How do you keep your gut healthy? Find out what Mumsnet users told Nairn’s Oatcakes

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Many of us are becoming more aware of how our gut can affect our overall wellbeing and the importance of taking care of it in order to stay healthy and happy. The majority of us have all been there when bloating and/or indigestion strikes, and this is why Nairn’s would love to hear your tips for maintaining good gut health.

Here is what Nairn’s have to say: “We’d like to think we know a thing or two about the superfood that is oats – we’ve been baking with them for over 100 years. We know how good oats are for your gut and we know that gut health as a topic is no flash in the pan either!

Oats are one of the foods that can help keep our gut healthy. They’re high in gentle fibre, which not only helps us stay regular, but also ‘feeds’ the friendly bacteria in the gut and helps keep the gut lining healthy. Oatcakes in particular can also be a good alternative to wheat-based products such as cereals and breads to keep our gut happy, as wheat can trigger digestive problems for some. The topic itself can be a bit daunting to the less familiar, so it makes sense for us to work with some lovely experts to help us spread that Good Gut Feeling in a simple, accessible, achievable way. Our website covers a number of Good Gut Health areas including The Family, Fitness and Managing a Free From Diet so do drop by and check them out. In the meantime, don’t be shy, and please share your own tips and tricks – they’ll really help others, and we can’t wait to hear them.”

What are your go-to and no-go foods and drinks when it comes to maintaining a healthy gut? How have you been eating oats outside of your morning porridge? If you already eat oatcakes, how do you eat yours? How do you encourage your family to follow in your footsteps? Did you find you had any digestive problems when you were/are pregnant and how did you deal with this? Or maybe you noticed some surprising benefits to keeping your gut health in check (e.g. a new-found spring in your step or blemish-free skin)?

Whatever your advice for maintaining a healthy gut, share your experiences on the thread below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list) and a bumper box of Nairn’s Oatcakes.

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

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Avoiding processed foods and eating natural yoghurt helps mine. Controversial, but if I have indigestion a glass or three of red wine seems to sort it out.

I love oats. I have porridge most mornings. Oatcakes are yummy with soft cheese. I add oats to crumble toppings to give extra flavour and texture. I substitute 100g of flour with oats when I bake bread

I try and cook from scratch most days, using fresh vegetables and salads, trying to avoid artificial ingredients and products which contain e-numbers and colourings.

Instead of having lots of chocolate and biscuits in the cupboards, I buy oatcakes and chunky biscuit breaks. Nairns have a great range which we all enjoy, and as a family we suffer few digestive problems.

I have also cut down on coffee, drinking water instead, and these measures seem to help us to keep healthy.

I try and have a plate of mussels on a regular basis - I'm sure it has health giving properties as I feel amazing afterwards!

Cutting out processed sugar made the biggest difference for me. You can almost feel your gut sighing with relief that it doesn't have to deal with the stuff.
Loads of fruit and veg - but that's life long - always loved more than 5 a day.
I prefer oats to wheat - most days start with either porridge or a small sprinkling of muesli on berries and Skyr. But I don't often eat oatcakes, unless i'm out hiking for the day, as they taste too rich to me. I'd love a lower fat oatcake. I know low fat isn't fashionable, but I don't like the taste of palm oil and it can dominate the subtle flavour of oats.

Ooh I eat Nairn’s - pleased that counts! I used to drink a probiotic yogurt every morning but haven’t since going vegan.

Unpasteurised, cultured miso on an organic oat cake - hits the savoury snack spot and benefits your gut as well.

I’m lucky that digestive problems aren’t something I suffer with too much, but I am careful with the amount of bread I eat, particularly white bread. I tend to opt for more high fibre choices. I also have high fibre cereals.

If I have oatcakes I have them with cream cheese and cherry tomatoes, which is delicious.

Like many I have good habits & bad habits.

Start the day with hot water & lemon. I take Lactobacillus acidophilus daily & eat lots of fruit, veg & natural yoghurt. Our family love Nairn’s oatcakes particularly the cheese ones which are a household staple. Bad habits, too many sweets & wine but hey ho perfection is dull!

I'm lucky that I seem to have a stomach of steel and rarely suffer gut problems. DH has IBS though so I'm aware of what we eat.

Luckily I absolutely adore oatcakes, especially the cheese ones. DS also has a love of them and we share a packet of 6 on a regular basis. We eat them plain as they are so tasty.

The plain ones DD and I eat topped with cream cheese or organic, no sugar peanut butter with sliced grapes on top. It makes for a lovely sweet snack.

Both me and my kids rarely suffer gut problems. In fact (probably tempting fate here!!) I don't recall either of them ever having stomach upsets and DD is 9 and DS is 6.

Must be the oatcakes!!!!

Ooh and never ever eat yogurt with any fruit or sugar in it. Only plain natural organic yoghurt either on its own or topped with fresh strawberries or pomegranate/blueberries.

Porridge with banana in the winter months and lots of whole grain bread.

We eat mostly unprocessed foods. I try to cook soups and stews that are full of vegetables and herbs, and I make my own stock from vegetables and meat bones. I find food that has been simmered slowly to be very good for the digestion.

I buy unpasteurised, raw milk and cream from a dairy farmer who makes his own yoghourt and cheese and sells eggs from his own chickens. I try not to support any form of agribusiness or supermarket as I do not trust the industrial food chain not to be full of chemicals, antibiotics and additives.

I eat very little bread - I used to eat it daily and I try to replace it with oatcakes, and Nairns new flatbreads which are delicious. I do eat bread, but it's usually only once a week or so. I also have yoghurt most days which is good for friendly bacteria.

Most basic ingredients aren't a problem for me.

However, the items below give me evil, toxic, sulfurous, room-clearing farts:

Bread or baked goods made from flour with added gluten
Pasta
Flapjacks and other oat biscuits
Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts & cabbage)
All forms of dried bean (including baked beans)

I’m trying to focus on increasing my veg intake and reducing the amount of meat I eat.

DD has problems with constipation so I'm always looking for ways to give her a healthy high fibre diet. Oats are a superfood as far as we're concerned! She likes cheesy oatcakes as a snack and I now only use high fibre pasta (the sainsburys own brand stuff is good). Plenty of fruit and particularly veg is a must too.

I try to cut down on sugar (and also avoid artificial sweeteners) and limit processed food. We eat plenty of vegetables and salad, oily fish and enjoy oat based snacks. Have recently discovered fruity kefir from the local Polish shop which is delicious and seems to help digestion.

Oats every morning for us!! I make up a large bowl and the little boy and I have breakfast together after his dad goes to work. We (DH and I) are also a massive fan of post-dinner oatcakes with cheese (or with pate as a sneaky starter if we're feeling posh and having two courses!)

We generally try and avoid too many heavy or fatty foods now, which generally makes us feel better and less acid-y. And gallons of water!

Chocolate has become a bit of a no go for me. Hard, as it's lovely, but it either slows my gut down so much that I regret it for days or empties it out pretty much immediately. My gut an I have come to s compromise by trying to only indulge occasionally in chocolate that's worth the risk.

I limit my wheat intake now and it has massively reduced bloating and wind for me. I eat mainly low carb, but occasionally introduce a few higher carb things, like sweet potato. Oats are one thing I really miss, so still use a small handful in a smoothie as they make it really creamy and thick.

I have suffered with IBS on and off since I was a teenager, so it has all been about discovering what upsets me by trial and error. I cook all meals from scratch with fresh ingredients, no takeaways as I feel that processed food is particularly bad. I have porridge with half milk half water as much as possible for breakfast, drink plenty of water and lots of fruit and vegetables. My DM has diabetes so I have a low carb diet, I substitute rice and pasta for cauliflower or courgette and have cut my bread intake by having just one slice of multigrain when I would normally have had two. I do like an oatcake with a bit of cheddar and piccalilli or pickle. I also find eating raw nuts have improved my gut especially almonds.

I love oatcakes with cheese on them as a snack, and encourage the kids to have them in place of biscuits.

I never knew that oats were so good for gut health. Do they sell their products in supermarkets?
Anyway, I've recently started to take some probiotics daily. It's certainly helped to make things more regular!

I like to eat yoghurt too. Avoid avoid chip shop chips (only ever a rare treat anyway). My gut hates them!