ALDI - 10 low-cost 💰 gut enhancers

You don't need big money to have a top-notch microbiome. This is what I found in my local low-cost supermarket...

What simple foods would you recommend for gut health if someone is starting out on this topic?

That was a question I was asked on BBC Radio London this week and the first foods that came to mind - and incidentally happen to be inexpensive - were these…

1. 🍌 Bananas for the prebiotic fibre in them to stimulate growth of good bacteria in the gut.

2. 🦠 Any food in the supermarket that says “live” on the side of it, for the friendly probiotic bacteria to plant in your digestive system.

It made me think it’s time to share some of the easiest wins for gut health right here.

Starting with foods that are easily found in low-cost supermarket such as Aldi for impact.

Please note you do NOT need big money to have a top-notch microbiome.

At the Food and Mood conference I attended earlier this month with microbiome diet researchers - not funded by supplement, pharmaceutical, or tech companies - this was very much their message.

Here’s a simple list of foods gathered from my local Aldi to enhance your microbiome (the bacteria in your gut) and make it flourish and in turn, help the performance of your digestive system, brain, and immune system.

Use these ideas to get you and loved ones’ microbiomes thriving simply and cheaply…

PS if you’re in the UK, you can hear the BBC interview HERE, 1.38 minutes into the programme.

1. 🍌 Banana ✅ prebiotics

   Price: 0.16p each

Always have them in the house! Preferably in a bowl where you can see them which reminds you to eat them. Contain inulin and resistant starch fibre aka “prebiotics” (like fertiliser) to stimulate growth of friendly bacteria in the gut.

2. 🥛 Kefir ✅ probiotics

Graham’s Kefir Yogurt Passion Fruit, Mango, and Papaya

Price - £1.09

I went up and down the dairy aisle in my local Aldi (a mini-inner city London one, so not the widest product range) looking for the word “live”. This indicates it contains active bacteria (which is what you need for your gut!),

Btw I couldn’t find any live soy yogurts - which is what you’d need if vegan or prefer non-dairy.

This kefir was the ONLY yogurt/kefir type food I could find saying “live”.

The ingredient list contains several different useful probiotic live cultures, and it tastes good (not too sweet). Has some added sugar. You could mix this kefir with a plain yogurt to dilute it if you prefer less sweet.

A dollop would make a good dessert with a sprinkle of mixed seeds on top to deliver extra fibre and polyphenols - and a bit of crunch! As in this…

3. 🦚 4 Seed Mix ✅ prebiotics

   Price - £1.15

   

Contains pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, linseeds (aka flaxseeds) and hemp seeds.

This is great way to add 4 extra plants to your diet in one sprinkle for extra fibre and polyphenols. Plus the linseeds deliver prebiotic fibre (like fertiliser) to make the probiotics flourish.

4. 🍒 Frozen cherries ✅ prebiotics

   Price - £2.19

The deep dark colour in these, deliver prebiotic polyphenols (a type called anthocyanins) to your gut where they can stimulate growth of the good bugs. Defrost a handful and add to porridge or granola. Also contains pectin fibre to boost the bacteria in your gut too.

5. 🍞Rye bread ✅ prebiotics

   Price - £1.75

It’s always a good idea to have other types of grains other than wheat when you spot them. The Western diet can be very wheat-centric but the gut loves variety. What about all the other grains out there? Hence great to add rye if you tolerate gluten ok.

Rye contains several prebiotic types of fibre - arabinoxylans, fructans, beta-glucans, and resistant starch.

The gut likes lots of different food, as this helps promote variety of bacteria in the gut, a sign of good health.

I think this would be nice toasted. Maybe a smear of butter on top. Then this on top…

6. 🚣‍♀️ A tin of mackerel ✅ prebiotics

   Price - 0.93p

With the above this would make a great gut-health lunch. The omega 3 fatty acid in the fish can feed good bacteria in the gut and help them grow. Also lots of protein to fill you up.

Great value too!

Have you noticed how tinned fish have been marketed into a luxury item elsewhere? So much so it’s now a thing for people to gift each other on Valentine’s day according to The Times recently.

7. 🌴 Dates ✅ prebiotics

   Price - £2.79

These contain prebiotic pectin, polyphenols, and beta-glucans.

Make your own healthy Snickers alternative by cutting a line in the middle of a date and sandwiching a teaspoon of almond butter below. The best pick-me-up gut-health snack imaginable! Just one usually does the job.

Forget expensive brain balls (eg the M&S one made mainly of dates and almonds is nice, but pricey - £1.60 per small ball!!).

You get 50 dates in this pack from Aldi - so many snacks to be had, and miles cheaper.

8. 😋 Crunchy Almond Butter ✅ prebiotics

   Price - £1.99

More pectin and polyphenol prebiotics, plus, oligosaccharides in this. Delicious too.

9. 🧀 Parmesan cheese ✅ probiotics

   Price - £2.99

I often suggest Parmesan to adults (or children) who don’t usually digest cheese well. It’s low in lactose, and contains live bacteria which can make digesting dairy easier for some. Unlike yogurts and kefir where you need to look for the word ‘live’, on cheeses you need to Look for the word “raw” to indicate it has probiotics in it.

10. 🫘 Black beans ✅ prebiotics

    Price - 0.49p

These beans contain several types of prebiotics: resistant starch, oligosachaccharides, and polyphenols.

This black bean salad HERE would be an easy and tasty way to use them for a quick lunch or summer salad.

Beans also contain protein - so good way to fill you up at the same time.

That’s it for today. Let me know your thoughts and if you have a minute, join the poll…

Any other money-saving microbiome shopping tips? Please do share with us! And if you liked ❤️ this post, please leave a like ❤️! It helps this Substack get seen more and tells me what you find useful.

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🦠 PS a gut-health backgrounder HERE.