Emily Leeming's Blog

As much as I love autumn, it also means flu season has well and truly begun.

(It certainly got me, I’m wrapped up in blankets as I write this, sipping green tea.)

As the weather gets colder, we spend more time indoors and in close contact with each other - huddled onto buses, trains, and tubes - perfect conditions for flu viruses to spread.

Cold, dry air also helps the virus survive longer, and our immune defences can dip slightly in the darker months with less daylight and vitamin D.

I thought yo...

What if the biggest fibre boosters in your kitchen weren’t beans or chia seeds, but the small amounts of spice you use to make a curry for dinner?

Herbs and spices each pack in around 3,000 different plant compounds - from shaping your gut microbes to slowing down how quickly you eat, they’re doing a lot more than simply adding flavour.

In other words, your spice rack might just be your most underrated health tool.

Do spices have health benefits beyond flavour?

Can they improv...

Smoothies are one of the easiest ways to pack in fruit and veg - quick to make, easy to drink, and a handy option when you’re busy.

So one of the questions I’m most often asked is if blending destroys the fibre?

That’s likely because we tend to think of fibre as something stringy or tough, like the chewy bits in celery or the skins of apples.

But fibre comes in many forms, some of which you likely don’t even notice. Like how some types can dissolve completely in water and others turn into a gel.

So...

We all know we should eat more fibre.

But fibre isn’t one thing, it’s a whole family of carbohydrates that our bodies can’t digest but our gut microbes can.

Different microbes need different fibres.

If you only eat one type - like when you take a single prebiotic fibre supplement - you’re only feeding part of the community.

Here’s what the science says about why a variety of fibres matters, how much difference it can make (and how to get more of it).

How fast your gut microb...

Tea has been loved for over a thousand years, and matcha is one of its most striking forms - a vibrant green powder with deep roots in Japanese tea ceremonies.

It’s often touted as “healthier” than coffee, but is that true?

Before you whisk up a cup, it’s worth weighing the potential health benefits against whether you actually enjoy the flavour - and the fact that matcha comes with a premium price tag.

What matcha is and how it’s different from green tea

The polyphenols and...

BIG news I’ve been dying to share with you!

So many times it’s been right on the very tip of my tongue, and I’ve had to bite back the words. And now I finally can.

I’m so excited to share that my next book, Fibre Power, is coming May 2026 and you can pre-order it now.

Pre-orders make a huge difference in helping the book reach more people. If you’ve ever found my advice helpful this is the best way to suppo...

We’re always striving to do more for our health.

But what about doing less?

Taking a break to rest and recuperate – a mini breather where you step off the merry-go-round of life – to regroup and recharge is just as important.

We talk a lot about food and microbes here on .

But many other factors shape your gut microbes and your wider health too, like:

Time in nature

Moving your body

Managing stress and a good night’s sleep

So, in the spirit of looking after my microbes (and coming back to you fresh with...

A new trial has challenged the idea that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are always harmful for your health.

Instead they found that when UPFs met healthy eating guidelines, like being high in fibre and including whole grains, people lost weight and improved some measures of heart health, though less than with a diet based on whole foods.

Whole foods came out on top, but it’s not always realistic, affordable, or practical to eat them all the time.

It’s less about avoiding all UPFs, and more about choo...

Everyone’s talking about the gut microbiome these days.

It’s buzzy, it’s everywhere, and for good reason.

Trillions of tiny, living microbes in your gut - invisible to the naked eye - influence everything from digestion and immunity to emerging links with brain health.

But because it’s so complex, it’s sometimes hard to know what to say beyond the basics. Just saying “it’s important” only gets you so far.

So here are 9 surprising microbiome facts your friends probably don’t know. Nerdy, fascinatin...

There’s zero doubt that plant diversity is great for your health.

But the idea that we should all aim for exactly 30 different plant foods a week has taken on a life of its own.

You see it everywhere. In articles, on food packaging, and all over social media.

If you’ve been here a while, you’ll know I’m not a fan of the “30 plants a week” message for gut health (read why here).

That said, if aiming for 30 helps you eat more variety, brilliant. Whatever gets more plants on the plate. I’m simply here ...