Here’s How Summer Holidays Can Help Your Microbiome Thrive

When the sun comes out, we naturally move more, eat fresh foods, and spend more time outside – all things your gut loves.

Your microbiome thrives on variety and balance, and summer offers exactly that:

• Fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables (hello, prebiotics!)
• Focus on hydration, essential for a healthy gut
• More time outdoors, where your body connects with environmental microbes
• Increased movement, which keeps your digestion flowing
• Delicious, refreshing fermented foods like kombucha, yogurt, and pickles, which bring friendly bacteria directly to your gut

And let’s not forget – summer allows for more relaxation and more sunlight on your skin. That means you may just be in a better mood. I know I am!

7 Steps to Feed Your Microbiome this Summer

1. More Time Outdoors = More Microbial Diversity

Spending more time outside (in parks, forests, beaches) increases your exposure to environmental microbes, which can enrich your gut microbiome. Contact with soil, plants, and animals introduces beneficial bacteria that support gut health. Physical activity also promotes microbial diversity.

How to make it happen:

• Plan an outdoor vacation where you learn to surf, cycling, or go hiking.
• Choose a hotel that has its own gardens or access to a forest.
• Try a farm vacation, AKA agritourism where you can connect with nature, be with animals and eat seasonal fruits and vegetables. 

2. Seasonal Eating Increases Microbiome Diversity

Eating with the seasons, means you’re eating different kinds of fruits and vegetables which feeds different kinds of bacteria. Fiber = prebiotic = food for your gut bacteria!

Spring gives you asparagus, radishes and rhubarb. Summer offers berries, leafy greens, zucchini, tomatoes. Whereas autumn offers squashes, apples, and beetroot.

This variety is essential for microbiome diversity, because it means you are essentially building up more of the good bacteria, leaving less space for the not so good. 

3.  Fermented Foods are already on the Table

In many cultures, summer is a time for more fermented foods and drinks like kombucha, kefir, pickles, sauerkraut, and yogurt, which directly support a healthy gut, because it contains beneficial bacteria in it.

How to make it happen:

• Add sauerkraut to your BBQ! Add to hot dogs, hamburgers, or on top of a slice of halloumi cheese.
• Try a spoon of kimchi with your grilled meats or grilled veggies.
• Eat a bit of refreshing and cool kefir with fruit and oats in the morning.
• Create a creamy sauce using probiotic yogurt as the base.

Do you struggle digesting fermented foods?

Some people get scared, thinking fermented foods create gas and bloating in the belly. If this is you, try adding in a tiny bit of sauerkraut or kimchi to each meal. The key is to take a tiny bite of the fermented food with a piece of meat or vegetable and chew it together.

Chewing well and chewing with other foods in your mouth can help the digestion process along. You may be able to tolerate it better slowly over time.

4. We Know to Drink Water, but Why?

We all know, we should be drinking lots of water in summer, but does it help the microbiome? Drinking enough helps to create saliva, stomach acid and digestive fluids that help digestion move along. Also, your intestines need water to allow the stool to move freely through. If it’s dry in there, well… it’s going to get stuck.

Staying hydrated is critical for good digestion and regular bowel movements, which in turn support a balanced gut microbiome.

How to make it happen:

• Get an idea of how much liquid you are drinking right now.
• Learn that the recommended amounts per day varies by age, environment, and activity levels. According to EFSA, the adequate intake for adults is defined as 2.0 liters per day for women and 2.5 liters per day for men.
• Best choice for hydration is plain, still mineral water.
• Other ideas to support hydration are juices, soups, stews, herbal teas, milk, fruit and vegetables. 

5. More Movement = Happier Gut

People tend to move more in summer (walking, swimming, cycling), and regular movement supports gut motility and microbiome diversity. Gut motility means that your digestion is able to move the stool towards elimination from the body. So physically moving that part of your body, helps to push and move the stool out as well.

How to make it happen:

• Go for a walk after every meal.
• Instead of going out to dinner to meet with friends, schedule a walking or hiking date.
• When swimming, play like a child. Jumping in, climbing out, diving in, getting out and chase each other. 

6. Avoiding Problems Like Bloating and Constipation

Summer means being on-the-go, which can challenge the gut because our routines get up-ended, and we eat differently on holiday than when at home. You may experience travel-related digestive issues, like bloating or constipation. Don’t worry. We can take care of that with probiotic supplements and microbiome-friendly habits.

How to make it happen:

Start your digestive health routine BEFORE you travel.

Take a probiotic or synbiotic supplement like BioMe+ every day for 3 weeks before you travel. This “seeds” your microbiome with good bacteria and helps you get into a healthy rhythm.

• Walk at least 15 minutes after a meal.
• While traveling, continue these habits AND:
• Allow yourself time on the toilet. Don’t rush.
• Continue to drink plenty of water.
• Massage your belly in a clockwise motion when you lie down to sleep.
• Note down which foods give you good digestion and which foods cause bloating and an uncomfortable feeling.

7. Less Stress, Better Microbiome

Longer days, more sun, and more leisure time help reduce chronic stress, which positively impacts the gut-brain axis.

How to make it happen:

• Reflect on what truly helps you to relax, because sometimes holidays aren’t really relaxing especially for parents.
• Give yourself time to just be without distractions (put the phone away for a while.)
• Consider self-expression activities like painting, journaling, singing, and crafting.

Hot Summer Tip for a Happy Microbiome

If you're traveling this summer, your microbiome might get challenged by new foods and routines. BioMe+ helps supports easy digestion, PLUS it helps your mind stay clear, and emotions in balance for an excellent mood during your precious summer holidays.

Keep moving, stay hydrated, eat fresh… and let your microbiome flourish.

Your gut will thank you.

 

EFSA Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for Water

https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/1459