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Sophie Medlin knows what it takes to keep a gut healthy. At this point, it’s nearly second nature for the longtime colorectal dietitian.
“I don’t need to worry about counting because I’m just in the habit of doing things in a way that meets my needs,” Medlin, who is based in London and has worked as a dietitian for 20 years, told Business Insider.
Official dietary guidelines recommend eating at least 28 grams of fiber a day, but research suggests the majority of Americans eat around half of that. Fiber is found in plants and feeds the trillions of microbes that live in the lining of the digestive system, known as the gut microbiome. Eating a wide variety of plants increases the number of beneficial microbes in the gut, which is linked to health benefits.
Whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, and pearl barley, legumes such as beans and chickpeas, and fresh produce such as leafy greens and berries, are all good sources of fiber.
Medlin shared with Business Insider what she eats in a typical day, and it makes getting enough fiber look surprisingly simple.
Breakfast
Medlin usually has her first meal of the day at around 1 p.m.
If you wake up hungry, you should eat, she said, but typically she does not.
She starts her day at 7 a.m. with a cup of decaf tea, and occasionally some Greek yogurt with low-sugar granola for protein and fiber. The oats, nuts, and seeds in granola make it a good source of fiber — half a cup of rolled oats contains about 4 to 5 grams.
Lunch
Medlin said she usually keeps it simple at lunchtime. Among her go-to food choices are eggs on seeded sourdough bread or a toasted sandwich with cheese and fish, typically tuna or an oily fish like mackerel. One slice of sourdough bread and a handful of mixed seeds, including sunflower, pumpkin, and sesame seeds, contains around 4 grams of fiber.
The American Heart Association recommends eating two portions of fish, including one portion of oily fish, a week. Fish contains omega-three fatty acids, which help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Her non-negotiable is a big side of vegetables. About three times a week, Medlin makes a large salad with arugula, lettuce, cucumber, onion, pomegranate seeds, dill, and other herbs, dressed with some olive oil. She will either have this with her lunch or some chopped vegetables like bell peppers, carrots, and cucumbers.
“We have a very big focus in my house on eating plenty of plants,” she said.
Dinner
Medlin’s dinner typically consists of a protein, a starch, and vegetables. Protein-wise, she switches between grilled chicken, fresh tuna, salmon, steak, and lamb. For starch, she makes rice, potatoes, or pasta.
She loves to roast a tray of mixed vegetables, including butternut squash, beetroot, and greens such as Chinese cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, or bok choy.
“Instead of just chopping up broccoli in the evening, chuck some cabbage in there as well. It’s just as quick, and then you get an extra type of vegetable in there,” Medlin said.
A cup of cooked butternut squash contains around 7 grams of fiber, a cup of cooked broccoli contains around 5 grams, and a cup of cooked Brussels sprouts contains around 4 grams.
Medlin also sets the table with side dishes of fermented cabbage and homemade tzatziki, a dip made with Greek yogurt, cucumber, extra-virgin olive oil, and herbs. Fermented foods contain live ingredients such as bacteria, yeast, or mold, and are thought to introduce new beneficial microbes to the gut.
She mainly eats them to add flavor to her plate and for her gut health, but fermented vegetables like kimchi or sauerkraut also contain fiber. A 100-gram serving of kimchi boasts around 3.5 grams of fiber.
If she’s feeling hungry between meals, Medlin likes to snack on nuts and fruit, both of which contain micronutrients and fiber.
She intentionally stocks her kitchen with healthy snacks because she knows she will reach for whatever’s most convenient.
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