Gut health expert reveals ways to reduce inflammation

By Amy Reast

A gut health expert has shared the 28-cent-a-day supplement everyone should take to reduce inflammation.

Dr. Ghazala Aziz-Scott, 59, is a specialist in integrative women's health and bioidentical hormone balancing for the Marion Gluck Clinic, on Harley Street in London.

Dr. Ghazala shared what we should all be doing to maintain gut health - to prevent inflammation and promote good digestion, as well as preventing other illnesses.

The expert shared her three golden rules and one supplement which she recommends EVERYONE takes to maintain wellness.

She recommends everyone takes omega three supplements - to maintain a good ratio to your omega six levels, found in vegetable oils and lots of common foods.

A poor balance of omega three to omega six can promote inflammation as well as the tightening of the blood vessels - but taking omega three is a simple way to combat this.

Her two food-based golden rules are maintaining a balanced diet with a range of vegetables and avoiding toxins like pesticides by cleaning your vegetables before cooking and plastic-wrapped food.

Her third golden rule is prioritizing time management to reduce stress, and avoiding unhealthy relationships - as stress leads to high cortisol levels which impact the gut too.

Dr. Ghazala said: "The gut is the central axis of the health of the body, we have to have a healthy gut so the rest of the body is healthy.

"Poor gut health can lead to inflammation which is the cause of many issues.

"Nutrition is a big part of this, people are eating ultraprocessed foods which contain additives, and not enough fiber.

"Really, we should be having whole healthy meals cooked with fresh food from scratch, like what our grandparents cooked.

"But with the modern lifestyle now, that's all gone out the window.

"My one thing is, everyone should be on high-dose omega three. We need it for our brains and cell membranes to be healthy, and when the ratio to omega six is distorted, that's when you get inflammation."

Dr. Ghazala described how the cause of many gut issues comes from the junctions in the gut membrane leaking - known as leaky gut - which allows foreign particles into the bloodstream and causes inflammation.

Causes of leaky gut can be stress, toxins, alcohol, diet and genetics - meaning some factors aren't in our control.

But Dr. Ghazala says some of them are - and to prioritize your gut health is an "act of self-care" in the same way you might take time to do skincare, meditate or write in a journal.

She explained that a huge part of maintaining gut health is your diet - and advocates for simple, fresh healthy meals using a range of ingredients.

She said: "We should try to eat what our grandparents ate. Our gut hasn't evolved in the way dietary changes have evolved.

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"There didn't used to be all these restaurants and takeout places, it was about simplicity and cooking from scratch.

"Fresh food, plenty of vegetables and trying to avoid ultraprocessed things as well as pesticides which have a negative impact on the gut.

"We live in quite a toxic soup, sometimes it's unavoidable. But we need to be aware of what we can do."

She said having a healthy, balanced and varied diet is far more important than investing in endless supplies of supplements which are promoted online.

"If you took every supplement that's supposed to be good for you, you'd be rattling," she said.

While supplements can have some benefits, the only one she says everyone should be taking is omega three.

Research has shown that early humans consumed equal amounts of omega six and omega three fatty acids in their diets and that this was beneficial to their health.

Studies show our bodies convert linolenic acid - the most common form of omega six - into a compound that can promote inflammation and blood vessel tightening.

The modern Western diet sees most people consume far more omega six these days - which is present in most processed foods made with vegetable oils.

Evidence has shown that omega six does have benefits of its own - it's important for maintaining healthy cell structures and limiting cell damage - but a poor omega three to six ratio causes problems.

Dr. Ghazala said: "You need to be having at least a 1,000 mg supplement a day as well as two portions of oily fish a week.

"It's not the amount, but the ratio being distorted, which can lead to inflammation."

She said we should also be aware of toxins like pesticides by washing vegetables before cooking them and avoiding plastic-wrapped foods.

We should also avoid microwaving food in plastic containers, as this can also allow the toxins to permeate the food.

Dr. Ghazala said it's not only food where this rule applies - but try to use paraben-free hygiene products and avoid shampoos with silicon in them, as well as aluminum-free deodorants.

She said moisturizers like almond oil are better to use than normal ones, and opting to use organic, biodegradable cleaning products, such as Ecover, can reduce your intake of toxins when you eat off plates or chop food on kitchen surfaces.

She said: "If you wipe down a countertop with bleach spray then chop food on it, it can go into the food, it's quite scary.

"In the old days we used dish soap and hand-washed in the sink.

"Even nonstick pan coating can erode and go into the food. These are all tiny things that build up and create a toxic load in our bodies."

She explained that the pressures of modern life can make maintaining healthy habits feel overwhelming - and the key is to be organized.

Dr. Ghazala said: "There are all these different longevity protocols now and different supplements people say you should take.

"But if you actually just invest in eating healthily, exercising, sleeping eight hours a night and having healthy relationships, that goes a long way."