Healing the Gut with Diet and Lifestyle

Confusion and Overwhelm Around Healing the Gut

There are many factors that can contribute to poor digestion and
poor gut health. One person might have a complicated panel of food allergies
and intolerances, while another may be suffering from an overgrowth of
bacteria, fungus, or even the presence of less detectable stealth pathogens.
Then there are the cases with diverticulosis, which has to do more with the
structure of the intestinal walls. And then there are the leaky gut cases.
There are a lot of possibilities of what might be going on down there! I have
had many clients who have a diagnosis related to the gut, but also have food
allergies and intolerances. Whereas those would both be important to pay
attention to when developing a wellness plan, one may not have anything to do
with the other, or more importantly, one may take priority over the other,
when it comes to what your body requires to heal and thrive.

With that, here are some basics to start thinking about, for what
I believe would be a functionally sound approach to gut
health.

Start Listening to Your Body and Take Notes

Depending on the severity of any given situation, there could be a
period of trial and error. Even your best gastroenterologist doesn’t walk
around with you and document your reaction to everything you eat. Only you
can do that. Don’t be afraid to listen to your body. A negative reaction to a
food is your body telling you something is wrong.

Use your research to help whoever is helping you. Share all your
personal data with your nutritionist or licensed health care provider. You
never know what valuable piece of information, like how your body responds to
a certain kind of food, can help crack the code to healing your gut. You may
be surprised to discover it’s simpler that you anticipated. But you wouldn’t
know without being super observant. So don’t be afraid to listen and learn
from your own body.

Healing the Gut
with Lifestyle

In functional wellness, a symptom is viewed as result of either a
nutritional deficiency or an environmental danger. When I say environmental
danger in this context, I am referring to endogenous or exogenous factors
that are having a toxic or negative effect on a particular bodily function.
For the purposes of this article, I use the word “lifestyle” to
encompass everything we choose to expose ourselves to that can make us
vulnerable to these environmental dangers. A regular wine habit, overuse of
coffee, prescription or recreational drug use, stress, exposure to pesticides
in foods, GM foods with proteins that are unrecognizable to our body, and
even the water you drink and the air you breathe, can be environmental
dangers. This can all have an impact on your gut health. For example, when
our gut flora is compromised by the presence of a toxin, it may die off,
allowing an unhealthy bacteria or other parasite to move in and grow in our
gut. This causes an imbalance in our beneficial gut flora, known as
dysbiosis. This is just one example.

Here are some lifestyle improvements you can make to support a
healthier gut environment:

Make your home a toxic-free zone.
Just a few years ago this was more challenging. But today we have pretty good
access to household products that are free from known toxins. A great place
to start is by looking for third party certifications on your household
cleaning and personal care products, like the Toxic Free
Foundation, an organization that provides an evaluation and a
special seal that product manufacturers can display on their products if they
meet the strict criteria.
Be mindful when treating digestive and gut symptoms
with over the counter and other medication. Whereas I am not
advising against any doctor’s directives, you do have a right to a well
informed consultation and evaluation of any drugs being sold to you. Some
medications, while able to treat symptoms short term, can have underlying
negative impacts on your body’s ability to function optimally. A perfect
example that pertains to gut health and digestion is the use of antacids.
Chronic use of antacids can lead to a deficiency in hydrochloric acid (HCL)
in your stomach. This leads to insufficient breakdown of foods, particularly
proteins, in the stomach, which then leads to putrefaction of undigested
proteins. This leads to acid reflux, GERD, and other conditions and symptoms
that the antacids where designed for in the first place. It’s kind of a catch
22. In general, a lifestyle choice to provide more natural digestive support
to your body, and not run to the drugs so quickly, will contribute to a more
favorable gut health environment. Be your own proactive natural health
detective and pay attention to all the side effects and risks being rattled
off at the end of drug commercials.
Reduce the stress in your life. I
know this is a hard one for most of us. My question is: Would you rather be
the most successful person in the world with a debilitating autoimmune
condition, chronic diarrhea, and no energy, or would you rather live in a
vibrant, well-balanced body? Your body is your most valuable asset. Running
it into the ground won’t help you succeed, in fact, it will make it harder.
With that, see if you can incorporate some stress-reducing activity into your
life. Exercise, meditation, laughter, and time with people you really love
are all great ways to reduce stress. Slow down and allow your body to operate
in its natural circadian rhythm. Supplementing with adaptogenic herbs like
ginseng, licorice, and astragalus; and eating large amounts of antioxidant
rich foods like dark berries, rich-colored fruits, and vegetables, can also
be very helpful. And don’t forget to hydrate!
Get enough sleep, and give your body a good daily
detox cycle. Giving your body 7-8 hours of sleep a day is
ideal. Our bodies need that time to rejuvenate and reset on so many levels
for the next day. With that, see if you can plan your meals so that there is
a 12-hour window between your last meal of the night and your first meal of
the next day. This provides a sufficient amount of time for your body to have
a good detoxification cycle. Remember that gut health is not just limited to
your intestines or your stomach. Your body needs to function at all levels of
digestion in order to support overall superior gut health. A good night’s
rest contributes to this process.

Healing the Gut
with Nutrition

Just like with the environment and lifestyle, there is cause and
effect with the foods you eat. Foods and gut health can be very
individualized, and must be assessed on a case by case basis. But here are
some basic guidelines that can get you on a better trajectory for supporting
gut health with foods. I like to look at it in stages:

Stop the suffering. Stop eating any
foods that you know, or suspect are causing irritation or inflammation in
your gut. Giving yourself some relief will be reassuring and comforting, so
you can focus on healing. It is also helpful to give your body some breathing
room so it can focus its immune response and other resources on healing, not
putting out fires. Start with the sure-fire foods you know are bothering you,
then consult with a professional who can advise you about foods that could be
harming you, but that you aren’t aware of. Rely on any allergy panel or test
and cross reference everything as a place to start.
Eliminate all known foods of
concern. Next, it’s important to look at foods that you may
not be aware could be causing underlying harm to your digestive process.
There are many resources for finding lists of foods to avoid. Gluten,
conventional dairy products, sugar, and sometimes grains, are some examples.
Giving your body a good 30-day rest from these foods will help you get a
complete, objective look at the situation. If you don’t go long enough
without causing harm to you gut, you aren’t giving your body a fair chance to
show you how it can heal. So the elimination stage is somewhat
essential.
Weed out bad players and detoxify.
In some cases there’s a need to fight off unwanted organisms that are causing
the gut dysbiosis, or toxins or other particles, like partially digested
food, that are causing harm to the structural integrity of your gut lining.
There are many natural cleanses, both from foods and herbs, available over
the counter, but this stage is best done with professional supervision.
Additionally, your body’s overall detoxification process can be supported
with certain foods like cruciferous vegetables, beet greens and other root
vegetable greens, garlic, ginger, and foods high in vitamin c and
antioxidants. Supplements that chelate chemicals and heavy metals can be very
helpful as well, such as charcoal, bentonite clay and chlorophyll. Drinking
plenty of water with lemon, if your gut will tolerate that, can also be
helpful.
Seed and feed your healthy gut
garden. Replacing unwanted toxins and pathogens with the
desired organisms, nutrients, and other factors is an essential step. Your
body can produce a lot of this on its own, but providing supplemental support
can be helpful. Here are the basics:
- Digestive enzymes are needed to
  break down foods into smaller components. Our bodies produce digestive
  enzymes, but supplementation may be needed to give your body some
  help.
- Probiotics are the “good
  guys,” the good bacteria that contribute to the final stages of food
  breaking down and the absorption of our nutrients. Our bodies make probiotics
  from prebiotics (mentioned on the next bullet point), but can also be
  supplemented. Keep in mind that probiotics are not designed by nature to be
  ingested, and many will not survive the heavily acidic environment in the
  stomach. So, make sure the probiotic supplement you choose has been
  formulated in a way that allows the probiotic to survive the journey to the
  intestines, it’s destination. You can also support your probiotic population
  by eating fermented foods like sauerkraut, yogurt (preferably vegan or goat’s
  milk), kombucha, and even small amounts of spirits can be
  helpful.
- Prebiotic fiber is what feeds the
  probiotics. Many digestive aids now contain
  inulin fiber and other prebiotic factors. Eating a variety of vegetables and
  other fiber rich foods is a good catch-all way to provide a supply of
  prebiotics to your probiotics.
- HCL- in some cases one might need to
  supplement hydrochloric acid so that the stomach can properly break down the
  foods into sufficiently small enough particles before the food enters the
  intestines.
Rebuild your gut and manage
inflammation. As your body’s ability to digest and absorb
nutrients improves, it’s also necessary to make sure it’s getting great nutrition.
Glutamine is an amino acid known to support cell structure in the intestinal
lining. Omega 3 fatty acids and turmeric are known to reduce inflammation.
Herbs like ginkgo biloba (ginkgo) are known to promote microcirculation,
which can help with structural rebuilding of your gut lining. Making pureed
soups with bone broth and nutrient dense vegetables can be a good, gentle way
to give your body optimal nutrition during the healing process. There are
also bone broth protein and collagen powders available at the store, all
formulated with gut health in mind.

Healing the Gut Can
Be Practical

Healing the gut does not have to be a complicated, confusing
undertaking. Yes, depending on your unique set of circumstances, it might be
challenging for a while. But with some increased awareness and a little
reframing about how you look at your food, a good gut health improvement plan
can be extremely simple and even a rewarding process.

Once you’re able to figure out your priorities, listen to your
body, and get clear on a good plan of action, meal planning can be as simple
as making a few soups, blending a smoothie, and steaming some vegetables. I
like to teach my clients to focus on what you can
eat, rather than what you cannot eat. If you follow
the Standard American Diet, the “food to remove list” can literally
knock the wind out of you in the beginning. But once you learn how many
delicious, nutrient dense and therapeutic foods are out there, and how to
prepare them in simple, practical ways, you can begin to find your footing
and move yourself in the right direction.

If this article resonates with you at all, you might find
nutrition coaching to be helpful. I’m available for a complimentary
phone consultation if you’d like to ask questions or
get clarification on any of this information. In my nutrition practice, I teach
a whole food approach to achieving a sustainable, healthy eating lifestyle.
I’d be happy to teach you anything I know.

Learn more about me and my
practice here!

References:

https://web.archive.org/web/20110717051926/http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/.fulltext/9/2/180.pdf

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/15/a-12-hour-window-for-a-healthy-weight/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22120894

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8420248

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19660463

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15929752

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11712463

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16871438

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20601132

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15330896