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

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

I have a probiotic every morning and lots of green leafy vegetables. I also make sure I have lots of fibre in my diet

Lots of cucumbers 🥒 as that is an alkaline food.

Oats every morning!
Home cooking from scratch with fresh unprocessed ingredients.
Reducing the quantity of meat (especially red meat) that we eat in favour of other protein sources.
And plenty of sprouts and lentils to keep everything moving!

I have not cared for myself, gut included. I now have just been diagnosed with gallstones so I need to change this. Diet going forward had got to be low fat and high fibre so oatcakes are probably going to feature a lot.

During the last year (I'm now 46) I've discovered that I've become intolerant to lots of food that I used to eat happily, including gluten. I actually don't miss bread at all, only when there is some particularly fresh, special bread nearby! I eat oats as porridge, also oat and banana pancakes and lots of oatcakes. I like to keep mine simple, with marmite or peanut butter. Occasionally I will have one plain as an accompaniment to soup.

Generally, I try to keep my gut healthy by sticking to low FODMAP as far as practical.

I wondered over the years if I was lactose intolerant and gave up completely for a couple of years. Then in my mid 30s I was diagnosed during emergency surgery with Crohn's and I have had an ileostomy for a few years now.
It makes me take immense care of the gut that I have. And I wonder if it was never a lactose problem at all. I'll never know and it certainly wasn't something that could have been diagnosed earlier as everything was so vague.
With only small bowel I've to watch the amount of fibre - so small amounts of porridge/oatcakes are all I can tolerate without (even more) diarrhoea. The biggest impact I anticipate will be age. It's not just length but quality. Certainly you don't realise just what your large bowel does til it's gone (to totally plagiarise Joni Mitchell!)

Drink lots of water and mint tea - I find both are great at soothing and helping my gut
No -go - white bread and milk - they play havoc with my gut
Go to - fruit, veg and rice
breakfast for my is a spicy omelette, oats fit in for me around 11am or 3pm - they are my pick me up good snack. Oat cakes with homemade strawberry jam is my current favourite, or with peanut butter and apple slices
When I was pregnant, I was fine. I think it was afterwards when my body was topsy turvy and took a good while to re-balance

I drink kefir every day. It’s not the nicest tasting thing in the world, but it’s a very powerful probiotic. I use psyllium husks (fibre) on a morning to get things moving. I also use digestive enzymes. Diet wise I eat fibre foods like veg, and avoid most grains except rice and oats. Good gut health is crucial to overall health, especially mental health. Very important.

I suffer from IBS and try desperately to look after myself ... but regularly falter. I do moderate my intake of wheat though and take a shot of Kefir juice on a morning (homemade from kefir grains) and it makes a real difference. I try not to use IBS medicines - instead opting for peppermint oil capsules, lots of water and natural remedies where possible. I also try to consume pro-biotics. A healthy diet, with lots of fruit and vegetables and limited dairy, caffeine and wheat is gentler on my tum!

I thought Kefir was a fictional product on The Archers until reading this thread!! Shows how much I know :)

I've recently cut refined sugar from my diet, & this has improved my gut health enormously. My next step is to reduce my wheat intake but it's easier said than done!
I start the day with porridge - I usually top it with a little cream & a few raspberries to make it feel a proper treat!
I love Nairn's products - especially the cheese oatcakes. The indivdual portion packs make them ideal for lunchboxes & munching on the go. I'm using them as a bit of a bread substitute to make the wheat free journey a little more comfortable! I usually top them with cream cheese or use them as a side to homemade soup.

I had IBS & in pregnancy, it ramped up in frequency & intensity! I found sugar, red meat & dairy to be huge trigger foods at that time, but thankfully it eased off after my son was born.
I still have to be careful, but I find that generally eating well - lots of protein, fruit, veg & drinking as much water as I can squeeze in tends to keep me feeling energises, reduces the risk of an episode & eases that sluggish feeling.

I drink peppermint tea last thing at night and eat live yogurt everyday. I am also partial to a Nairn's oatcake and regularly enjoy these with organic peanut butter. I try to include the things that I enjoy but are also healthy for my gut so oatcakes are perfect for that.

Unfortunately, the majority of posts demonstrate that people do not understand exactly what promotes gut health. Whole grains are the things which actually promote a beneficial gut biome and all the people who have cut out all breads are doing the opposite of promoting good gut health.

Gut health has always been important to me, and the way I have eaten since childhood is one which has been demonstrated to promote a good biome. Eating plenty of fibrous foods has been a staple in the diet I grew up on. Loads of vegetables and fresh fruit, with fermented foods having a central role (kimchee). Very little processed food or sugar (pudding were fresh fruit only) and , importantly, lots of variety in the veg eaten. Meals are comprised of many small sides of differently prepared vegetables with a small amount of fish or meat and a bowl of rice or noodles.

The changes I adopted since childhood are eating plain yoghurt daily, and starting my day with homemade wholemeal sourdough bread. Additionally, I make sure to get at least a handful of nuts and seeds daily.

Oats are a staple in my household and I use them liberally not only to make overnight oats, but in my baking to replace some flour in breads, crumble toppings, cookies and also in pancakes. I always add oats to smoothies to make them more substantial for refuelling after workouts or for breakfast. Oatcakes have been used for snacks with cheese, nut butters, or even plain and I always have a box in the cupboard.

I’m coeliac so appreciate your gf range- eat the oatcakes every day! But the oval shaped biscuits are not as nice as the non-gf range round biscuits even though I can’t see why they shouldn’t taste identical! Is there an explanation? (The gf ones are slightly softer with a bit of a weird aftertaste).

I eat lots of fruit & veg, choose wholemeal bread, eat oats in the morning and take a daily probiotic.
I also keep my stress levels down as that seems to affect my gut.

I still think of Kefir as junk food. Hilarious it's trying to sell itself as health-promoting. Tasty, but junk food.

Oatcakes are alright but a bit calorific for me.

Gut health... meh. I don't have any problems so I guess what I do works without having to think about it. Lots of veg+fruit+whole grains+beans & anything else I fancy.

Oatcakes contain palm oil.

Eating plain, full fat Greek yogurt, always seems to settle my gut. I also drink lots of miso and eat sauerkraut, kimichi and cucumbers in brine.

I have suffered from constipation and bloating since turning forty despite following the advice of including lots of fibre,fruit and vegetables in my diet plus drinking lots of water.
After recently reading up on gut health I now eat probiotic foods daily including yogurt, kefir, miso, natto and kimchi. I also have learned the importance of prebiotics and have added inulin to my diet.
My whole digestive system is so much better.

Probably not enough really. I have porridge and yogurt most days and try to eat healthily but I often lack the willpower.

I have no gut problems. I eat greek yoghurt everyday at breakfast but otherwise I just eat a healthy diet with lots of fruit and veg. As a Scot I have always eaten lots of oatcakes and we always have a box of Nairns at home. The GF ones are great for the Coeliac sufferers in the family.

I do like oatcakes, but the amount of cheese I eat with them probably outweighs the health benefits....

I also drink kefir regularly. Kefir smoothies are lovely.

I also choose oats over wheat every time.

Limiting wheat and cruciferous veggies help me. Oatcakes are the best but terribly moreish...

I don't eat gluten at all (coeliac) plus I have bowel malabsorbtion so I have to be extra careful. Drink plenty of water. Try not to eat anything too fatty or deep fried. Every morning I have a mug of boiled water with a tablespoon each of Apple cider vinegar and lemon juice.

I cut out refined carbs such as white bread, pasta Withey rice cakes high sugar foods and processed meats like sausage bacon ham corned beef, tinned fish. In fact I go low carb low GI and the few carbs I do have are natural like in some fruit. I avoid alcohol and caffeine too. A good mix of veg lots of colour lean meat fish eggs pulses beans and a little cheese and yogurts plenty of olive/ rape seed oil . Normally gut stabilises and I have it’s more energy after a week. and importantly to set me up for the day a mint tea is essential