In part 1 of the gut health series, we spoke about why gut health is so important. As you can see it has a major impact on your physical health and mental health.
In this article I’m going to discuss actionable steps to heal your gut.
- 10g of Glutamine first thing in the morning
Glutamine is a semi essential amino acid. Essential amino acids are amino acids that you need from food and can’t be synthesised by your body.
Glutamine is semi essential as your body can produce it but it can run low in times of illness or after surgery.
It has a major role in immune health and this due to its role in intestinal health. It’s an important energy source for intestinal and immune cells.
It also helps maintain the barrier between the inside of your intestines and the rest of your body, therefore preventing leaky gut.
This helps stop bad bacteria or toxins moving from your intestines to the rest of your body.
Leaky gut is when the tight junctions of your gut become loose, and the gut becomes more permeable.
This allows harmful bacteria and toxins to pass into the blood stream and widespread inflammation and autoimmune conditions.
- Probiotics (VSL3)
Probiotics are live bacteria that are found in drinks or yoghurts and are taken to help restore the balance of good bacteria in your gut.
As discussed in the previous article your gut contains approximately 100 trillion bacteria, both good and bad bacteria. These bacteria interact with your immune cells in your gut.
When taking antibiotics we kill good and bad bacteria in our gut. After you stop your course of antibiotics the bad bacteria can take over causing Dysbiosis.
Dysbiosis is when the gut microbiome has been disrupted to the point of causing disease.
Taking a probiotic supplement can reverse this dysbiosis by providing your gut with good bacteria.
When picking a probiotic, quality is vital. The only one that Gastroenterologists recommend is VSL3.
This is the one we use with BTX clients.
Take 1 pack mixed in water first thing in the morning for 30 days and after that 1 pack a week for maintenance.
- Dietary changes
This is probably the most important one on the list. The only way to really know what foods cause you issues is an elimination diet.
Food intolerance testing aren’t really that accurate.
The list of foods I would recommend to cut out first are discussed below and then once your gut settles add each one back in and monitor how you respond.
Dairy
Dairy is probably the most frequently problematic. 70% of the world’s population suffers from Lactose malabsorption which can cause bloating and gastric distress. This is even higher in Asia and Africa at over 90%.
After the age of 3 most people will stop producing Lactase an enzyme which breaks down a sugar in milk Lactose. This is because after the age of 3 we would stop having mothers’ milk.
Not being able to breakdown this milk sugar is what causes the gastric distress.
Some people may be able to eat hard cheeses and yoghurt as some of the lactose has been broken down by fermentation but also a large portion of the population are intolerant to casein, a protein in milk.
Better to cut dairy out completely and then slowly reintroduce it and see how you do.
Grains
This includes wheat in bread/pasta, brown rice, and oatmeal. Grains are seeds that are highly defended by plants.
They don’t want you to eat them as they want to protect their seeds so they can grow.
Grains contain many defence chemicals that can cause problems to your digestion.
Seeds i.e. grains contain digestive inhibitors, phytic acid (prevents mineral absorption and lectins, which include gluten in wheat.
These lectins in grains are to ward off insects to stop them being eaten. Lectins can cause bloating and abdominal pain.
White rice is milled so that it’s husk, bran and germ are removed. This means that it does not contain any lectins or digestive enzyme inhibitors.
White rice is therefore, just pure starch and is hypoallergenic. This is the perfect carbohydrate for people who suffer with digestive issues.
Sweet potatoes and white potatoes are also excellent sources of carbohydrates without any of the plant defence chemicals.
Eggs
Eggs are one of the most nutritious foods on planet Earth.
Eggs contain high cholesterol but dietary cholesterol which has no effect on blood cholesterol in most individuals.
They are an excellent source of Choline which plays an important role in brain health.
They are also an excellent source of vitamin B12, B2 and Selenium.
Most of all they are an incredibly high-quality source of protein.
Unfortunately they are one of the most common sources of food intolerances.
Luckily for you this is usually just from the egg whites and most of the nutritional value is in the yolk.
I recommend starting by just cutting out egg whites and you will still get the incredible health benefits from eggs.
Conclusion
Start by cutting out dairy, grains, and egg whites for around 30 days. Once your digestion settles try adding one in at a time and see how you do.
Supplement with Glutamine 10g first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. This will do wonders to healing your gut and your immune health
Take VSL3 for 30 days and then once a week thereafter. VSL3 is the highest quality probiotic and can feed your gut with good bacteria.
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