Article: Gut Health in Summer: Smarter Ways to Eat, Drink and Feel Good
Gut Health in Summer: Smarter Ways to Eat, Drink and Feel Good
Summer is for long lunches, BBQs, beach days and a few drinks with friends. Looking after your gut health doesn't mean missing out on any of it. Small, everyday food choices often make the biggest difference.
Understanding how food, herbs and herbal teas support your gut bacteria, digestion and liver function makes it easier to enjoy summer eating while still nourishing your body. Here are six simple ways to do it.
1. A Smarter Summer Grazing Platter for Gut Health
Swap processed chips and crackers for a colourful platter of olives, hummus, fermented vegetables, nuts, seasonal fruit and wholegrain crackers.
Fibre does more than keep you regular. Beneficial gut bacteria ferment certain fibres and produce short chain fatty acids such as butyrate. Butyrate provides energy for the cells lining the colon, helping maintain a healthy intestinal barrier that regulates what passes from your gut into the bloodstream.
Fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi can provide live beneficial microorganisms. Olives, nuts and colourful fruit contain polyphenols, plant compounds that help nourish beneficial gut bacteria and support a diverse microbiome.
2. Healthy BBQ Ideas: The BBQ Upgrade
Add bitter greens, colourful cabbage slaws, grilled vegetables and fresh herb dressings alongside your usual BBQ favourites.
Bitter greens such as rocket have traditionally been used to stimulate digestive secretions. Cruciferous vegetables including broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower contain compounds called glucosinolates. When chopped or chewed, these can be converted into substances such as sulforaphane and indole 3 carbinol, which influence enzymes involved in the liver's natural detoxification processes.
Finish with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and fresh herbs for flavour, antioxidants and healthy fats.
3. Herbal Bitters: A Traditional Way to Support Digestion
Bitter flavours have long been part of traditional European herbal medicine, and for good reason. When we taste something bitter, the body responds by stimulating digestive secretions, including saliva, stomach acid, bile and digestive enzymes. This is the natural preparation for a meal.
Herbal bitters are concentrated liquid extracts made from bitter plants such as gentian, dandelion root, artichoke leaf and ginger. They have traditionally been taken in small amounts before or after meals to support healthy digestion, and they pair well with the richer, heavier foods that tend to turn up at summer gatherings.
A few drops in a glass of sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon makes a refreshing aperitif and a lovely alcohol free alternative to a pre dinner drink.
Herbal bitters are not suitable for everyone, including during pregnancy or alongside certain medications or digestive conditions. If you are unsure, check with a naturopath or herbalist first.
4. Hibiscus Tea and Lemon Verbena Tea: A Gut Friendly Summer Drink
Alcohol and hot weather can increase the risk of dehydration, which can affect your energy levels and bowel regularity. Instead of sugary soft drinks, try a refreshing herbal iced tea.
Summer Hibiscus and Lemon Verbena Iced Tea
Steep hibiscus flowers and lemon verbena leaves in freshly boiled water for 10 minutes. Strain, cool and refrigerate. Serve over ice with fresh mint, lemon and seasonal berries.
Hibiscus tea is naturally tart and beautifully red thanks to anthocyanins, antioxidant pigments that help protect cells from oxidative stress. Research also suggests regular hibiscus tea may help support healthy blood pressure.
Lemon verbena tea brings a soft, lemony fragrance and contains aromatic plant compounds. It has traditionally been used to soothe digestive discomfort, which makes it a lovely choice after a big meal.
Shop organic hibiscus tea and organic lemon verbena tea
5. Eating Well the Day After a Big Night
Alcohol increases fluid loss by suppressing vasopressin, a hormone that helps the kidneys conserve water. It can also irritate the stomach lining and disrupt sleep.
Rather than reaching for greasy takeaways, choose eggs on sourdough with avocado, or a colourful wholemeal sandwich packed with fresh vegetables. Eggs provide protein and B vitamins, wholegrains supply fibre and sustained energy, and avocado offers potassium and healthy fats.
Coconut water provides fluid and potassium as an alternative to sugary drinks. A cup of lemon verbena tea or another gentle herbal tea can also be soothing while your body recovers.
6. A Mediterranean Summer Salad for Digestion and Gut Health
Combine juicy tomatoes, cucumber, leafy greens, chickpeas, olives and fresh herbs with extra virgin olive oil and lemon.
Beyond being delicious, this combination offers real nutritional benefits. Chickpeas provide prebiotic fibre that feeds beneficial gut bacteria, tomatoes contain lycopene, an antioxidant associated with cardiovascular health, and olive oil supplies beneficial monounsaturated fats. It's an easy addition to any summer BBQ, or a simple lunch on its own.
Enjoy Summer, Naturally
Good health doesn't have to be complicated or restrictive. Eating a diverse range of wholefoods, staying hydrated, enjoying herbal teas and bitters, and making a few smart choices can support your digestion and liver health, even when your usual routine goes out the window.
Looking after your health should be part of enjoying life, not something that gets in the way of it.
Not sure where to start with your digestive health? Book a complimentary consultation with one of our naturopaths here
