Darker days, changing your routine and reaching for comfort food can affect digestion, here’s what you need to know…

We all know the first signs of autumn are usually really quite lovely. Crisp mornings, cosy jumpers, colourful leaves and the noticeable change in temperature leading to a perfectly reasonable excuse to put the heating on.

But your gut is also going to notice the change of season too - I bet you hadn’t thought of that?

It doesn't mean that cold weather suddenly gives you a “bad” gut microbiome - far from it. But your digestive system isn’t checking a calendar, but it will notice small changes that can impact how your digestive system works. 

We often eat differently, move a little bit less, see less sunlight and settle into busier routines as we head into autumn and the darker months. If you already live with bloating, irregular poos, abdominal discomfort or an irritable gut, those small changes can sometimes make themselves known. 

There’s loads of research on this, so this article will give you some insights to what’s going on and small daily choices you can make to help keep your gut health on track tells us about autumn and your gut, plus a few realistic ways to help it through the season. 

Does your gut microbiome really change with the seasons?

Yes, yes it can - our gut microbiome can shift throughout the year.

There’s a seasonal microbiome study I read (so you don’t have to). After following people for over a year, they found that significant seasonal differences in both the types of bacteria present and overall microbial diversity. The researchers found changes in food, particularly the availability and consumption of fresh produce, explained at least part of the difference as they notices small shifts in the microbacterial activity in the guts due in the autumn and winter months. 

Why does this matter? Well it shows what we’re eating and how we live throughout the year can impact our gut health. We already know that but this study shows how quickly that can change when we get into the autumn months.  There’s nothing wrong with enjoying comfort food, but if it means you’re eating a smaller variety of plants and less fibre, your gut bacteria may notice.

Your gut does not need just salad to be happy

Thankfully, supporting your gut doesn’t mean cold, soggy lettuce in October.

If we’re eating seasonally - which is great for the planet and our pockets… and our guts - Autumn produces some excellent gut-friendly foods. Apples, pears, squash, pumpkin, carrots, beetroot, leeks, cabbage, kale, oats, beans and lentils can all add fibre and plant variety to our meals.I’m obsessed with Bold Beans at the moment - and have both of their recipe books. 

Fibre is good for the gut for loads of reasons but we’ll focus on one in this article - certain types of fibre reach the large bowel, where gut bacteria can ferment them and produce compounds called short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). They have important roles, including helping to support the cells lining our colon - and what this does is help prevent damage to the gut lining. A dietary fibre review of 44 human dietary-fibre studies found that fibre interventions influence gut bacteria so fibre matters, but different fibres do different jobs. 

Soups, stews, curries, porridge and trays of roasted vegetables all count. Frozen and tinned vegetables count too. Your gut is not judging your dinner on how pretty it looks on instagram, but the quality of the ingredients and fibre content. 

For most people, our current diets is fairly low in fibre so there’s something to watch out for - you don’t want to increase it really quickly, it needs to be gradual. Going from very little fibre to a heroic bowl of lentils, beans and bran overnight may leave you feeling more bloated and windy, particularly if you have IBS (irritable bowels). Give your gut time to adjust and pay attention to what feels comfortable for you.

Autumn routines can upset your gut rhythm

September often feels like a second New Year. Summer holidays are over, schools return, diaries fill up, work becomes busier and suddenly everyone wants to arrange a meeting.

That change in routine can affect your eating and toilet habits. You might skip breakfast, eat lunch at your desk, drink more coffee or ignore the urge to go to the loo because you’re rushing.

Our bowels (guts) tend to appreciate rhythm. Chewing properly, eating regularly and allowing yourself enough time to use the toilet can help keep things moving normally. The NHS advises responding when you feel the urge to poo rather than delaying it, along with gradually increasing fibre, drinking enough fluid and staying active. See NHS constipation guidance.

Try giving breakfast or your first meal of the day a little breathing space. Sit down if you can, chew properly and let your digestive system receive the memo that food has arrived. And ideally do a walk after each meal (we know that’s not always possible!) 

It sounds almost too simple, but simple habits are usually the ones we can keep doing.

Stress can make an irritable gut even more vocal

Before I started researching gut health and IBS, I had no idea about the gut-brain axis - and when I found out about it, boy did I go down a rabbit hole! In the simplest of easy to explain: your brain and digestive system are in constant conversation through what is known as the gut-brain axis. Kinda like a super highway of communications from brain to gut and back again. 

This communication involves your nervous system, immune system, hormones and compounds produced by your gut microbes. And research shows that both on-off and ongoing stress can influence your gut sensation, movement, barrier function and microbial activity.This is an interesting article on stress and gastrointestinal function.

It’s why a stressful morning can sometimes be followed by cramping, bloating, constipation, loose stools or even urgently needing the toilet. The symptoms are real and they’re not “all in your head”, even when stress is one of the triggers.

So to calm your guts, you can work on calming your brain - a short walk, a slower meal, a few minutes outside or putting your phone away before bed can all help your nervous system come down a notch.

Keep moving before the sofa starts calling

Dark evenings can make the sofa extremely appealing. I love my sofa and getting snuggled up, but it’s harder to want to get out to exercise in colder months and light movement can support bowel function as well as helping with stress and sleep.

A systematic review and meta-analysis found that exercise improved symptoms among people with constipation, although the quality and types of exercise varied across the included studies.

So, you don’t need to join a boot camp but walking to get a coffee, taking a lap around the block after lunch, doing a gentle yoga session or dancing badly in the kitchen all count as movement.

A daily walk after meals can be especially useful because it brings several autumn gut habits together. You move your body, get some daylight and give your mind a break.

It’s easy to forget to drink when it’s not so hot outside

In summer, thirst is harder to ignore. As it gets cooler, drinking enough water can slip your mind. 

Fibre needs fluid to do its job properly in your gut. If you increase fibre without drinking enough, you may feel more backed up and your regularity of going to the loo can suffer - not what we need! The NHS (and kinda every health platform in the world) recommends drinking plenty of water and other fluids as part of preventing and managing constipation. Warm drinks can count towards your intake too, so tea, herbal infusions and hot water are all welcome. 

Keep a drink near you while you work, have water with meals and watch how much alcohol creeps into cosy evenings. Alcohol can irritate your digestive system for lots of people it leads to looser stools, urgency and dehydration - so worth keeping an eye on that. 

What about the autumn drop in vitamin D?

As you may know, I’m Scottish and I work inside most of the day. So vitamin D isn’t readily available to me! From October onwards, sunlight in the UK isn’t strong enough for most people to make sufficient vitamin D through their skin.

Vitamin D has been linked to several aspects of gut and immune function, and researchers continue to study its relationship with the microbiome. However, it would be too strong to say that taking vitamin D will fix digestive symptoms or improve your gut bacteria. But it’s also one of the reason we include vitamin D in our Gut Wealth postbiotic capsules. 

The more straightforward advice comes from the NHS: adults should consider taking 10 micrograms of vitamin D each day during autumn and winter. Some people are advised to take it throughout the year. 

That is sensible seasonal health advice, but vitamin D should not be treated as a cure for bloating, constipation, diarrhoea or IBS. 

Why Gut Wealth is a good autumn gut choice

When routines change, consistency can be the hardest part of looking after your gut. That’s why Gut Wealth is designed to fit into real life, including dark mornings, busy workdays and weekends away.

Gut Wealth uses a postbiotic rather than relying on live probiotic bacteria only. An expert scientific panel defines a postbiotic as a preparation containing inanimate microorganisms, or their components, that provides a health benefit. Because the microorganisms are not live, postbiotics can offer practical advantages around stability and storage. Read the scientific consensus on postbiotics.

Both Gut Wealth liquid sachets and Gut Wealth postbiotic capsules contain our trademarked postbiotic blend, including Limosilactobacillus fermentum CNCM I-2998 and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis CNCM I-4831. I know that the scientific names don’t mean much on their won - but these ingredients have over 100 years of research and big part of why I decided to create Gut Wealth, based on the science of these beneficial bacteria. 

The liquid sachets also contain fructooligosaccharides, known as FOS, while the capsules contain inulin. These are types of fibre that can be used by bacteria in the gut. Both formats include marshmallow root and selected vitamins, giving you a straightforward daily option to support your digestive routine.

There is no fridge required and no complicated mixing. Choose the ready-to-drink sachet if you prefer something for travel and life on the move or the capsules if you want an easy option alongside your normal wellness routine.

Gut Wealth is not here to replace vegetables, water, sleep or a good walk. It is here to sit alongside those everyday healthy habits, helping you build a gut routine that feels manageable enough to continue beyond the first enthusiastic week of September.

Autumn does not need to become another wellness project. A few kinder habits, repeated regularly, can go a long way towards helping your gut feel calmer as the nights draw in.