Lifestyle Tips to Improve Gut Health

PART 2: Lifestyle Tips to Improve Gut Health

In my post Part 1 of Gut Health, I discussed what Leaky Gut is, the Triggers, Symptoms and Long Term Effects. You can find that post here: Triggers & Symptoms of Leaky Gut.

Leaky Gut might sound like a complicated issue, but it doesn’t have to be. And the good news is that it CAN be healed and you CAN get rid of your nagging symptoms and health conditions.

In Functional Medicine we use a program to heal Leaky Gut that goes by the simple acronym of the ‘5Rs’: Remove, Replace, Reinoculate, Repair, and Rebalance. When applied to various chronic health issues, the 5R program can lead to dramatic improvement in symptoms, and sometimes even complete resolution!

Think of this analogy: Imagine your Microbiome as a Garden, with lots of different plants and flowers all thriving together. With Leaky Gut, there has been an overgrowth of weeds, the soil is dry, the plants have died and things aren’t thriving.

The Elements of the 5R Program:

Remove
We must Remove stressors/triggers: get rid of things that negatively affect the environment of the GI tract including allergic or inflammatory foods, but also more serious concerns like candida or a parasite (those can be determined through a stool test).

Most with a gut problem can benefit from cutting back/eliminating triggers like: sugar, gluten, dairy, some grains, artificial ingredients, MSG, non-GMO corn, soy, alcohol, fast and processed foods. This might involve using an allergy “elimination diet” to find out what foods are causing GI symptoms or it may involve taking medications or herbs to eradicate a particular bug/parasite.

Imagine these Triggers as the Weeds and dried up Plants in a garden. We can’t start building a healthy thriving new garden unless we clean up the mess and start with a solid foundation! That means removing those weeds but also making sure we aren’t providing an environment that has them returning.

REPLACE
We need to support the entire digestive tract, not just the intestines, which starts in the mouth and includes the stomach, pancreas, gall bladder. Replace using supplements like digestive enzymes, hydrochloric acid, and bile acids that are required for proper digestion. These can be decreased because of stress or other factors like medications, diseases or diet.

These specific supplements would be the soil in our garden; we need to lay down the framework in order for the plants to start growing.

REINOCULATE
We need to build up our garden! Help beneficial bacteria in the microbiome flourish by incorporating both probiotics and prebiotics.

Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms found in the gut that are also called the “good GI bacteria” needed for optimal digestion, immune function, brain function and more. Think of these of our seeds in our garden to grow healthy, thriving plants.

Probiotics in the form of supplements or food are often needed to help reestablish a balanced gut flora. Fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, kimchi and tempeh are food sources of probiotics.

Prebiotics are food ingredients that selectively stimulate the growth of beneficial microorganisms already in the colon. In other words, prebiotics feed probiotics. Prebiotics would be the “food” for our plants in our garden: the water and fertilizer to have it grow and thrive.

Prebiotics are available in many foods that contain a fiber called inulin, including artichokes, garlic, leeks, onion, chicory. Other great options are broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, asparagus.

REPAIR
Help the lining of the GI tract repair itself by supplying key nutrients that can often be in short supply in a compromised gut. These include zinc, antioxidants (e.g. vitamins A, C, and E), omega 3 fish oil, the amino acid glutamine, aloe vera juice, licorice root, collagen or bone broth.

REBALANCE
It is important to pay attention to our lifestyle triggers and make sure we are reducing STRESS any means we can. It also is important that once we have healed the gut, we can maintain its health and prevent future issues.

Think of this Rebalancing part of the consistent things a garden needs to thrive and maintain: adequate water, sunshine, and a gardener to take care of it!

The Gut and the Brain are literally connected through the Vague Nerve. So, there is a “Gut Brain Axis”, where the gut actually sends more messages to the brain than vice versa.

What does this mean? Our gut has the ability to impact our mood and nervous system, and our thoughts have the power to affect our physical being as well. The more we can calm our nervous system, we also “calm down” and reduce stress within our gut.

We can improve our Vague Nerve brain-gut connection through:

• Deep Belly Breathing
• Singing or Humming
• Gratitude or Positive Affirmations
• Mindfulness
• Meditation

Looking to Heal your Gut, get rid of your nagging symptoms, and start feeling how you should, with vitality and energy? Let’s work together,

I work with clients to help them regain their health back, reduce their digestive complaints and start living life like they want to. My comprehensive and functional medicine based approach allows for optimal, long term results!

Send me a message below!