- Snacking can be an easy way to eat more fiber and improve gut health.
- Fiber helps promote “good” microbes in the gut, which affect overall health.
- Emily Leeming, a gut health scientist and chef, consumes dark chocolate and fruit.
Snacking can be a great way to eat more fiber and take care of your gut health, Emily Leeming, a nutritionist 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 lining of the colon, which studies have linked to our overall health—from the immune system to the brain.
Fiber, found in foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans, feeds the “good” microbes in the gut. And studies suggest it helps create a more diverse microbiome, an indicator of a healthy gut. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults eat 22 to 34 grams of fiber each day.
Snacks make up about 20% of the average person’s energy intake, Leeming said, so choosing more nutritious foods can be a “great strategy to make big impacts on our health.”
“When you’re feeling hungry, you might think, ‘Okay, can I get at least five grams of fiber in one snack?'” Leeming, a trained chef and author of Genius Gut: The Life-Changing Science of Eating. for your second brain”, he said.
Leeming shared her four favorite foods that boost 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 like oatmeal or Greek yogurt in seconds, she said.
Dried apricots, which contain seven grams of fiber per 100 grams, are another favorite of hers.
nuts
In addition to containing heart-healthy fats and plant-based protein, walnuts are rich in fiber.
They contain about seven to nine grams of fiber per 100 grams and usually require no preparation, making them the perfect gut-friendly fast food.
Leeming keeps a jar of mixed nuts next to the kettle in her kitchen so she can munch on them while she waits for them to boil.
“The things I want to eat the most, I keep in my line of sight. It just visually prompts you to go after them as a first step,” she said.
Leeming likes to eat nuts as well as dark chocolate. Westend61/Getty Images
Crudités and dip
Leeming likes to keep plant-based snacks like hummus or guacamole and some chopped veggies in the fridge so she can grab them when she’s feeling down.
“Just having some healthier, readily available foods really helps,” she said. “I really focus on things that are easy and simple that you just don’t have to do a lot of mental logistics to accomplish.”
Vegetables contain fiber, as do chickpeas in hummus and 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 likes to have two squares with some fruit as a snack. “This is making an important contribution to the 30 grams of fiber a day we need,” she said.
Dark chocolate, which contains antioxidants, also has other health benefits. A recent study of nearly 110,000 nurses, published in the BMJ, found that those who consumed at least five servings of dark chocolate per week had a 21% lower risk of type 2 diabetes from onset than those who who had none or rarely ate chocolate. .
The authors said this may be because dark chocolate is high in epicatechin, a polyphenol that research suggests may help prevent metabolic disease.
