How To Heal Your Gut Naturally

When The Gut Becomes Vulnerable

The gut wall is only one cell thick which makes it vulnerable to injury from stress, smoking, drugs, harsh and destructive foods especially sugar and most grains which are inflammatory in nature and sprayed with pesticides, also from our use of antibiotics, and over the counter pain pills such as ibuprofen. Such irritants, over time, thin the fragile gut wall lining and may result in a tear, like the relay runner who spills food on to the grass.

The risk of cell damage throughout the body, including the gut, is probably made worse by our use of microwaves, electronics, pollution etc. Call it modern life. The battle that goes on in the gut is between the good and bad bacteria that are always there. Drugs, stress and certain foods kill the useful bacteria so that harmful bacteria and yeast become overpopulated.

You And Your Gut Need To Rest

High-quality sleep is necessary for your gut to rest and restore itself. During proper sleep cycles, your body gets rid of old damaged cells, so they dont replicate, causing more harm. Poor sleep is also associated with impacted gut microbiota. Getting better sleep can help those beneficial bugs flourish!

Want a better nights rest? Try these tips:

• Avoid screens 1-2 hours before bed

• If you do have to work late at night, use blue light blockers

• Supplement with high-quality Magnesium and Ashwagandha

• Write down all your to-do list to get those racing thoughts out of your mind before bed

• Try bedtime meditation or yoga

• Take an Epsom salt bath to wind down

Take Action To Heal Your Gut For Good

Dr. Nirvanas Healthy Gut Program will help you to get to the bottom of what is causing your leaky gut. It is imperative so we can treat it effectively. In some cases this is a complex process but one that allows us to tailor treatment specifically to your unique needs. Taking the time to do this properly can rid you of many unpleasant and persistent symptoms thus revolutionizing your health and well being. If you are suffering from GI distress and are ready to invest the time and energy in getting on track for optimal health to regain your vitality back, then consider scheduling a consultation today.

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Healing Your Gut Naturally

Your diet needs a break from sugary cocktails and buttery homemade cookies full of artificial flavoring. Take a break from the happy hour and holiday party appetizers full of processed foods galore. All of these things are the most inflammatory foods and beverages you can put in your body .

Visit a doctor.

To understand best how to heal your gut, you first need to see a doctor. For example, a certified integrative physician can do a food intolerance and sensitivity test to see if you are suffering from SIBO or a leaky gut.

Cut out lactose and casein.

Cutting out lactose and casein could help reset your gut health. While dairy has many benefits, it can also lead to stomach problems.

• To start, many peoples bowels cannot break down lactose, the main carbohydrate in dairy consisting of glucose and galactose .
• Casein is the main protein in cow milk and is also difficult for many people to digest, leading to abdominal pain, gas, and more .
• While many young children have a food intolerance to lactose and casein, other people dont start to experience this until adulthood. Some people never have a problem consuming lactose or casein.

Remove gluten from your diet.

Its no surprise now the harm that gluten can do to the body and the gut for many people .

Consider taking a hiatus from red meat.

As well as processed meat, such as lunch meat and hotdogs, red meat is also an inflammatory food.

Ditch The Standard Western Diet

The evidence for the devastating effect of a processed, high-sugar, low-fibre modern diet on our health continues to mount up. A recent study described our 21st-century diets as an evolutionarily unique selection ground for microbes that can promote diverse forms of inflammatory disease . This means that the bad bacteria in our guts appear to love our deficient diets, while the all-important good ones arent so keen.

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S To Take To Heal Your Gut

At Academy of Healing Nutrition, we stress the importance of the microbiome, the healthy bacteria that live in our intestines and make digestion, absorption and immunity possible.

We know that a healthy gut underlies brain health, organ health, skin and hair health and immunity to illness because the nutrition that is digested and absorbed in the gut passes into our blood. The gut is a passageway into the body. At the Academy, we learn which foods and herbs are beneficial and how to correctly prepare foods that challenge gut health.

Below are a few of the most important steps one can take if they are looking to heal their gut naturally.

Heal Your Gut For Good

If youre like most of my patients, the daily struggle with your gut is endless, and it takes up too much of your time and mental space, and limits your lifestyle.Gas, bloating, pain, reflux, food reactions, diarrhea, or constipation sound familiar?

Maybe youve tried medications, supplements, a million diets only to be left frustrated, back where you started, with uncomfortable and embarrassing digestive symptoms.

Its terrible to be so bloated that you feel unattractive, or to hope you wont have an accidental toot at an inopportune moment. Maybe youve chosen to skip social events or have avoided dinner plans, unsure of how your body was going to respond to the foods available to you. Here, I talk about how you can begin healing your gut issues.

If you are someone suffering from GI disturbances such as leaky gut, chronic constipation, frequent diarrhea, acid reflux, or bloating and gas regularly? Then I am so happy you have found this article.

When your inner gut lining is compromised, this can cause nutrients and other predigested substances to escape leading to an inflammatory response in your body that can be experienced as bloating, pain, cramps, acid reflux, irregular stools, joint pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, brain fog, and insomnia.

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Eating More Cooked Foods

Raw foods are packed full of nutrients but they can also be difficult to digest. Cooked foods decrease the amount of work your digestive system needs to do to break down food because some of that has been done for you through the cooking process. Even easier to digest are pureed foods like smoothies and pureed soup. Going easy on your digestion can help reduce bloat and lead to a healthier gut. As you heal, you will be able to tolerate raw foods better.

Seek Treatment For Any Intestinal Pathogens

Gut infections are an important cause of gut dysbiosis and leaky gut. If youor your clientsare currently seeking treatment from a Functional Medicine practitioner, ask about testing like the Genova GI Effects test or GI-MAP. These can identify specific bacterial, fungal, or parasitic imbalances causing gut dysbiosis.

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Adopt A Nourishing Diet

It is important to eat organic foods as much as possible. This ensures that the food is non-gmo and free of pesticides, antibiotics, and additional hormones.

A diet that improves digestive health needs to include fibrous and fermented vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and lean, unprocessed meats.

N-butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid that helps feed the cells that line the gut and facilitate the healing process. Your gut bacteria can produce more n-butyrate if you feed them soluble fibers that are found in fruits and vegetables.

N-butyrate is also present in healthy fats including ghee and coconut oil so include those in your diet.

How To Heal Your Gut & Reset Your Gut Biome

Itâs fairly simple to get started on healing your gut. So how long does it take to heal your gut? Just about 3 to 4 days. Thatâs all it takes. Given that the microbiome is relatively resilient, itâs fairly simple to heal your gut. Hereâs how to reset your gut biome for better physical and mental health:

• Get Sufficient Sleep
• The first step in learning how to reset your gut biome involves sleeping for sufficiently long periods.
• Ensure you get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep every night. Since the gut microbiome follows a circadian rhythm just like your body, this should help with the first step of its reset.
• Donât forget to get in touch with your doctor if you have insomnia or have had subpar sleep quality.

• Drink Enough Water
• Hydration improves the health of tissues in your body and has a positive impact on the functioning of your digestive tract.
• A healthy intestine promotes a balanced microbiome and helps you heal your gut.

• Ditch Processed Food & Added Sugars
• Processed food harms gut health and the microbiome.
• If youâre trying to improve your health and reset your gut, it might be time to reduce the amount of processed food in your diet.
• You can instead rely on naturally present sugars such as those present in fruit.

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Signs Your Gut Health Is In Trouble

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So yes, it’s important. But how do you know if your gut is in good shape? Well, there are some signs to watch out for. Generally, GI symptoms are a common indicator. “If an individual starts to notice changes in the digestive process such as stomach pain, increased gas, bloating, and changes in bowel movements, chances are, the gut is signaling that something is out of alignment,” explains registered dietitian nutritionist, Maya Feller, MS, RD, CDN. “If an individual notices stools that are loose, floats to the top of the toilet bowl, is discolored, or has pieces of undigested food, this is a sign that the gut is experiencing inflammation and is in need of treatment.”

Meredith Rofheart, MS, RD, a registered dietitian at Culina Health, also adds other signs include experiencing pain or symptoms after eating certain foods, having many food intolerances, fatigue, or struggles with proper sleep, skin irritation, intense sugar cravings, or unintentional weight changes .

And you might also notice skin and mental health changes, too. “Gut issues can also be manifested in our skin through rashes, eczema, psoriasis, or breakouts,” Magier says. “The mind-gut connection is also so real! Gut issues can present as depression, anxiety, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and brain fog as well.”

Slow Down & Chew Your Food

Weve all heard it since we were children, to chew your food but how often do we as adults pay attention to how well we chew our own food? There is a reason that we have teeth to mechanically break down our food before swallowing it.

The mouth is an essential part of the digestive system. As we chew food, it breaks it down into smaller and smaller particles that are easier for the stomach to digest. We also mix our food with digestive enzymes in our saliva as we chew.

Imagine you were a factory worker working on the typical factory line. Each person in the line has their specific job to do. The person ahead of you does their job, you do your job, and you pass it down the assembly line for the next person to do their job.

Now, imagine the person ahead of you just decided to stop working, or decided they were only going to do half of their job. It would create a lot more work and stress for you, wouldnt it? And if you had to keep up with the assembly line, it would probably make it harder for everyone else down the line, and lead to an overall lower quality of work.

Well, this is what its like when we dont chew our food thoroughly. We create a lot more work and stress for our stomach, and consequently for every other organ down the line. Eating too quickly is a major cause of digestive upset. Slowing down and eating more slowly can give your gut a chance to relax a little, which allows it to digest and absorb nutrients properly.

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How To Heel Your Gut: Gastrointestinal Disease Symptoms

Some common symptoms include

• Having fewer than one bowel movement per day
• Having irregular bowel movements
• Experiencing discomfort or bloating after eating
• Having been diagnosed with a gastrointestinal disease
• Experiencing heartburn or indigestion

Even if you do not have these symptoms, a GI health analysis may be right for you. Often, complications of the digestive system lead to symptoms in other areas of the body. Common issues include skin rashes and anxiety disorders.

Gastrointestinal disease treatment can help. And focusing on functional medicine and gut health can yield especially positive results.

Consider Taking Supplements To Speed Up Leaky Gut Treatment

Maybe youre already feeling a lot of symptoms, and you want to give yourself a day off from all of them as soon as possible.

One of the ways to heal leaky gut syndrome fast is to get help from leaky gut supplements. Focus on the following:

• Collagen peptides

• Staying away from processed and junk food, which is usually high in sugar and boosts inflammation risks
• Eating healthy or good fats such as avocados, olive oil, and some nuts
• Adding sprouted seeds to introduce essential nutrients such as zinc and reduce the anti-nutrients like lectin

What are Anti-Nutrients? These are compounds present in plants that reduce the ability of the body to absorb nutrients.

Final Thoughts

Healing a leaky gut may take a while, but its definitely possible. Even better, you can do it naturally since medications may only make the situation worse.

Before you do anything, though, always consult with your doctor. Work with them to find out the best course of action.

You can use this as your guide when you want to ask the right questions or make informed health decisions.

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Dietary And Lifestyle Factors That Affect Gut Health

• A highly processed diet that is high in sugar and damaged fats
• Eating too much meat and soya
• Low fibre intake
• Overeating and snacking
• Medications especially antibiotics and paracetamol
• Environmental toxins plastics, cosmetics, cleaning products, detergents, personal care products , perfumes/sprays
• Smoking, alcohol, coffee
• Stress unsolved problems in life or at work
• Insomnia and lack of sleep
• Lack of exercise

What Is Intestinal Permeability

Intestinal permeability is often referred to as leaky gut. When your digestive tract works correctly, it functions similarly to your skin it is a place or protection so that everything that comes in contact with it cant have direct access to our body but at the same time we absorb what we need and excrete what we dont need. In the case of skin, this would be sweat. In the GI, we digest and break down food and nutrients which are then absorbed through small areas in your intestinal wall known as tight junctions.

Once these things are absorbed they have direct access into the bloodstream. At the same time, the intestinal lining prevents the passage of harmful substances in the lumen of the GI tract, including toxins, food particles, viruses, parasites, and bacteria. Think of the wall of your digestive tract as a series of tightly guarded entrances where the army is carefully identifying each visitor and determining whether they are friend or foe. Not only can the tight junctions open when they shouldnt but the walls themselves lose integrity.

Chicken or the egg? Intestinal permeability can be the result of certain diseases, infections, pathogenic bacteria in the GI tract, stress, and medications to name a few but intestinal permeability is also a contributor to inflammatory conditions and autoimmune disease.¹

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Kick Processed Foods To The Curb

Processed foods should be avoided at all costs. They are filled with harmful chemicals, tons of processed salt & sugar, and trans fats. But it doesnt end there. Since processed foods arewellprocessed, they are digested very quickly. This may sound good at first, but its not.

When food is digested quickly, it is rapidly released into the body. So lets say you just ate a pre-packaged oatmeal cookie. All of the ingredients in that cookie including the sugar and flour are processed as well. When these processed substances hit our gut, they are quickly digested.

The sugar in this case would cause for a rapid spike in your blood sugar which puts stress on your pancreas . The calories are also quickly made available which can cause your body to store the excess energy as fat. This is how processed foods can make you gain weight considerably fast.

Easy Fix: Instead of purchasing processed or pre-packaged foods, opt for traditional and whole foods. Here is a chart of some common processed foods compared to their whole-food original form:

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