processed foods, he said. UPFs are made using industrial processes, and can contain additives such as preservatives and emulsifiers. They were linked to 32 health problems in a recent study, but the authors said further research is needed to confirm there is a link between UPFs and poor health.

Wolf tries to eat fewer UPFs, including by avoiding artificial sweeteners or foods at restaurants that are likely to be ultra-processed.

"We're eating these foods that are made with ingredients that have never been available in the kitchen, that our bodies have never been exposed to before. Whereas our grandparents were eating zero ultra-processed foods," he said. "I suspect it's going to turn out to be a huge part of the health crisis that we're having."

It can be hard to cut out UPFs entirely because they are ubiquitous, particularly in Western countries. Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a dietitian, previously told BI how they can be incorporated into a healthy diet.

2) Shifting focus from excluding to adding foods to his diet

Wolf had stopped eating foods that he was led to believe weren't healthy, such as gluten.

But research on the gut microbiome published in 2021, which ZOE was involved with, showed that a more diverse gut microbiome was associated with better markers of health, including lower blood pressure and a lower chance of having a fatty liver.

Participants who ate a variety of healthy, plant-based foods had more diverse gut microbiomes, the study found.

Wolf realized he needed to eat more whole foods to increase the diversity of his diet and, therefore, his gut microbiome.

3) Working up to eating 30 plants a week

Spector was part of a 2018 American Gut Project study into how many types of dietary fiber, found in plants, are needed for a diverse microbiome. Fruits and vegetables were factored in, as well as other plant-based items such as spices.

It concluded that 30 plants a week appeared to provide enough, which Wolf tries to aim for.

"I did not get there in one step. In fact, it took me years to increase to 30. But I did it steadily, and I think the biggest thing that helped was the realization that tinned food and frozen food can actually be really healthy," he said.

He tries to keep nutritious foods on hand, such as frozen spinach, canned beans, and nuts, so he can easily throw together a meal that contains at least a few plants.

4) Gradually switching from milk to dark chocolate

Wolf was pleased to discover that he could still eat chocolate every day as part of a healthy diet.

"If you're eating a really high-quality dark chocolate, there's a lot of science that says that's actually good for you," he said, partly because it counts as one of your 30 plants a week, contains fiber, and is fermented.

He slowly transitioned from eating milk chocolate, to 50% cocoa, to 60%, and all the way up to 90%. Dark chocolate contains antioxidants, fiber, and polyphenols.

5) Eating fewer foods that spike his blood sugar

Wolf cut down on foods that spiked his blood sugar particularly high, specifically white bread and tea with lots of sugar.

Blood sugar spikes are a safe and necessary part of digesting food. But having consistently high or low blood sugar can lead to a higher risk of chronic diseases, Sarah Berry, professor of nutritional sciences at King's College London, previously told BI.

Wolf replaced white bread with rye bread because it didn't spike his blood sugar as high, and gradually reduced the amount of sugar in his tea.

ZOE sells continuous glucose monitors, which were originally developed for people with diabetes to track their blood sugar levels. However, experts are split on whether they are useful for non-diabetics, and fear they may lead to people avoiding certain foods unnecessarily.

• Eating a variety of fiber-filled foods is linked to better gut health.
• Christina Soteriou, a Cypriot chef, uses a wide range of plants in her recipes for gut health.
• She shared three plant-based recipes that will help you eat more veggies, fruits, and legumes.

For Christina Soteriou, a plant-based chef who grew up in the Mediterranean, healthy eating habits like loading her plate with leafy greens and lentils are second nature. But as she's learned more about gut health in recent years, getting a variety of plants into her diet has become a priority too.

Before moving to London at the age of 18, Soteriou spent most of her childhood in Cyprus, where she became accustomed to following the Mediterranean diet, recently ranked the healthiest way to eat for the eighth year in a row by the US News and World Report.

The eating plan emphasizes a whole-food diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and healthy fats such as extra virgin olive oil and fish, which leaves less space for ultra-processed foods, refined sugar, and red meat.

Research has linked the Mediterranean diet to many health benefits, including a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and maybe even a longer life. Emerging evidence has also found a link between the diet and gut health.

The gut microbiome, the trillions of microbes that live in the gut lining and are thought to impact our overall health in myriad ways, feeds on the dietary fiber we get from eating plants. Experts believe that the more plants we eat, the healthier our microbiome is.

"I've really tried to focus on gut health and varying my nutrients," Soteriou told Business Insider.

She shared three high-fiber recipes from her new cookbook "Big Veg Energy."

Whipped pea, artichoke, and Za'atar with new potatoes

Serves two to four

30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 700g new potatoes
• 150g asparagus spears
• 100g Jarred marinated artichokes
• 35g arugula
• 100g frozen peas, defrosted
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 2 tablespoons Za'atar
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (optional)
• 8—12 mint leaves
• 100g vegan feta or tofu
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the whipped pea and artichoke purée:

• 300g frozen peas, defrosted
• 100g Jarred marinated artichokes, plus 2—3 tablespoons of their oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Method:

1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the potatoes and boil for around 15 minutes or until just cooked through. Take care not to overcook; they should be firm but just soft enough to poke your fork through without resistance.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, add the asparagus spears to the saucepan for two minutes, then remove them with tongs and place them in a colander. Rinse under cold running water to stop them cooking, then set aside.

3. When the potatoes are done, drain them and set them aside in a colander to steam dry.

4. To make the whipped pea and artichoke purée, blend all the ingredients in a small food processor (which will give you a chunky texture) or a blender (for a smooth texture). Season to taste with plenty of salt and pepper.

5. Cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Cut the asparagus spears into 3cm pieces. Thinly slice the artichoke pieces.

6. Combine the potatoes, asparagus, artichokes, rocket, and peas in a large bowl. Add the Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and olive oil. Toss to combine, and season well to taste.

7. To assemble, spoon plenty of the whipped pea mixture onto a plate. Top with the potatoes and vegetables, then drizzle with a little more olive oil, and sprinkle over the za'atar and sesame seeds, if using. Tear over the mint leaves and crumble on the vegan feta or tofu, then serve.

Lemony sunflower seed dip

Serves two

30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 200g sunflower seeds, plus extra to serve
• 200g plain vegan yoghurt
• 80ml lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 teaspoons nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

For the toppings:

• Olive oil
• Pinch of sumac or paprika
• 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon mint leaves, finely chopped

Method:

1. Tip the sunflower seeds into a bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover. Leave to soak for at least 25 minutes (soak for at least two hours or overnight if your blender is not a high-speed one).

2. Drain the soaked sunflower seeds and add them to a blender, along with the yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, nutritional yeast, and salt. Blend until smooth. You may have to keep scraping down the sides of the blender to make sure everything is combined. Add a little more yogurt if your blender still can't get it smooth.

3. Taste and season again if needed, adding more lemon or nutritional yeast according to your preference.

4. To serve, spread the dip over a shallow bowl or plate and pour over a generous drizzle of olive oil. Top with a sprinkle of sumac, followed by the sunflower seeds and mint.

5. This will keep for three to four days in a sealed container in the fridge.

Crushed spiced squash with hazelnut gremolata

Serves two as a min, four as a side

45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 small butternut squash (about 750g)
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1⁄2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 400g can of chickpeas
• 200g giant couscous (or use brown rice or another whole grain)
• 100g plain vegan yogurt (or soy or oat)
• 1⁄4 tablespoon chile flakes (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the hazelnut gremolata:

• 30g hazelnuts
• 1 big garlic clove
• 40g flat-leaf parsley
• 1 lemon
• 75ml olive oil

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2. Peel and halve the squash, and remove the seeds. Cut the flesh into 2cm cubes and spread over a large roasting tray.

3. Combine the fennel, coriander, and cumin seeds in a mortar with the ginger and paprika, and grind into a rough crumb. Sprinkle this over the squash, then add two tablespoons of the olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper and toss to combine.

4. Roast the squash for 15 minutes, then drain the chickpeas and add them to the roasting tray, along with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Mix well and roast for another 15 minutes until the squash is soft and starting to char in places.

5. Meanwhile, cook your couscous in a saucepan of boiling water for eight minutes. Drain and rinse quickly to prevent it sticking.

6. To make the gremolata, lightly toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan. Mince the garlic and roughly chop the parsley. Zest and juice the lemon, reserving the zest for later.

   Add the lemon juice, garlic, parsley, hazelnuts and 30ml of the olive oil to a small food processor and blitz until you have a chunky paste. Pour this into a bowl and add the remaining 45ml of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. The mixture should be bright, zesty, and crunchy.

7. Once the squash is cooked, use a fork or a potato masher to mash about half to three-quarters of the squash and chickpeas in the pan you cooked them in.

8. Pour the couscous into a large bowl or platter and mix through the crushed squash mixture. Add the gremolata and a few dollops of yogurt. Finish with the reserved lemon zest and a sprinkle of chile flakes, and a final drizzle of olive oil, if you like.

• Snacking can be an easy way to eat more fiber and boost gut health.
• Fiber helps fuel the "good" microbes in the gut, which influence overall health.
• Emily Leeming, a gut health scientist and chef, snacks on dark chocolate and fruit.

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

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.

Nuts

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.

Crudités and dip

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.

Dark chocolate

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.

• Fiber is essential for a healthy gut, and boosts your natural energy levels.
• Federica Amati is the head nutritionist for nutrition app ZOE.
• Amati shared her favorites gut health recipes with probiotics and omega-3 fatty acids.

Eating more gut-healthy foods like beans and nuts not only nurtures your digestive system, it can help you ditch the afternoon slump.

"We know a high fiber diet helps with energy levels," Federica Amati, medical scientist and head nutritionist at the nutrition app ZOE, told Business Insider.

If you often feel a drowsiness or brain fog after eating, you may not be getting the right balance of nutrients like fiber, probiotics, and healthy fats.

For a lasting boost, Amati recommends loading up on complex carbs like beans and veggies, fermented foods, and healthy fats, and swapping other drinks for alcohol, which can be hard on the gut.

Here are her favorite ways to eat for better gut health.

Make crispy potatoes healthier with olive oil and chickpea flour

Potatoes are a starchy staple to round out a meal, but instead of reaching for fries or chips, trying roasting potatoes in the oven for a healthier choice.

Amati makes her roasted potatoes with heart-healthy olive oil and coats them in chickpea flour for extra fiber while making them crispy.

"You're adding a layer of better fat, the taste is delicious, but it's just slightly more nutritious," she said.

Eat more beans

Beans have been called a longevity superfood because they're a good source of fiber as well as protein for healthy, filling side dishes, soups and stews.

In fact, this may soon be a federal recommendation. A recent report from USDA advisors said new dietary guidelines should encourage Americans to eat more beans to reduce the risk of chronic disease.

Amati said she likes to make a side of homemade Boston baked beans for dinner gatherings. Ingredients like apple cider vinegar bring tangy, savory notes to a pot of beans along with a little bit of probiotics — good bacteria that support healthy digestion.

Try fish with olive oil, veggies, and fresh herbs for a high-protein meal

For dinner, Amati said fish is a good protein source that also provides healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids, which support gut health.

She said she makes fish drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with a handful of fresh parsley, a generous portion of lemon juice, and a sprinkle of lemon zest.

This approach is in line with the Mediterranean diet which has been ranked one of the healthiest for the gut and for overall wellness.

Fresh, zesty ingredients like citrus, rosemary, parsley, garlic, and other seasonings can support your metabolism by making you more likely to slow down and appreciate your food and avoid overeating.

"Herbs and spices can be quite revitalizing," Amati said. "You're less likely to just continue to eat mindlessly because it helps you to connect with the food more when it's a good, varied flavor experience."

For fiber at dinner, fill a big portion of your plate with produce. One of Amati's go-to veggie recipes in the winter is cauliflower with a cheese sauce made using milk, Parmesan and chickpea flour, instead of a store-bought sauce which is an ultra-processed food.

"It doesn't have to be high lift, but it reduces the amount of additives that I use," she said.

Sip on sparkling water or kombucha to cut back on alcohol

Drinking to wind down in the evening can be tempting, but there's growing evidence that alcohol can derail gut health and may increase the risk of cancer. The safest approach is to practice drinking in moderation (if at all), such having a glass of wine with dinner.

Amati said refreshing alcohol-free drinks can make it easier to cut back, such as sparkling water flavored with fruit or cucumber.

Kombucha is another healthy alternative with some probiotic benefits — Amati recommends looking for low-sugar varieties.

Snack on olives, nuts, and fermented foods

Between meals, Amati said she often has olives and nuts, both a good source of healthy fats and some fiber.

You don't have to completely give up on your favorite snacks like chips, but mixing in nutritious snacks can help you enjoy them in moderation and improve your gut health at the same time.

"It's more flavor, which is nice, and it means that you have an option to add some foods to your plate that are actually really great for you," Amati said.

Adding in fermented foods like kimchi or sauerkraut to a snack plate or cheese board offer more flavorful choices as well as probiotics for a healthy gut, she said.

Don't restrict your diet — add more gut-healthy foods instead

Amati's overall approach to healthier eating focuses on positive nutrition, or eating more nutrient-dense foods instead of restricting.

"It's much more about the food you do eat than the food that you avoid," Amati said.

Including more gut-friendly foods like beans to your diet can help you manage your appetite and reduce the amount of room on your plate for less nutritious options like processed foods.

As you work to include more fiber and probiotics in your diet, it's also helpful to be patient and make slow, sustainable changes over time instead of trying to overhaul your diet all at once.

"One of the biggest takeaways is consistency over perfection," Amati said.

• Tim Spector, a top nutrition scientist, said most people get enough protein but not fiber.
• He recommended people focus on increasing the amount of fiber they eat each day.
• His tips include switching meat for beans and eating different types of plant-based protein.

High-protein foods from cereal bars to pasta have taken over grocery store shelves as people try to eat more of the macronutrient. But a top nutrition scientist said fiber should be our focus.

According to the US Department of Agriculture's Dietary Guidelines for Americans for 2020 to 2025, more than half of Americans meet or exceed the minimum daily requirement for protein, which is 0.36 grams per pound of body weight.

Yet the guidelines say that more than 90% of women and 97% of men in the US don't meet the recommended intake for dietary fiber.

Tim Spector, a British epidemiologist who cofounded the nutrition company Zoe, told Business Insider that people who want to improve their diet should focus on consuming more fiber than protein. Fiber is great for gut health, can improve heart health, and can help ease constipation, among other things.

Rosa Becerra-Soberon, a registered dietitian at Top Nutrition Coaching, told BI that people should aim to have a well-balanced diet containing enough fiber and protein. Those who are particularly active and want to build or maintain lean muscle may need more protein than the amount the US government recommends, as fitness experts previously told BI.

Spector shared three tips on how to hit your protein goals while getting enough fiber.

Prioritize natural protein sources

Spector doesn't eat meat often but wrote in his cookbook, which is set to be released in the US in 2025, that he still consumes about 1 gram of protein per kilogram of his body weight per day, mostly from plants and whole foods.

While plant-based protein sources tend to contain less protein overall than meat, they contain more fiber. According to the US Department of Agriculture, 100 grams of fried tofu contains about 18 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber.

Becerra-Soberon said that if you don't consume meat, you should make sure you get all the essential amino acids by eating grains and seeds.

Swap meat for beans and lentils

Spector wrote that replacing meat with legumes is a great way to increase your fiber intake while meeting your protein needs. Legumes such as beans and lentils are protein-heavy but higher in fiber and typically better for the environment than meat.

For example, canned chickpeas contain about 8 grams of protein per 100 grams, as well as 7 grams of dietary fiber. Chicken has 22 grams of protein per 100 grams but no fiber, according to USDA data — and it tends to be more expensive than chickpeas.

The longevity researcher Dan Buettner previously shared dietitian-approved legume recipes with BI.

Variety is key

Because plants generally contain less protein than meat, Spector wrote that he incorporates "a good mix" of plant-based protein sources into his diet throughout the day. This is because different whole foods contain different amounts of protein, so you might have to eat a "variety of nutrient-dense whole foods to take care of your protein needs," he wrote.

For example, Spector's go-to breakfast of yogurt, kefir, berries, nuts, and seeds contains about 30 grams of protein from multiple sources. He may also have butter beans with quinoa for lunch and a portion of tofu for dinner, he said.

Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, Spector's colleague at Zoe, previously shared with BI his favorite bean-chili recipe, which he eats for lunch every day. The recipe includes beans and farro, both of which are good sources of protein and fiber.

Becerra-Soberon also recommended making little additions of protein to meals throughout the day, such as by sprinkling on hemp seeds, which contain 31 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber per 100 grams, or eating almond butter as a snack, which contains about 21 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber per 100 grams.

• Evidence suggests that fermented foods such as kimchi can boost gut health.
• A diverse microbiome is linked to overall good health.
• The gut-health researcher Emily Leeming uses tricks such as adding kefir to salad dressing.

Fermented foods such as kimchi and pickles are great for supporting the gut microbiome, the trillions of microbes that help shape our health.

Made when live bacteria or yeast are added to ingredients such as tea, milk, or vegetables, fermented foods contain probiotics, the "good" bacteria in our guts. The microbiome contains "good" and "bad" bacteria. Eating a diverse range of fiber-packed plant foods feeds the good ones, while ferments are thought to introduce new "good" elements to the microbiome.

Emily Leeming, a microbiome researcher at King's College London, dietitian, and former private chef, told Business Insider that she tries to eat fermented foods every day.

Emerging research suggests that fermented foods increase the diversity of the gut microbiome, a key marker of a healthy gut, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, according to a 2022 review in the journal Nutrients.

"We are really understanding more and more that this collection of a hundred trillion microorganisms are influencing every aspect of our health," said Leeming, the author of "Genius Gut: The Life-Changing Science of Eating for your Second Brain." And what we eat has a major influence.

Leeming shared four ways she adds fermented foods to her daily diet.

Using kefir instead of yogurt

Kefir is a fermented milk drink similar to yogurt but thinner in consistency and with more live microbes.

For this reason, Leeming tends to opt for kefir anytime a recipe calls for yogurt. She might put it in a smoothie or in overnight oats, for example.

"Kefir I find really easy to incorporate in different things," she said.

Keeping fermented veggies in the fridge

Leeming keeps fermented veggies such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and jars of fermented beetroot and carrots in her fridge and adds them to a dish whenever she thinks it'll enhance the flavor.

"I like to have a mix of different ones in the fridge as they last a long time and it means there's more flavourful variety rather than eating the same ones all the time," she said.

She likes to mix kimchi into rice-based dishes, for example, or sprinkle some fermented veggies on top of avocado toast or eggs.

"Nobody wants to eat kimchi on its own. You want to think how it fits into your dish," she said.

David Zilber, the former director of fermentation at the celebrated restaurant Noma, previously told BI that he always keeps pickled jalapeños, sauerkraut, and kimchi in his fridge.

Changing up salad dressings

As a chef, Leeming considers the taste of a meal to be equally as important as its nutritional value. One of her hacks for making any vegetable delicious is making a flavorful salad dressing.

For this, she always has a good quality extra-virgin olive oil in her store cupboard. EVOO is high in polyphenols, a compound responsible for the pigment in lots of plants that research suggests gut microbes break down into beneficial molecules, she said.

And to make it even more gut-friendly, she often adds kefir.

Using miso as a soup base

Miso is a paste made from fermented soybeans. Leeming suggested using it as a base for soups for "that umami, fermented kick."

Marika Mancino, a dietitian, previously told BI that miso is also a great lower-sodium swap for stock.

• Fibrous foods like beans, nuts, and seeds feed the "good" microbes in the gut.
• Most Americans are not meeting the daily recommended fiber intake.
• Emily Leeming opts for whole grains instead of white carbs and sprinkles seeds on her breakfast.

When it comes to your gut health, eating enough fiber is crucial.

Emily Leeming, a dietitian and gut microbiome researcher at King's College London, told Business Insider how to improve.

From our immune system to our emotions, a growing body of research suggests that the state of our gut health affects the whole body.

The gut microbiome, the trillions of "good" and "bad" microbes that live in the digestive lining, is heavily shaped by what we eat, said Leeming, the author of "Genius Gut: The Life-Changing Science of Eating for Your Second Brain."

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends adults eat 14g of fiber per 1,000 calories. They say more than 90% of women and 97% of men do not.

Leeming, who used to work as a private chef, takes a simple approach to meeting her daily fiber goal, while keeping her meals tasting good.

She shared four tips for easily adding more fiber to your diet.

Stock up on high-fiber foods

Leeming knows which foods are particularly high in fiber and she makes sure to add them to her shopping list.

"There are high-fiber foods that probably surprise people like dark chocolate and avocados," she said. One avocado is about 10 grams of fiber, and two pieces of dark chocolate contain about two grams.

Leeming focuses on what she calls the "B-G B-Gs," which stands for beans, greens, berries, grains, and seeds.

"It's the beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds that tend to contain more fiber than the fruits and vegetables," she said, adding that fruits and veggies are of course still important.

She said berries tend to be higher in fiber than other fruits because they contain seeds.

Make your grains wholegrain

Wholegrains such as oats, quinoa, wild rice, and wholemeal bread, are great sources of fiber, Leeming said. Opting for a wholegrain such as brown rice over its white counterpart is an easy swap that will up your fiber intake, she said.

"I absolutely love pasta. So I do wholegrain pasta," she said. Leeming also adds legumes such as beans or lentils to dishes to up the fiber content even more.

"I'm a really big fan of beans and lentils with tomato sauce and some green veggies or maybe a salad on the side," she said.

Sprinkle nuts and seeds on top of any dish

Sprinkling some mixed nuts and seeds over a dish is a quick way to add some more fiber into your day.

"You can add them to anything. It could be your breakfast in the morning, it could be a salad that you've just made," Leeming said.

Chia seeds and flax seeds are particularly high in fiber, she said. Chia seeds contain about 30 grams of fiber per 100 grams, and 20 grams of flax seeds provide about 6 grams of fiber.

Keep healthy snacks in your line of sight

Leeming also keeps a jar of mixed nuts by her kettle so that she can snack on them when she goes to make a cup of tea.

"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.