Read time: 8 minutes
And she’s back! I’ve been busy having a baby, and Claritti took a pause with me. Thank you for sticking around. We’re back to normal programming.
The Gut deep dive covered the science: what your microbiome does, how it handles oestrogen, and why “gut healing” sells so well. This is the practical follow-up. Less science, more shopping list.
Understanding how it all works is one thing, standing in the supermarket wondering whether you need kefir, kimchi, a probiotic and thirty different vegetables is where it starts to unravel. All the advice can make eating feel like managing a small ecosystem with a performance review due on Friday.
Let’s make it easier.
The short version
Fibre first. Most of us don’t need a gut product. We need more fibre, and the cheapest sources cost cents per serve.
Add one fermented food you enjoy. Check the label for live cultures.
Probiotics are strain-specific. If you can’t name the strain, the problem and the dose, keep your money.
If more plants make you feel worse, go slower and look at the type of fibre before giving up on it.
First, decide which person you are.
“I just want to eat better for my gut.”
My pick: fibre, before anything with “gut” on the label.
Fibre feeds the bacteria you already have and keeps things moving, and higher intakes are linked with lower risk of several major chronic diseases. That’s a better résumé than a vague promise to “support wellness”.
How much: the Australian target for adult women is 25 g a day, rising to 28 g in pregnancy and 30 g while breastfeeding.
Worth knowing: the gut bacteria that help recycle your oestrogen (the estrobolome, from the deep dive) live on what you feed them. No food has been shown to “balance” them, but the fibre you can’t digest yourself is one of their main sources of fuel.
Where to find it at Woolworths:
Rolled oats: $3.20 for 1.5 kg (Woolworths brand). About 4 g of fibre in a 40 g bowl, for under 10 cents.
Tinned chickpeas or lentils: 95 cents a can (Woolworths brand). Half a can adds around 6 g.
Wholegrain bread: Tip Top 9 Grain Wholemeal ($4.60) has 6.9 g in two slices.
Frozen mixed vegetables: $2.80 a kilo (Woolworths Essentials). 2.5 g per serve, and nothing turning into expensive compost in the crisper.
Frozen berries: $13 a kilo. Almost 6 g in a cup.
Chia seeds: Macro, $6 for 350 g. 5 g in a tablespoon.
Worth knowing: swapping your bread can double your fibre without changing a single meal. Helga’s Soft White has 3.2 g in two slices. Tip Top 9 Grain Wholemeal has 6.9 g. White bread loyalist? Helga’s White Plus High Fibre ($5.80) has 9 g.
The marketing caveat: the “thirty plants a week” rule comes from the American Gut Project, an observational study where people eating more than thirty plants a week had more diverse microbiomes than those eating ten or fewer. It’s a useful nudge towards variety, not a pass mark. Twenty-nine is not a fail. And a pinch of six spices adds flavour and variety but almost no fibre, because variety and quantity measure different things.
“I want to try fermented foods.”
My pick: one you actually like, eaten regularly, with live cultures on the label.
This is the gut food with the most promising human evidence. In a small Stanford study, healthy adults on a diet rich in fermented foods increased their microbial diversity and lowered several inflammatory markers.
Worth knowing: they got there on about six servings a day. And the high-fibre group in the same study saw their diversity hold steady rather than rise, so fermented foods seem to be doing something distinct. It was 36 people and a lot of yoghurt, so treat it as promising rather than a prescription.
What to buy:
Yoghurt: Woolworths Natural Greek Style ($4.20 for 1 kg) lists four live cultures. Jalna Greek Style Natural ($9 for 1 kg, often on special) lists three.
Kefir: Babushka’s Natural ($7.60 for 750 g). Live kefir cultures, plus added inulin, which matters if you have IBS (more below).
Sauerkraut: Kehoe’s Kitchen Classic ($8.50 for 410 g), sold raw from the fridge.
Kimchi: The Kimchi Company Vegan ($9.50 for 500 g) or Kehoe’s Kitchen Red ($9.50 for 410 g), both refrigerated.
Kombucha: Remedy ($9.90 for four cans, often on special) lists live cultures. Drink it because you like it, not as a daily obligation.
Worth knowing: fermented doesn’t always mean alive. Sourdough is fermented before baking, and the oven kills most if not all the microbes. The shelf-stable sauerkraut jars in the pickle aisle (from about $2.70) have usually been heat-treated so they can sit at room temperature. Both are fine to eat. Just don’t count on live microbes.
The marketing caveat: a jar promising “billions of probiotics” is describing what might be inside, not what it’s been shown to do. Strictly, a probiotic needs a demonstrated health benefit at an adequate dose, and most fermented foods haven’t been tested that way.
“I’m thinking about a probiotic.”
My pick: only with a specific reason, and a specific strain to match it.
“Probiotic” covers a huge range of organisms. Evidence for one doesn’t transfer to another just because both come in capsules.
For IBS: the American Gastroenterological Association recommends probiotics only within clinical trials, because the evidence isn’t strong enough for a general recommendation.
On antibiotics: a 2021 review of 42 trials found probiotics reduced antibiotic-associated diarrhoea overall. But when the analysis kept only the trials at low risk of bias, the benefit was no longer statistically clear.
Ask four questions before you buy:
What specific symptom or outcome am I trying to improve?
Has this exact strain been studied for that outcome?
Does the product contain the dose used in that research?
How will I know if it’s working, and when will I stop?
What a useful label looks like: Inner Health Plus Double Strength ($54.99 for 60 capsules at Chemist Warehouse) lists Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM and Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07. Yomogi ($61.90 for a twin pack) lists Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745. The letters and numbers after the name are strain codes, and they’re what let you or your pharmacist look up the research. A label that stops at the species, or says “proprietary blend”, leaves you guessing.
Worth knowing: at one capsule a day, that first product costs around $330 a year. The same money buys about 350 tins of chickpeas.
The marketing caveat: a bigger CFU number on the bottle doesn’t answer any of those four questions.
“More fibre makes me bloated.”
My pick: go slower, and look at the type of fibre before giving up on it.
You should be able to eat without treating every meal as a test of endurance.
Add one food at a time. Tedious, I know. Start with a small portion and keep your water up.
Choose your fibre. Monash notes that psyllium is well tolerated by many people with IBS and may help with constipation, while highly fermentable fibres such as inulin can worsen gas.
Read “prebiotic” labels. Inulin turns up in foods too, including that kefir above. A fibre your microbes love can still leave you uncomfortable.
Consider a structured approach. For diagnosed IBS, the Monash FODMAP diet runs in three stages: a short restriction, reintroduction, then personalisation. The goal is the broadest diet you tolerate, ideally with a dietitian.
If you want a fibre supplement: Metamucil Smooth Orange ($33.99 for 72 doses at Chemist Warehouse) gives you 3.4 g of psyllium a dose. Macro Organic Psyllium Husk ($7 for 250 g at Woolworths) is plain psyllium.
Worth knowing: per gram of psyllium, the plain husk costs about a fifth as much. You’re paying extra for the smooth texture and flavour, not a different fibre. Whichever you choose, Monash suggests starting with a small dose and building up over several days.
Don’t ignore persistent bloating. It deserves a check-up, not another supplement. Healthdirect advises seeing your doctor if it doesn’t improve, and promptly if it comes with blood in your stool, unexplained weight loss, ongoing pain or feeling full unusually quickly.
What to look for, What to ignore
Look for:
Fibre per serve on the nutrition panel
“Live cultures” in the ingredients
“Raw” and a spot in the fridge for sauerkraut and kimchi
Strain codes on probiotics
Ignore:
“Wholesome”, “gut-loving” and “supports digestive health” on the front of the pack
“Billions of probiotics” on a jar
A bigger CFU number as proof a probiotic is better
“Prebiotic” as automatically good news if you have IBS
Common mistakes
Jumping from 10 g of fibre to 30 g overnight
Buying a probiotic before fixing breakfast
Treating thirty plants as a pass mark
Assuming every fermented food is alive
Paying a premium for live cultures the $4.20 tub already has
Treating ongoing bloating with another supplement instead of getting it checked
The $11 starter shop
One change from each area, at Woolworths:
Breakfast fibre: rolled oats, $3.20
Easy vegetables: frozen mixed vegetables, $2.80
One legume: a tin of chickpeas, 95 cents
One fermented food: live-culture Greek yoghurt, $4.20
Add frozen berries and chia, and breakfast (150 g of yoghurt, 40 g of oats, half a cup of berries and a tablespoon of chia) comes to roughly 12 g of fibre for about $2. You’re nearly halfway to 25 g before you’ve left the house.
Then repeat it. Crazy concept, I know. A breakfast you enjoy doesn’t need replacing every morning. Variety can come from the rest of the week.
Over the next few weeks, notice whether meals are satisfying, whether bowel movements are comfortable and whether any change makes symptoms worse. You can’t feel your microbial diversity, but those everyday signals still tell you whether the routine suits you.
A note on the products here
No affiliate links, no sponsorship, no gifted product. These are examples of what to look for, chosen because they’re easy to find in Australia. Prices are from Woolworths and Chemist Warehouse online in early October 2026, and specials change weekly.
This isn’t a substitute for advice from your GP, dietitian or pharmacist.
The Claritti verdict
Feed the gut you have before buying products to fix it.
Fibre first. One fermented food you enjoy. Build slowly. Save the supplement money until you can name the strain, the problem and the dose.
Women already have plenty of health advice to fit into the week. Breakfast should remain a meal you look forward to.
Until next time,
Curiosity is useful. Confusion is expensive. And clarity is the point.