Sunday March 15 2026
The Gut Health reset: Week 1
Let’s get started
By
Alice Wilkinson
Hello and welcome to week one of The Gut Health Reset
I’m Alice, a health journalist and your gut health guide. When we talk about improving our gut health, what we’re really saying – in more scientific terms – is that we want to address the balance of good and bad bacteria in our microbiome, the community of trillions of microbes such as bacteria, fungi and viruses that live in our gut.
Our aim with The Gut Health Reset is to increase the number of ‘good’ bacteria in your gut. Eating probiotic foods that contain beneficial live microorganisms introduce the living microbes that count as ‘good’ bacteria to your gut. You’ll notice lots of these foods are fermented. That’s because when microorganisms like bacteria or yeast are added to create the tart flavour they’re known for, it makes some (but not all) probiotic.
Your gut has a huge influence on your body but the good news is, the lifestyle changes you need to make to look after it are tiny.
We’re easing you in gently today with a few things to familiarise yourself with and some easy tasks to lay the foundations for the rest of the reset.
Gut Health Trivia
How much can the bacteria in your gut weigh?
Scroll down for the answer.
Set yourself some gut health goals
Consider what you’d like to achieve from improving your gut health.
Take five minutes to decide on your top three gut health goals and jot them down somewhere. You can use the diagram and suggestions below as inspiration:
As shown in the diagram above, gut health can impact our bodies in a variety of ways. Take a few minutes to decide on the things you’re hoping to achieve.
1) The brain: Lift your mood and feel calmer: The gut-brain connection is real. Multiple studies link our gut health – and how regulating our microbiome is – to stress, anxiety and mood.
2) The gut: Lose weight: Improving the balance of the bacteria in your gut through tweaks in your diet can determine how easy it is to lose weight and support you to stay at a healthy size, say studies.
3) Skin: Improve your skin: When your gut microbiome is off kilter (in what scientists call dysbiosis), it has been linked to poor skin health and disorders, though research in this area is still very new.
Balance your energy levels: Fine tuning your microbiome can improve your energy levels as further studies show a correlation between feelings of fatigue and certain bacteria in your gut.
Boost longevity: A more diverse and unique gut microbiome has been linked to being healthier – and less frail – in older age.
Support your immune system: 70 per cent of your immune system lives in your gut so keeping it balanced and happy is vital to keeping your body’s protective network sharp.
Gut Health Trivia
Answer:
Approximately 2kg
Getting Started: Create a checklist to track your progress
As I said, it’s a simple first week!
As you work towards reaching your goal over the next eight weeks, track your progress by saving and printing our ready-made checklist below or using it as a template to write your own. It will encourage you to pay attention to gradual changes in your health and stay motivated.
That’s all from me!
I hope you’ve enjoyed a simple start to your Gut Health Reset. We’ll push on in earnest with a deep dive into snacking next week.
Best,
Alice
Make sure you scroll down to hear how David’s getting on and to see my reading recommendations for this week!
David’s Gut Feeling
By
David Alexander
Why am I looking to improve my gut microbiome? Well, I wouldn’t mind living longer or having better skin, but my primary aims are to make myself calmer and more naturally energetic.
Of course, many factors impact how well we sleep, but Alice informs me that our gut health is one of them so I’m interested to see what improvements I can make over the course of two months.
My job can be intense and I’m prone to standing up at my desk and gesticulating when we’re trying to get a story out as quickly as possible. Picture one of those inflatable advertising tube men you often see flailing outside car dealerships – that’s me, but with a coffee in hand and moving wildly over the parapet of my colleagues’ computers. The gif my editor has created above, I hate to say, is on the gentler side.
I’m hoping that eating well and providing myself with consistent nutrition will help me part from my advertising tube man days with both my cortisol levels and arms lowering to a more reasonable position. I’m enlisting Alice’s tracker to help measure this throughout the weeks. I’ll let you know how I get on next week!
Recommended
Here are some other pieces I think you might like to keep you entertained until next Sunday.
Until next time!
If you would like to get in touch about your progress with The Gut Health Reset please contact us at guthealthreset@telegraph.co.uk
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