Don’t underestimate the power of a positive morning routine on your gut health. We asked Gastroenterology Dietitian, Dr Sammie Gill, to share three micro routines that you can easily implement in the morning to ensure you get your gut off to a good start.
1. Focus on a fibre-filled breakfast
Wholegrain toast is the perfect base to load up with fibre-filled toppings. For something sweet, try peanut butter and sliced banana or jam with added chia seeds. For something savoury, try smashed avocado with a poached egg on top. Alternatively, you could go for fruit-filled crepes, porridge with nuts and seeds, or yogurt with dried fruit and honey. If you’re short on time, wheat biscuits, shredded wheat, or no added sugar muesli are good options. If you’re not, why not have a cooked breakfast with baked beans, spinach, mushrooms and grilled tomatoes? Dig into more recommendations.
2. Calm the gut-brain connection
- Try 10-minutes of yoga, stretches, mindfulness, or diaphragmatic breathing to create feelings of calm.
- Write a to-do list and list them by importance. This will help you to organise your thoughts and stay focused.
- Think about journalling to clear your mind for the day ahead. This might involve reflecting on highlights, lowlights, new learnings from the day before, or just a brain dump of everything on your mind – random thoughts, worries, and new ideas…
3. Prioritise hydration (and yes, that includes coffee…)
The gut needs sufficient fluids to function properly so try and optimise hydration first thing. Contrary to popular belief, tea and coffee are not dehydrating, if you stick within caffeine recommendations (around 4 cups of coffee or 5-6 cups of tea per day). Plus, you’ll be giving your gut microbes a dose of polyphenols. Other morning drinks might include fruit or herbal teas, a small glass of fresh juice, or hot water with lemon.
To learn more about other gut health topics, visit Symprove’s Gut Hub.
