促進腸道健康的簡單方法
1. Think diversity
1. 考慮多樣性
"You need to eat as wide a range of plant-based foods as possible," advises Megan. "I tell people to aim for 30 different plant-based foods a week - that's nuts, seeds, wholegrains, legumes and fruit and vegetables. Research has suggested that if you're having fewer than 10 of these plant-based foods a week, your microbial diversity isn't very strong. Vary the foods you eat from week to week and always be open to trying new things."
"你需要儘可能多的攝入植物性食物，"梅根建議道。"建議大家每週攝入30種不同的植物性食物--也就是堅果、種子、全麥、豆類、水果和蔬菜。研究表明：如果每週攝入的植物性食物少於10種，那你的微生物多樣性就會減少。最好做到--每週吃不同種類的食物，願意嘗試新食物！"
2. Fill up on fibre
2. 多攝入纖維
The fibre found in foods such as beans, artichokes, legumes and brussels sprouts contains prebiotics that 'feed' the beneficial bacteria that live in your gut. If you can increase the amount of fibre you eat, it will benefit pretty much every organ in your body, including your heart. "Current Department of Health guidelines recommend we should be eating 30g of fibre a day, but most of us are only eating 19g," says Megan. "I believe we should be aiming even higher. Increase the amount you eat gradually to give your body time to adjust to it."
各種豆類、洋薊和抱子甘藍都含有可以'餵養'腸道有益菌的益生元。如果能增加攝入的纖維含量，那身體的每一個器官都會因此獲益，包括心臟。"目前，衛生部發布的指南建議我們每天攝入30克纖維，但大多數人每天的攝入量只有19克，"梅根說道。"我認爲，我們的日目標量還可以更高。逐步增加纖維攝入量可以給身體足夠的時間去適應。"
3. Ferment your foods
3. 食物發酵
Include healthy fermented foods in your diet every day. Fermentation involves bacteria or yeast to make foods such as yogurt, kefir (a traditional homemade fermented drink made from milk that contains live bacteria) and kombucha (made from fermented tea, sugar, bacteria and yeast).
包括日常飲食中有益健康的發酵食品。發酵指的是通過細菌或酵母來製備酸奶、開菲爾酸奶（一種由含活菌的牛奶自制的傳統發酵飲品）和康普查（由發酵的茶、糖、細菌和酵母製成）等食物。
They generally contain a wide range of different types of bacteria so are believed to be beneficial for the gut microbiome. "Kefir is the one with the most scientific evidence behind it," says Megan. "It has around 20 different types of bacteria and yeast in it, and the diversity is much greater than in yogurt. I drink 100ml kefir a day. You can now buy kits to make kefir - you add milk and leave it on your worktop to ferment for a few hours, then it's ready to drink."
這些食品通常含有不同種類的細菌，因此被認爲有利於腸道微生物。"大多數科學證據都表明了開菲爾酸奶的益處，"梅根說道。"開菲爾酸奶含有約20種不同的細菌和酵母，多樣性遠勝酸奶。我每天喝100毫升的開菲爾酸奶。現在，人們可以購買開菲爾酸奶自制裝備--把牛奶倒入其中，而後放置在工作臺上發酵幾小時，最後就可以喝啦。"
4. Say no to sweetener
4. 對甜味劑說不
Although artificial sweeteners can reduce your calorie intake, they may also destroy the diversity of your gut ?microbiome. Clearly, this needs to be weighed up against the need to cut down on sugar.
雖然人造甜味劑可以減少人們的卡路里攝入量，但也可能會破壞腸道微生物組的多樣性。顯然，這讓我們意識到降低糖分攝入的必要性。
