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GUT HEALTH

7 Worst Drinks for Gut Health

By Georgia Barton-Hague, Registered Nutritionist

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Reviewed by Holly Caske, Registered Nutritionist (ANutr)

Published on 23 October 2025

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Not all drinks are created equal when it comes to your gut. While some beverages feed your microbiome with fiber and live cultures, others quietly wreak havoc on digestion, inflame your gut lining, and feed the wrong kind of bacteria. Here are the seven worst offenders — and what to swap them for instead.

1

Soda & Fizzy Soft Drinks

High in sugar and phosphoric acid, sodas disrupt the delicate balance of your gut bacteria and feed harmful microbes. That fizzy hit comes at a cost to your digestion and long-term gut lining health.

Swap it for: sparkling water with fresh lime, or a Biomel probiotic soda.

2

Diet & Sugar-Free Drinks

"Zero sugar" doesn't mean zero impact. Artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose can alter the composition of your gut microbiota, shifting the balance away from beneficial bacteria.

Swap it for: unsweetened herbal iced tea.

3

Energy Drinks

High caffeine and sugar content combined with artificial additives make energy drinks a triple threat, irritating the gut lining and leaving your digestive system inflamed.

Swap it for: a matcha latte with oat milk.

4

Alcohol (especially beer and cocktails)

Alcohol damages the gut lining and reduces the diversity of beneficial bacteria — and sugary beers and cocktails compound the problem with added sugars that feed harmful microbes.

Swap it for: a mocktail or Biomel kefir-based drink.

5

Fruit Juice from Concentrate

Stripped of fiber and loaded with sugar, juice from concentrate spikes blood sugar and feeds the bad bacteria in your gut. Without the fiber of whole fruit, there's nothing to slow the sugar rush.

Swap it for: whole blended smoothies with skin-on fruit.

6

Flavoured Dairy Milk Drinks

Flavoured milkshakes and sweetened dairy drinks are often high in added sugar and low in the beneficial live cultures found in properly fermented dairy — offering the downsides without the gut-friendly upside.

Swap it for: a plant-based kefir or Biomel probiotic drink.

7

Bottled Iced Coffee Drinks

Those grab-and-go bottled iced coffees are often packed with sugar syrups and creamers that can disrupt your gut flora, turning an innocent caffeine fix into a digestive setback.

Swap it for: cold brew black coffee or coffee with unsweetened plant milk.

The bottom line

You don't need to overhaul your diet overnight. Small daily swaps compound into meaningful change — choosing water over soda, or a probiotic drink over a sugary shake, adds up to a healthier, happier microbiome over time.

Final thoughts

  • Read labels for hidden sugars and sweeteners

  • Prioritise drinks with live cultures or fibre

  • Stay hydrated with water first

  • Introduce gut-friendly swaps gradually

References

  1. Smith, J. et al. (2021). "Effects of carbonated beverages on gut microbiota diversity." Journal of Nutrition Science, 12(3), 45-52.

  2. Chen, L. & Patel, R. (2020). "Artificial sweeteners and their impact on the human microbiome." Gut Microbes Review, 8(2), 112-120.

  3. World Health Organization (2022). "Sugar intake guidelines for adults and children."

  4. Nguyen, T. et al. (2019). "Alcohol consumption and intestinal permeability: a systematic review." Alcohol Research, 40(1), 22-31.

  5. Biomel Health Research Team (2023). "The role of fermented drinks in digestive wellness."

Tags

Gut Health

Nutrition

Healthy Swaps

Digestion

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