We hear the term ‘gut microbiome’ a lot, especially when it comes to this time of resetting. There are supplements and concoctions and methods to help heal our gut, but first we need to understand its role in the body and why it’s so important to maintain. This is where Mehlaqa Khan comes in. A nutritionist, dental practitioner and pop-up chef, Mehlaqa is deeply passionate about sharing her knowledge around improving and maintaining our wholebeing through food. Step into her house for dinner – or any one of her sell out pop ups around London – and you’ll be met with overflowing plates of gut-friendly, health-giving food that fills you with joy. Take it from us, her biriyani is unmissable. In our first instalment of our Wholebeing Reset, Mehlaqa talks to us about her journey into nutrition, how our gut health affects our bodies and what we can do to help get our guts in gear.
Can you tell us about your journey into nutrition and how it has impacted your lifestyle?
My journey into nutrition began through an exploration of root causes of chronic illnesses. We are what we eat. Before I began studying nutrition I was seeing my patients come in with gum disease which is easily preventable through lifestyle changes including diet. I was frustrated with not being able to do enough and wanted to explore routes which complimented conventional medical management.
Studying nutrition changed my professional clinical practice where I was able to go an extra mile for my patients resulting in life long stability for some of them.
You’re also a prolific cook having run many supper clubs both alone and in collaboration. How does cooking and eating support your wholebeing?
Cooking grounds me like nothing else but it’s also my connection to the outer world. Whether it’s through the produce that I’ve picked up locally to cook for myself on a weeknight after work or through the food I cook and share with others at one of my events. It’s my way of nourishing both my body and soul.
Why is your gut microbiome so important to maintain?
Your gut bacteria is the body's powerhouse for regulating digestion, immunity, and moods. An imbalance within the gut microbiome can lead to bad breath, gum disease, constipation, indigestion, allergies or food sensitivities, diarrhoea, frequent colds or flu, bad skin and poor mental health.
How can we create more balance in our gut microbiomes?
The best way to keep a healthy microbiome is to eat a good variety of probiotic and prebiotic foods, which help boost the gut microbiome.
Probiotic foods contain bacteria strains, and these include foods such as live yoghurts, kefir, fermented vegetables like sauerkraut and kimchi or drinks such as kombucha.
Prebiotic foods include any food that feeds the bacteria, and typically, any fibrous food like a vegetable, fruit or legume would come under this category.
Having a variety of whole foods that combine probiotics and prebiotics, good hydration, and limiting alcohol intake. Alcohol can cause inflammation, which damages the physical barrier of the gut where the microbiome resides.
Can you tell us some key ingredients/meals/rituals that will help build a healthier gut?
My top three ingredients for gut health are beans, pickled onions or garlic, and live strain-containing yoghurt.
For lifestyle, I cannot recommend activities that promote lower stress levels enough. We are currently in a stress epidemic, which is having catastrophic impacts on people's gut health, leading to all sorts of other health issues. Stress management will look different for each individual based on their lifestyle and can range from walking more in nature to any form of exercise or just spending good quality downtime with friends.
Working with a trained nutrition professional to test the gut microbiome or hormone levels to help identify the root cause and correct any imbalances will be invaluable in resolving issues and supporting long-term health goals.
And how can ingredients like apple cider vinegar, ginger and honey support our gut health?
Ginger and honey support the immune system through reducing inflammation pathways within the body. Inflammation driver many of the common modern illnesses including anxiety, depression, infertility, arthritis, IBS, diabetes and autoimmunity.
Apple cider vinegar is great at supporting our blood sugar levels. We are currently experiencing an epidemic of blood sugar imbalance amongst all age groups which is having a knock on impact on people’s moods, hormone balance and general physical wellbeing.
Could you give us a gut-supporting recipe that we should all be making?
Very underrated gut friendly food is bone broth or stock. It’s usually on most of my gut and oral microbiome treatment plans. The collagen in the broth heals and repairs the damaged tissues.
Very simple broth - take some cartilage rich part of the chicken (legs, wings, or if you can get hold of feet from butchers) and place them in a heavy bottomed pan along with a liter of water, and bring to boil and then discard water but reserve the bones. Now place the bone back along with a few cloves of garlic, bay leaf, whole black peppercorns, some cloves and an onion cut into wedges. Add 2 litres of water and slowly simmer till you see the clear broth with oil suspended with in (I leave mine for a couple of hours). Decant in jars and place in fridge for later use.*
Warm, add a splash of apple cider vinegar or ginger shot and season as needed. I advise having 1-2 cups everyday.
*Will keep in fridge for up to a week.
We're hearing a lot about the gut-skin and gut-brain axis – can you explain these connections to us?
The gut-brain and skin-brain axes are two-way communication systems between the gut, brain, and skin-body systems.
The food we eat gets digested and processed by the digestive system and is ready for use in different body functions. When fibre-containing foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, and grains come in contact with the gut microbiome, they will be eaten by the bacteria to produce chemicals which will serve as communication messengers for other parts of the body like the brain and skin.
In the case of brain health, the gut microbiome impacts moods and emotional well-being. For skin, it can be anything from skin texture and hydration to allergies such as dermatitis or inflammatory conditions like acne.