The 28-Day Gut Health Plan: Lose weight and feel better from the inside

Milk (lactose) foods to avoid

Milk, all types including skimmed and semi-skimmed

Cream

Custard

Fromage frais

Ghee

Ice cream

Margarine

Sour cream

Yogurt

Milk or white chocolate

Soft cheese such as cottage cheese, cream cheese, halloumi

Additionally, check the ingredients list on: cereals, baked goods, crisps, cooked meats and soups. Look out for any of these in the nutritional information, as they all signify lactose: casein, caseinates, sodium caseinates, hydrolysed casein, milk powder, milk solids.

Safe dairy foods

Butter

Hard cheese such as Cheddar, feta and Parmesan

Note that eggs are not a dairy food, contain no lactose and can be eaten safely.

Using lactose-free milk to simplify the removal of milk lactose from your diet

Lactose-free milk is now commonly available in every supermarket and is a really simple way to cut out lactose from your diet and see if it makes a difference to your gut health. You can also buy lactose-free yogurts, soft cheese and cream.

RED MEAT

Red meat can be problematic for your gut health for two reasons:

1.Red meat is simply one of the hardest things for your gut to break down and digest. It is often the case that occasional small quantities of red meat are OK for all but the most sensitive digestions. But increase the quantities, eat it late at night or together with a large, fatty meal and the likelihood of a problem increases hugely.

2.The other problem with red meat can be bacterial. This could mean that you have a problem with one meat in particular, be that beef, pork or lamb. This sometimes happens if you’ve had a bad bout of meat-related food poisoning in the past. The gut becomes colonized by the bad bacteria and you stay sensitive for years afterwards. Probiotics really help here as they can reduce or eliminate the problematic bacteria.

On the plus side, it is unlikely that you will have to eliminate red meat entirely from your diet. Just remember moderation is always the key to avoiding problems with red meat. If you do have a problem, cut out all red meat for at least forty-eight hours until all symptoms have passed.

Red meat to avoid

All forms of beef, lamb, pork and game

Minced beef

Burgers

Sausages

Ham

Duck

Game

Bacon

Salami

Chorizo

White meat (you can eat as much as you like)

Chicken

Turkey

All parts of the bird can be eaten, including the dark meat, such as turkey thigh.

NIGHTSHADE

Fruits from the nightshade family – tomatoes, bell peppers, chillies and aubergines (eggplants) – contain glycoalkaloids and/or capsaicin, which are surprisingly common triggers for a sensitive gut. It is estimated that as many as one in three of us could be sensitive to nightshades, although for many people it is a minor rather than major intolerance.

The highest concentration of glycoalkaloids is found in tomatoes. Tomatoes, either fresh, tinned or in pastes or passatas, are harder to avoid than you might imagine. Many dishes, from stews to curries, have tomatoes as their base. The problem with glycoalkaloids is that they can destroy cell membranes and can ‘burst open’ cells. This property is part of their natural defence against small mammals and birds that like to eat the sweet fruits of these plants. To the smaller stomachs of these animals, the glycoalkaloids have a toxic effect. As a much bigger animal, humans should be immune to their effects, but unfortunately, weakened gut linings have made people more susceptible to their effects. It has been suggested that by damaging the gut lining they may be one of the causes of leaky gut.

The other molecule in these red (and green) fruits is the tricky capsaicin. Capsaicin has a very different but equally nasty effect on the gut. Capsaicin is an irritant, and in the same way that you get pain and watery eyes if you just touch your eyes after chopping a chilli, capsaicin can irritate and inflame the gut lining, causing stomach cramps and pain. All chillies, fresh, dried or in powder form, contain the dreaded capsaicin. In fact, all red spices – e.g. paprika, chilli powder, cayenne pepper – contain concentrated capsaicin and should be avoided.

Fresh chilli peppers contain both glycoalkaloids and capsaicin, so are ‘the perfect storm’ when it comes to nightshade sensitivity.

Foods to avoid

Fresh tomatoes

Tinned tomatoes

Tomato purée

Tomato ketchup

Peppers (bell) – red, green, yellow and orange