Dr Michael Mosley sleep recipes: Eat your way to better sleep – in just four weeks Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Food Dr Michael Mosley Eat your way to better sleep – in just four weeks By You Magazine - March 15, 2020 A gut-friendly, Mediterranean-style diet, rich in foods that support and encourage healthy bacteria, could be the answer to sleeplessness. The pioneer of the 5:2 diet, Dr Michael Mosley, has a new plan to get you snoozing like a baby. We have long known that the classic Mediterranean diet is great for your health, but studies now show that a diet rich in fresh vegetables and fruit, oily fish, beans, pulses and olive oil is also an important weapon in the battle against insomnia. One likely reason is the diet’s effect on the microbiome – the trillions of microbes that live in our guts. The Mediterranean diet boosts levels of your ‘good’ gut bacteria, and the latest studies show gut bacteria play an important role in deciding whether you sleep fitfully or well. So I have devised a multifaceted insomnia plan which, for the first time, combines common-sense guidance about sleep hygiene and expert instruction in the powerfully effective technique of ‘sleep restriction’ with dietary advice designed to boost your health. It also enhances the natural power of your gut bacteria to aid sleep. David Bostock Photography Ltd All next week the Daily Mail will be serialising my latest book, Fast Asleep: How to Get a Really Good Night’s Rest, with four-page pullouts which detail my brilliant four-week insomnia cure. Central to the plan’s success is adopting the principles of the Mediterranean diet – a process made deliciously easy thanks to the recipes created for the book by my wife, the GP and YOU columnist Dr Clare Bailey, working closely with Justine Pattison, one of the UK’s leading healthy-eating recipe writers. These recipes are packed with anti-inflammatory compounds and antioxidants which will boost your health and mood to aid good sleep. It’s also a perfect diet for your microbiome – microbes which are known to produce important sleep-inducing brain chemicals. Research shows that people with the most diverse microbiomes have the best-quality sleep. And the good news is you can swiftly alter the mix of microbes that live in your gut by changing what you eat. By avoiding sugar and junk food you can starve out ‘bad’ bacteria, and by filling your plate with delicious vegetables, pulses and wholegrains you will create the best possible environment for ‘good’ bacteria to thrive. Oily fish (such as mackerel and salmon), nuts and seeds will boost your intake of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, but you can further enhance the snooze-inducing power of your gut bacteria by eating prebiotic foods which contain non-digestible plant fibre that acts like fertiliser to encourage growth of the ‘good’ bacteria. You’ll get an extra boost of prebiotic fibre in the oats, onion, leeks, chicory and pulses in these recipes and you can help repopulate your microbiome with fermented probiotic foods such as kimchi and pickled onions. Michael Mosley sleep recipes A gut-friendly Mediterranean-style diet Tofu leek and kimchi broth A lovely, exotic, Korean-inspired noodle soup that includes the benefits of fermented kimchi. Image: Alex Smith. Styling: Phil Mundy BUY IT NOW Baked turmeric-spiced fennel and onion Combining soluble fibre and anti-inflammatory turmeric, this delicately flavoured dish goes with almost anything. Image: Alex Smith. Styling: Phil Mundy GET THE RECIPE Hot-smoked salmon anchovies artichoke and broccoli pasta Omega-3 from the oily fish, lots of lovely fibre, as well as nutrient-rich fermented crème fraîche. All you need to soothe you to sleep. Image: Alex Smith. Styling: Phil Mundy GET THE RECIPE Shepherd’ s pie with parsnip and white bean mash There is lots of glorious fibre in this shepherd’s pie, thanks to all the vegetables, lentils and beans. Good, sleep-inducing comfort food. Serve with freshly cooked leafy greens. Image: Alex Smith. Styling: Phil Mundy GET THE RECIPE Chicken and veg traybake An easy, all-in-one, gut-friendly dish. Serve with a crisp green salad. Image: Alex Smith. Styling: Phil Mundy GET THE RECIPE Smoky fish gratin A simple, creamy fish pie with lots of flavour and a crispy topping – comfort food rich in omega-3. Image: Alex Smith. Styling: Phil Mundy GET THE RECIPE Purple pickled onions This is a favourite with me and my wife. Juicy, sweet and salty pink onion rings bring crunch and flavour to almost any savoury meal. Technically, they are fermented rather than pickled in vinegar, which means they taste better, as well as enhancing your microbiome. Image: Alex Smith. Styling: Phil Mundy GET THE RECIPE Black bean salad with lime and avocado A tangy and filling salad. The tasty black beans are not only a boost of fibre but also add a generous hit of anti-inflammatory phytonutrients and B vitamins, including folate. Image: Alex Smith. Styling: Phil Mundy GET THE RECIPE Meatballs with feta and aubergine These meatballs are beautifully complemented by the aubergine, with its antioxidants for reducing inflammation in the body and brain. Serve with leafy greens or a salad, or small portions of brown rice or bulgur wheat for a more substantial meal. Image: Alex Smith. Styling: Phil Mundy GET THE RECIPE Baked chicory with prosciutto Chicory roots are one of the best sources of soluble fibre, supporting gut health and, by association, boosting mood. A light, flavoursome dish. Image: Alex Smith. Styling: Phil Mundy GET THE RECIPE Baked sweet potato with smoked mackerel This is a tasty way to up your omega-3 intake. Image: Alex Smith. Styling: Phil Mundy GET THE RECIPE Griddled aubergine with feta and pine nuts Luscious dark aubergine is the star of this dish, delivering plenty of fibre and antioxidants to help get your gut into top condition. Some research even suggests that it helps lower blood sugar. Image: Alex Smith. Styling: Phil Mundy GET THE RECIPE Courgette orange and apricot cake Zinging with orange flavour and remarkably low in sugar, this cake is scrumptious and microbiome friendly. Serve in small squares like a brownie. Image: Alex Smith. Styling: Phil Mundy GET THE RECIPE Rosy overnight oats Oh, the joy of stumbling into the kitchen and being able to dig straight into this creamy, oaty breakfast pot! It’s also a great way to get a healthy dose of fibre. Image: Alex Smith. Styling: Phil Mundy GET THE RECIPE Buy the book with a 40 per cent discount Fast Asleep: How to Get a Really Good Night’s Rest by Michael Mosley is published by Short Books, price £9.99. To order a copy for £5.99 with free p&p until 30 April, go to mailshop.co.uk or call 01603 648155. RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Kids can eat for free at these restaurants during October half-term How to make the viral negroni sbagliato with prosecco at home 7 Halloween recipes with serious hex factor Popular in Food Gabriela Peacock 14-day plan Anytime baked eggs May 23, 2021 Joe Wicks’ maple-glazed chicken thighs with Asian slaw June 6, 2021 Mary Berry is returning to TV screens for a brand new June 15, 2021 Eleanor Maidment My summer taste notes July 4, 2021 Uyen Luu’ s sticky mustard marmalade ribs July 25, 2021 Annie Bell’ s white peach bellinis recipe August 8, 2021 M& S has launched a new crunchy Caramilk-inspired golden chocolate spread August 24, 2021 Deliciously preserved pickle and jam recipes September 19, 2021 Gordon Ramsay’ s bang bang cauliflower October 3, 2021 Wow right now Clodagh McKenna’ s speedy family dinners October 24, 2021 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. All Rights Reserved