Photo Credit: Tyler Nix
Thank you for those of you who have tuned into my gut health blog series this past week. If you’ve missed any of these here are the links below:
· How your gut impacts your moods: anxiety and depression
· How your gut impacts your skin health
· How leaky gut can predispose you to autoimmune disease
Finally, today we will be looking at natural, practical ways of addressing and restoring gut health.
Here are my 5 ways to naturally and simply restore your gut health (which you can do today):
1. Remove allergens from your diet – alright, most of us if we are very honest with ourselves, know that when we eat dairy or wheat or sugar we get a belly ache. Although we might not like it, we know that it upsets us. Although the foods I mentioned above are common irritants, these allergens will also be very different from one person to another. We are all different and have individual needs and genetic makeup. Chronic food allergens, which our bodies are sensitive to, can cause low grade inflammation and leaky gut. These allergens can ultimately disrupt our gut health, leading to joint pain, thyroid issues, hormone imbalances, and mood swings, not to mention the painful symptoms of gas, constipation, diarrhea and inability to digest our foods.
Also, when our gut is irritated by allergens, we are not able to absorb healthy food. If we don’t digest and absorb healthy foods that we’re eating, we receive no benefits from eating it. If you have an irritated/inflamed gut and struggle with any of these symptoms you most likely have a leaky gut problem and should seriously consider gut restoration as it impacts every single cell in your body (so that’s pretty important). So, by simply removing the allergens from your everyday diet that goes a long way to start healing your gut. In my office, we muscle test for different foods that your body responds well to and foods that are aggravating to find a specific individual plan for everyone.
2. Stop eating processed foods - this is probably the easiest and most practical of my 5 ways of healing your gut. The rule of thumb is that if it’s in a box or a can, do not eat it. Seriously, that’s it! The more processed the food the more it will upset your body. So, eat fresh organic foods whenever possible. Processed foods have added chemicals, food preservatives, allergens, etc., which will disrupt the gut lining. These type of foods are made to increase shelf life, not increase nutrient value. In short, processed foods leaky gut. However, just by simply avoiding processed, boxed or canned food will go a long way to help restore your gut. Here’s the question you can ask yourself: “can I find this food in nature?” if the answer is no, don’t put it in your mouth.
3. Drink water – okay, this one is also pretty easy. Drink water so you have better digestion. Honestly, it’s that simple. Your body cannot produce proper enzymes (the little chemicals that digest your food) if there are not enough fluids in your body. Drinking your water will not only improve your digestion but also eliminate toxins from your gut, leading to a healthier, happier digestion.
4. Vitamins/supplements - supplements should only be supplementary to a good diet. As much as you can, try to get your nutrients through the foods that you eat. By getting your nutrients naturally, your body will get way more benefits from it than by supplementing/taking vitamins. However, once you do remove offending foods form your diet occasionally people still need a temporary gut support until your gut heals enough to do it by itself. READ: NOT EVERYONE NEEDS PROBIOTICS. While a probiotic might help you with your digestion (and in and of itself is a very good product-I do prescribe probiotics from time to time) not everyone needs it. Probiotics can often mask the underlying issue going on instead of fixing the problem. They can even aggravate leaky gut. This is why seeking professional opinion is so necessary; find a medical professional who will help to identify, address and resolve your gut stressors instead of putting you on a probiotic indefinitely. Not everyone is the same so not everyone will need the same types of vitamins all the time, and your vitamins should change with seasons and throughout your lifetime because your needs change. So, while probiotics are helpful, there are a ton of different products out there which might be BETTER suited for your specific needs.
5. Getting adjusted – yes, I am quite biased on this point, but there is a lot of truth here. Your nervous system (which is housed by the joints of your spine) helps to regulate all of the organs in your body, INCLUDING your digestive organs. I often times find that people who have struggled with digestive system issues for many, many years feel incredible relief after a treatment, simply by restoring their nervous system functioning. It’s like this: have you ever played a game of telephone with your friends? By the time the message hits 10th person it is most of the time way different than your original message? It’s like that with our body. If there are obstructions and barriers to the messages being relayed from your brain through the highways of your nervous system, your organs will get improper signaling and won’t function to their optimum capacity. So, by getting adjusted you’re removing the barriers which allow your nervous system to relay the signals better and quicker. This leads to a healthier digestion process.
I hope these 5 tips helped you today to start brainstorming ways that you can restore your gut. If you have any questions or want a gut health evaluation, give us a call. We’d love to help you restore your gut and your health through simple and natural ways! Even if you’ve been struggling for years, and many people do, you don’t have to continue! Click the button below to schedule your appointment!
If you are interested in further addressing this topic, please feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment. Dr. V is a Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Doctor in Elmhurst, Illinois who evaluates patients from the inside out, focusing on areas including hormone imbalance, digestive health, anxiety/depression, autoimmune disease, and many others.