Former BBC Breakfast star Steph McGovern was horrified to learn that the vast majority of Brits are healthier than her.
The new mum, 37, looked visibly shocked when she was told that she ranks poorly among the general population when it comes to gut health – with a whopping 80 per cent of Brits boasting a healthier stomach than hers.
Read more: Steph McGovern hints at what her first Christmas as a mum was like
In new three-part documentary series Easy Ways to Live Well, which got underway last night (22.01.20), Steph is pairing up with presenter Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to explore easy changes people can make in their lives to dramatically improve their lives physically and mentally.
Wednesday’s episode saw one of the world’s leading experts on gut health, Dr Tim Spector, deliver the news that Steph’s gut could be a lot healthier.
He told her over the phone: “Essentially what we’ve done is take a bit of your poo and extracted the DNA from the microbes. We’ve drawn up a picture of the thousands of species you’ve got, what the community looks like.”
She asked him, fearing the worst: “And how is my community looking down there?”
That’s literally one of the most depressing calls I’ve ever had in my life.
“Your community isn’t looking healthy,” Dr Spector revealed. “I’m sorry to say. You have a narrow diversity, which means not that many different species. You’re in the unhealthy range.
“What it’s showing is, 80% of the population would be healthier than you, on average.”
Steph, clearly mortified, gasped: “Oh my god, that’s really embarrassing.”
Dr Spector continued: “Microbes that like eating fat a lot suggest that you’ve got a fair bit of fat in your diet, and we see very few microbes that like vegetables. It would suggest, really, a more junk food-type diet.”
“I eat on the go and I don’t eat particularly well,” Steph confessed, adding: “This proves it, doesn’t it?”
Luckily for Steph, Dr Spector told her it is easy to remedy and advised a diet including more fibre and vegetables, as well as more fermented foods like yoghurt and cheese.
Afterwards Steph, who gave birth to a baby girl earlier in November, admitted: “Oh man, that’s literally one of the most depressing calls I’ve ever had in my life.”
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