Saliha Mahmood Ahmed partners with Bowel Research UK as first celebrity ambassador

NHS doctor, chef and winner of BBC's 2017 MasterChef competition, Dr Saliha Mahmood Ahmed, has teamed up with Bowel Research UK as its first celebrity ambassador.

Saliha, who worked with Bowel Research UK to promote its gold award-winning microbiome garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, will join forces with the charity as its ambassador to continue to promote good gut health and raise awareness of bowel diseases.

As a specialist registrar in gastroenterology with a Masters degree in nutrition and an award-winning cookery writer, Saliha is uniquely well-placed to help people improve their gut health.

Bowel Research UK is the only UK charity that funds research into bowel cancer and other bowel diseases. Alongside funding cutting-edge science into better treatments, identifying the drivers of bowel cancer and other bowel diseases and improving patient care, the charity funds research into the gut microbiome – the collection of bacteria, fungi and viruses that naturally live inside us. A diet that includes a wide range of healthy foods is linked to diversity of healthy gut bacteria, which is strongly associated with better overall health and protection from bowel diseases.

The microbiome is a key theme in Saliha’s upcoming recipe book, The 20-Minute Gut Health Fix, which will be published by Yellow Kite in hardback on 27 February 2025.

Saliha said: “As a gut health doctor, I talk every day about how to prevent bowel diseases and how diet can help people living with chronic bowel conditions manage their symptoms. I’m really excited about my new role as ambassador for Bowel Research UK. I believe this will help us reach even more people with these important messages and help raise vital funds for research that can change and save lives.”

Lindsay Easton, CEO of Bowel Research UK, said: “Saliha has already done so much to raise the profile of our charity and vital funds for our groundbreaking research into bowel cancer and other bowel diseases, so we’re delighted that she’s officially onboard as an ambassador to continue this work. We’re grateful for Saliha’s support and her dedication to fighting bowel cancer and other bowel diseases that affect more than a million people across the UK.”

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About Bowel Research UK

Bowel Research UK is funding life-changing research into bowel cancer and other bowel diseases. Every year over 16,000 people die from bowel cancer in the UK and over a million suffer from bowel disease. By researching cutting edge treatments and investing in the best science, we’re saving and improving people’s lives We’re the UK’s leading specialist bowel cancer and bowel disease research charity and our research is saving and improving lives. https://www.bowelresearchuk.org/