1 Choose the right cheese. Full-fat, unprocessed, artisan cheeses – think Camembert, Roquefort, Brie de Meaux and Comte, rind and all – contain more than 400 species of bacteria, including lactobacilli, which, according to research, can remove cholesterol. 30g a day should be fine.
2 Step up the fibre, as gut microbes feed on fibre. Pick fruits with skin and pith, such as apples, pears, bananas, oranges and berries. Tuck into vegetables, especially Brussels sprouts, broccoli, carrots, beetroot, spinach and artichokes, and also pulses.
3 Discover fermented foods. Try pickles (naturally fermented with bacteria, not vinegar) and fermented dairy foods such as yogurt and kefir (similar to buttermilk), and beers, which are packed with microbes. Try Biona Organic Sauerkraut, £1.85, Fresh Bio-Tiful Organic Kefir, £2.25 (both planetorganic.com), and Lambic Belgian…
