The phrase "trust your gut" takes on a whole new meaning, when it comes to your health.
The great thing about the human body is that with the right nutrients and methods, the body (especially the gut) can heal itself. We discussed what the gut is, and ways to recognize if it needs healing in the last blog. Today's blog focuses on possible methods of healing the gut.
HOWEVER, please note, this does not replace medical advice from a physician or other medical professional. Some of these methods are simple changes that you can make in your daily life on your own, while many methods need the supervision of a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Physician, or other health care professional.
****ALWAYS talk with your health care team before starting any health, diet, or exercise plan.****
Things we will discuss in today’s vlog that could potential help heal your gut:
-Lowering your stress
-The way you eat
-Getting more/enough sleep
-Hydration
-Nutrition
-Supplementation
-A 4 step plan mentioned in Dr. Jeffrey Bland’s book The Disease Delusion: Conquering the Causes of Chronic Illness for a Healthier, Longer, and Happier Life. (1.)
-My experience healing my own gut & the methods I personally used
Lowering your stress
-As briefly mentioned in the previous blog, the state of your gut can affect your mental health, but because there is a bidirectional relationship with your gut and your mental health, your mental health can affect your gut just as easily. Stress especially, can induce inflammation around that gut, as well as keeping your body in a fight or flight mode that halts gut functions. (2.)
Lowering your stress levels can improve many areas of your health, especially digestion because it will allow the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) to take a break and allow the parasympathetic nervous system (rest & digest) to take over. (I got into more detail about the fight or flight mode and how it related to our gut in the gut health blog.)
It is important to find a stress release that works for you. Popular methods could be exercise, going outside, art, journaling, and even simple deep breathing can make a huge difference on your stress levels in your body. (3., 4.)
The way you eat
Eat slowly.
Often times, we may find our selves downing a plate full of food, and barely even remembering the experience. It is important to chew your food well, to allow the stomach and intestines to more easily digest. Eat slowly and mindfully can also help prevent overeating or taking in too much air while eating, both of which could potentially be harmful towards digestion. (1.)
Breathe before you eat.
Lower your stress before eating. Lowering stress before eating can not only help with mindless eating and stress eating, but it can also help lower the stress levels to signal to the parasympathetic nervous system that it is time to start its job and being the rest and digest process. (1.)
Getting more/enough sleep
Sleep deprivation can impact your gut in multiple ways including: signaling the fight or flight response, causing sugar or refined carb cravings, low energy levels, and other lifestyle factors that if overdone, can lead to an imbalance gut microbiome. Individuals often like to convince themselves that they really don't need a lot of sleep to function. While your body can survive from little sleep, the goal is not to simply "survive". Only a small percentage of the population can function properly with a small amount of sleep, most individuals require at least 7-8 hours of sleep. (5.,6.)
Hydration
Our body is made up of mostly water. We use water in almost every metabolic function. This means, that without the proper amount of water, we cannot properly function and perform at optimal level. Drinking enough water can aid the digestion and absorption processes. Individuals should aim for at least half their body weight in oz. every day. (1.)
Nutrition
Avoiding foods that could harm gut health for a period of time with an introduction phase to ease back into a balanced diet and balanced eating patterns. (1., 5., 6.)
These foods may include the following:
-Sugar and refined carbohydrates (especially fermentable sugars, also labeled as
FODMAP foods, more info. on this will come in a later blog)
-processed foods
-excessive intake of red meat
-this is because an excessive intake of red meats has been linked with
inflammation, especially around the gut.)
-alcohol
-This is linked to inflammation and overstimulating the intestines
-avoiding foods you are intolerant, allergic, or sensitive too
-More information on these will come in a blog soon. I will disucss the
difference between the three, how to know if you have a food allergy,
intolerance, or sensitiy, and more!
Supplementation
Probiotics help maintain balance in our gut of that good and bad bacteria. If you’d like more information on these, read this!
Collagen: a protein that helps with the function and structure of our connective tissue, and can help repair the lining of your gut. Read more about collagen here!
Though there are many supplementation options that could be beneficial to the gut, these are among the most commonly studied.
In the 4R's process by Dr. Bland, other supplements are recommended as well. (1.)
The Four R's
In his book, Dr. Bland discusses toxic build up in our body, which is believed to be linked to immune function and the gut. Bland suggests that addressing a balance in the assimilation and elimination process may be among one of the most important issues to tackle when it comes to our health. Him and his colleagues created a 4 step process to do this: the 4 Rs.
Remove-remove possible allergens or harmful substances that could be causing the damage.
Replace-replace enzymes that may not be present but necessary to digest and absorb food properly.
Reinoculate-add a prebiotic and probiotic to helps regain balance of a healthy microflora.
Repair-take a supplement of nutrients to support healing of the gut lining, specifically zinc, pantothenic acid, omega-3 fish oils, amino acids, magnesium, and a b-complex. (1.)
My experience
My experience was a little similar the Dr. Blands 4 step plan.
~Remove:
--I participated in a FODMAP diet where I eliminated high FODMAP foods
completely for 2 weeks, then participated in an 8 week trial where I tested
each area of the FODMAPs to see if certain foods triggered my symptoms.
~Replace:
--I took different supplements that were recommended to me by the
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) that I worked with.
~These supplements included:
1. one that had L-Glutamine, Deglycyrrhizinized Licorice (Glycyrrhiza
glabra) Root Extract, and Aloe (Aloe barbadensis) Decolorized
Inner Leaf Gel Powder
2. an digestive supplement with many different enzymes to aid in
digestion
~Reinoculate:
--I took a prebiotic/probioitc supplement daily that was recommended to me by
the RDN.
~Repair:
--I did take a magnesium supplement, but did not take any of the other
supplements recommended by Dr. Bland.
In conclusion...
There’s a lot of simple things you can do to help your gut. The way I healed mine, was a more extreme, and under the supervision of a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, but it worked, and I feel like my health has improved drastically because of it.
I don’t have digestive issues anymore (unless I eat a food I'm sensitive to). I found out what foods im sensitive to. I have more energy. I don’t have the brain fog that I used to suffer from, and I can concentrate more easily. I lost weight, mostly due to inflammation, and so many other positive health changes.
I definitely would recommend looking into healing your gut BUT ONLY with supervision of a dietitian, physician, or health care team member! It is worth investing in your health. trying this without supervision raises risks. Gut health and dysbiosis may not even be the underlying issue for your symptoms, so it is important for you to talk with a health care professional to see if healing your gut is something to even consider.
Sources:
1. Bland J. The Disease Delusion: Conquering the Causes of Chronic Illness for a Healthier, Longer, and Happier Life. New York: HarperWave, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers; 2015.
2. Fleshner M. Bidirectional gut‐microbial mediated‐brain signaling: A new player in stress physiology? (Commentary on O’Mahony et al., 2019). European Journal of Neuroscience. 2019;52(5):3487-3489. doi:10.1111/ejn.14587
3. Perciavalle V, Blandini M, Fecarotta P, et al. The role of deep breathing on stress. Neurological Sciences. 2016;38(3):451-458. doi:10.1007/s10072-016-2790-8
4. Konkel L. What Is Your Gut Telling You? Exploring the Role of the Microbiome in Gut–Brain Signaling. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2018;126(6):062001. doi:10.1289/ehp3127
5. Aslam H, Green J, Jacka FN, et al. Fermented foods, the gut and mental health: A mechanistic overview with implications for depression and anxiety. Nutritional Neuroscience. 2018;23(9):659-671. doi:10.1080/1028415x.2018.1544332
6. Wingate D. Stress and common gastrointestinal disorders: a comprehensive approach. Gut. 1986;27(6):748-748. doi:10.1136/gut.27.6.748
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