Healing the gut can seem like an difficult task full of restrictions that takes all the fun out of life. However, the reality is that fixing the gut is what puts back the fun in life. Fixing the gut can help reduce pain, reduce medication use, lift the chains of depression, while helping to improve and prevent autoimmune disorders. By employing these few steps the gut can be healed and life can be restored:
Step 1: Remove All Food Toxins
Although the practicality of removing ALL food toxins is most likely impossible for Americans, this should still be the goal if you’re trying to to heal the gut. Start with “Food By Man.” These foods are produced in a factory, they come out of a box, they are found in the middle of the grocery store, and they cause disease! Foods laced with high fructose corn syrup, processed grains, trans fats, soybean oils, and added sugars should all be avoided as they feed the microbial imbalance in our gut leading to a “Leaky Gut” and increased inflammation.
When shopping for food in the grocery store stick to the outside of the store. Stick to foods that don’t come with a food label (Kale doesn’t need one). If the healthy food you’re considering does have a label make sure you can pronounce all of the ingredients and you can recognize their source.
Step 2: Maximize Your Digestive Capacity With The Proper Stomach pH
Low stomach acid is a prerequisite to healthy digestion. The breakdown and absorption of nutrients occurs within a narrow range of acidity in the stomach. If there isn’t enough acid, the normal chemical reactions required to absorb nutrients become impaired. Without the proper amount of acid, proteins and carbohydrates putrefy in the gut, and may cause gas, bloating, heartburn and other digestive issues.
At the same time, proteins that escape digestion may end up in the bloodstream. Since this is not supposed to happen, the body reacts to these proteins as if they were foreign invaders, causing allergic and autoimmune responses. There are numerous causes of low stomach acid.
The most common are:
- H. pylori infection
- Chronic stress
- Acid suppressing drugs
- Low animal protein intake
- Increased age
Restoring proper acid production starts with reducing some of the common causes such as, testing and treatment of H. pylori, reduction in chronic lifestyle stressors, limiting acid suppressing drugs and increasing the intake pH lowering foods. Apple cider vinegar and hydrochloric acid supplementation can lower the stomach’s pH. Taking 2 oz. of apple cider vinegar prior to each meal can help aid in digestion and restore microbial balance. Likewise, peppermint and dandelion root teas, fennel, ginger, and beets can improve proper pH acidity in the stomach.
Step 3: Eat Plenty Of Fermentable Fiber
When we eat the soluble fibers found in whole plant foods, the bacteria in our gut ferment these fibers into short-chain fatty acids. This is very important for feeding the friendly bacteria that live in our guts. One of the risks of long term very low-carbohydrate diets is the potentially harmful effect they can have on beneficial gut flora. These diets starve both bad and good gut bacteria and may actually contribute to insufficiency of beneficial strains of gut bacteria over the long term. Ingesting adequate levels of carbohydrate and soluble fiber to feed friendly bacteria is important for optimizing digestive health and maintaining the integrity of the gut lining. When healing the gut, include fermentable starches such as sweet potatoes, yucca, leafy greens, carrots, root vegetables, apples, berries and nuts.
Step 4: Eat fermented foods and/or take a high-quality, multi-species probiotic.
Foods that are high in beneficial bacterial counts are key to repopulating the gut with the necessary microbes needed for proper digestion. These include: kefir, kombucha tea, apple cider vinegar, kimchi, yogurt, and sauerkraut. Kefir is arguably the best food for healing the gut. The various types of beneficial microbiota contained in kefir make it one of the most potent probiotic foods available. Besides containing highly beneficial bacteria and yeasts, kefir is a rich source of many different vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids that promote healing and repair, as well as general health maintenance. Kefir is a great source of minerals like calcium and magnesium, as well as phosphorus, which helps the body utilize carbohydrates, fats and proteins for cell growth, maintenance and energy. Likewise, kombucha, sauerkraut, and kimchi are great sources of various varieties of microbes needed to restore and maintain gut health.
If you want to make your own kefir at home click here.
Step 5: Treat Any Intestinal Pathogens That May Be Present.
Intestinal pathogens such as H. pylori, SIBO, and candida can destroy proper balance of the microorganisms in your gut. These pathogens can often be found in the gut following the course of antibiotic use. Some studies have shown that even a short course of antibiotic treatment and low doses can still have create an overgrowth of pathogenic organisms.
Eliminating these pathogens can be tricky but doable given a consistent plan. First, follow the steps already laid out in this article. It is very important if you are trying to rid your intestines of an offending bacteria that you eliminate the toxic food feeding it, maximize your acidic pH, eat enough fiber, and replenish the gut with healthy bacteria. Second, increase foods that are known to disrupt bacterial growth. Sure, this will have an effect on the beneficial bacteria but as you are placing more healthy bacteria into your system you will in time overcome the harmful bacteria. Foods that can disrupt bacterial growth are garlic, coconut oil, oregano, cayenne, turmeric, and honey.
Important note: Avoiding the use of antibiotic therapy is crucial to improving gut health. We need antibiotics for emergency situations but when it is not an emergency try the above foods to avoid antibiotic use.
Step 6: Take Steps To Manage Chronic Stress
It is no secret that stress affects our digestive system. Have you ever been nauseous before a big test or event? The gut has more neurons than our brain and likewise is greatly affected by our emotions.
Hormones released under times of stress change the way we digest food. For some it may slow things down creating constipation and gas. For others chronic stress can cause diarrhea and intestinal inflammation. Needless to say, controlling our lifestyle stress plays an important role in healing the gut. Small steps go a long way when reducing stress levels. Try taking 30 minutes out of a day, 3 times a week, to simply read, walk alone, hike in the woods, do yoga, creatively write, color, and/or pray. This time away will not help to solve all of the world’s problems but it will provide a short break from the noise.
On the flip side, healing the gut will help to control chronic stress. Studies have shown that consuming probiotic foods and/or supplements might influence how we perceive stress by reducing systemic inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress, increasing peripheral tryptophan levels, normalizing brain levels of stress hormones. This has shown significant improvements in depression, anger, anxiety, as well as lower levels of cortisol. This data suggests that not only can chronic stress change the diversity of microflora in the gut, but that the quality and health of friendly gut bacteria may also conversely have an effect on mental health and well-being.
Conclusion:
Gut health may be one of the most under-appreciated components of overall wellness in our current medical model. It’s amazing how many different conditions can be affected by problems such as gut dysbiosis or leaky gut. Anyone can benefit from paying more attention to health of their own gut and take steps to improve their internal environment.
Want More?
If you would like more information on “How To Heal The Gut” or how you can improve your health, schedule an appointment with Dr. Rich at our Roanoke, Virginia Chiropractic Office.
Also, attend our “Heal The Gut” class February 7th at 6pm.
We will discuss the information in part 1 and part 2 of this discussion and much more!
Don’t forget our [LivFit] health seminar series held twice yearly. This 3 week seminar shows us how to live healthy in an unhealthy world. Watch for upcoming announcements about this year’s [LivFit] classes.
All Gr8 Probiotics, Flax Oil, and L-glutamine on Sale! 10% off!
Daryl C. Rich, D.C., C.S.C.S., A.R.T.
