An over-acidic diet, poor digestion and too many toxins in your blood can play havoc in your intestines, upsetting the whole balance of the natural bacteria in your bowels.

This can mean you are carrying up to 9 meals worth of undigested food at any one time!

You must win the battle of bowel flora - of bad bacteria versus good.

If unfriendly bacteria take over, serious health problems such as Candida, chronic fatigue and IBS can develop.

Here are nine tips to keep your gut healthy...

1. Unfriendly bacteria positively thrive on yeast and sugar. Limit bread, biscuits, chocolate, cakes, pasta and alcohol in your diet.

2. Dairy is very mucus-forming and acidic. Cut out as much dairy produce as you can to give your colon a healthier environment.

3. Salt makes the cells hang on to water, causing bloating and water retention. Cut out those salty crisps and peanuts.

4. Cut down on red meat. It can be loaded with antibiotics (put into the animals’ feed), is incredibly hard to digest and can take four to nine days to move out of a sluggish system.

5. Unless antibiotics are life-saving, try and do without them.

More tips in a moment...

6. Eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, they’re high in water and all the vitamins and minerals your gut needs.

7. Eat more chicken and fish, especially oily fish such as salmon and tuna. It’s less acidic and easier to digest.

8. Eat plenty of brown rice. This is a really important weapon in your battle of the bulge as it will act like a broom sweeping away all those years of debris from the walls of your colon as well as providing plenty of B vitamins which are essential for the growth of friendly bacteria.

9. Eat more unsalted nuts and seeds. They’re packed full of nutrients, fibre and the essential fatty acids needed for a healthy heart, brain, joints and gut.

In the name of health!

Pascale Barrow
Managing Editor of Personal & Finance Confidential