5 signs your gut health is improving according to Dr Tim Spector – and why we should avoid ‘gut healing’ hacks

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Strong Women


5 signs your gut health is improving according to Dr Tim Spector – and why we should avoid ‘gut healing’ hacks

By Miranda Larbi

2 years ago

3 min read

Improving gut health is pretty simple if you’re patient and consistent, but does that also mean that ‘gut healing’ is real?


You can’t move these days for holistic therapists and Instagrammers banging on about their gut healing hacks. To listen to them, you’d think we were living through a gut pathogen pandemic, with their demands that we consume bone broth, shots of olive oil and sleep on our left-hand side for increased digestion.

It sounds, on the face of it, like nonsense. But given the popularity of these posts and just how far-reaching the conversation around gut health has become, is there slightly more to gut healing than first meets the eye?

If there’s one man who knows about the gut, it’s Zoe co-founder Dr Tim Spector, and when asked if he believes in gut healing, he says: “It sounds too much like a silver bullet. Good gut health is a long-term outcome of eating for your gut microbes and having a resilient microbiome. By focusing on fibre-rich plant-based foods, avoiding too many ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and including fermented foods in your diet, you’ll see an improvement in overall gut health.”

This whole trend seems to have come out of the idea that many of us are living with chronically bad gut health, and Dr Spector goes on to say that that’s probably true. We know, for example, that the vast majority of Brits don’t eat enough fibre. 

According to the latest findings, Brits eat an average of 20g of fibre a day, which is just 60% of the recommended daily amount. “We also have the highest rate of UPF consumption in Europe, which suggests that gut health could be improved for most people,” Dr Spector says. “This is essential for overall health and longevity, as our gut microbiome interacts with several systems across the body and can therefore impact so many functions, including immune health, metabolic health and mental health.” 

Bowls of beans and pulses

Credit: Getty

The parasite cleanses that dominated TikTok a while ago might be fads, but in general, many of us could do with going back to basics and giving our microbiomes a bit more attention.  

Signs your gut health might be improving 

It’s all very well planning to eat more plants, actively enjoying that daily cup of fibre-rich coffee and giving sauerkraut a go, but if you don’t know how long it’ll take to see any changes, you might quickly lose motivation.

Dr Spector says that his research at Zoe shows it’s possible to see improvements in as little as four months. Zoe’s whole schtick is adding foods rather than taking them away, so that might mean adding chia seeds (rich in protein, fibre and omega-3) to your morning porridge, switching to a more fibrous type of pasta or throwing beans and different kinds of veg into your sauce.  

It’s possible to see improvements in four months

After four months of focusing on adding gut-healthy plants to your daily regime, you might then notice the following:

  1. More regular bowel movements
  2. Reduced constipation
  3. Increased energy levels
  4. Fewer cravings
  5. Improved mood

And of course, if you want serious answers, you can always join the Zoe programme, have your microbiome tested and then get it retested after a few months to see how your microbiome composition has improved. 


Images: Getty

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