Is there anything worse or more uncomfortable than gut problems? For me and my personal health journey, the answer would be a resounding “no.” Coming from my own fair share of gut issues, the symptoms associated with an unhealthy gut can leave you feeling debilitated and not yourself.
In our previous blog post, we shared about the importance of the gut, and signs and symptoms that could signal your gut needs love. No matter what your symptoms are or how many you’re currently experiencing … we can all agree that we would prefer to be rid of them, right? However, knowing you have symptoms and figuring out the “next-best-steps” can be overwhelming. Today, I am going to share with you three simple steps you can take now to drastically alleviate your current symptoms and put you on the right track for better healing.
As always, please know that I can only speak through my own unique experience and the research that I have done. Be sure to consult with your doctor as to what will be best for you!
Remove Inflammatory Foods
As we’ve mentioned, the foods you eat can play a huge role in the healing of your gut. One of the biggest culprits that hinders this is our daily diets. While every individual is unique and will have their own set of sensitivities (try food sensitivity testing and/or an elimination diet), there are several inflammatory foods that we can all benefit from eliminating while we heal.
Inflammatory Culprits:
- Wheat + Corn – Grains
- Dairy
- Sugar
- Legumes
- Soy
Bonus!
- Vegetable oils – get rid of these for good! Use avocado oil, coconut oil + olive oil
- Processed foods – the more organic (when possible), whole foods we can eat … the better!
Cutting these culprits out of your diet will drastically reduce the inflammation in your body and put less stress on the gut! The food we eat really does affect how we feel and how our gut heals, so removing these foods is a great, simple and effective starting point.
Supporting the Gut with Food + Supplements
Once we have removed the foods causing stress to our gut, we can start to increase our intake of gut healing foods for support and add in supplements when necessary. One of the most beneficial healing foods for the gut is bone broth! Bone broth contains collagen and gelatin, which are crucial for repairing leaky gut and strengthening the gut lining. You can find out more about bone broth and how to make it here! Other foods to consider adding into your diet are prebiotic foods (ex. bananas, onion, garlic, flax seeds), fermented foods (ex. kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, kimchi) and fiber-rich foods (ex. fruits, vegetables, chia seeds).
When it comes to supplements … first, make sure you are getting the nutrients your body needs to treat any deficiencies you may have. A functional medicine doctor is a great resource! Next, there are a few supplements you can add to your “gut-healing regimen.”
Gut-healing Supplements:
- Digestive Enzymes or Bitters – helps to stimulate the digestive juices and aid in the breakdown of your food for better absorption. This reduces the amount of stress put on your gut (i.e. less unwanted symptoms – gas, bloating, etc.)
- Probiotics – look for multiple strains of beneficial bacteria! A spore-based and/or micro-encapsulated probiotic is best to ensure it gets to where it needs to be.
- Collagen Peptides – great for repairing and healing the gut lining. Bonus, it’s amazing for the hair, skin and nails too!
Stress Management
Lastly, and perhaps the most important thing you can do when it comes to healing your gut is reducing your stress! In fact, stress can alter the gut microbiome making the brain-gut connection extremely powerful. Here are some of my favorite ways to reduce stress:
- Establishing a morning routine
- Grounding + sunshine
- Moving your body – I love walks with my dogs!
- Gratitude journaling – I prefer using a blank journal. The Five Minute Journal is a team favorite!
- Prayer + meditation
- Self-care – dry brushing, gua sha, baths, etc.
- Time with loved ones
Removing inflammatory foods, supporting your gut with the right nutrients and reducing stress are key to jumpstarting your gut healing journey. If you try any of these steps … share your experiences with us! We’d love to hear from you!
Want to dive deeper into the topic of healing your gut? Stay tuned! We have an exciting online gut course launching very soon! Sign up HERE to be the first to know all about it.
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So grateful for this content. You have such a pleasing, straightforward way of writing and teaching what you know. Thank you! My gut health was thrown off after getting sick in November. I am looking forward to adding these beginning steps to my daily routine.
Thank you so much Kelly! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear how they work for you!
Love this content. I’ve been staying away from foods like gluten, dairy, grains, eggs and ginger.
I was being so careful but my food sensitivity issues mentally and physically would still pop up. Ended Up getting treated for sibo through a naturopath and it made me feel more like my self. Then a few months later all the feelings came back. Gut, head and ears . I was feeling week and tired and overwhelmed with everything. So in my situation it seemed that although it mattered and is very important that I ate healthy , it didn’t make me feel better because of the gut infection. Does this make sense to anybody else. 🤷🏻♀️ Got tested for ulcers, now I’m on antibiotics, rabeprazole and pepto for h-pylori. I could go on.. anyways if there’s any insight to how to keep this from happening again I would love to know. Thanks again for sharing all this info, I find it really helpful. 😊
Thank you for sharing Martha! Health is definitely multifaceted 🙂 Eating healthy (for you), exercising, de-stressing, mental health, etc. We always recommend seeking the help of a functional medicine doctor! You can find one local to you here: https://www.ifm.org/find-a-practitioner/ 💕
Love you Kristen! I’ve followed you for years, and love your story + your education!! I am proud of you for taking your health into your own hands, and for sharing your knowledge with us.
Hugs,
@Oh.Hello.Heather
Thank you so much Heather! You are so sweet! 🤗
I have followed you for years. I have colitis and your recipes and advice help me SO much! Your story is so encouraging in my healthy gut journey. ❤️ PS – we just moved from Northern California too! 🙂
So happy to hear! Thank you so much Beth 🙂 Your support means the world!
Regarding digestive enzymes, probiotics and collagen: best time of day to take these? Thanks!
Hi Maggie! I would take digestive enzymes with your meals, and probiotics and collagen can be taken whenever works best for you! Kristen loves putting collagen in her matcha in the mornings 😋
Hi there,
I was just wondering about your feeling on oatmeal? I know that you have added rice back into your diet, but wanted to know what you thought about oatmeal? It has some health benefits, but it is still a grain.
Hi Shuana! If you’re sensitive to gluten, you’ll want to be sure to get gluten-free oats. Oats are naturally gluten-free, but are commonly grown next to wheat, which can cause cross contamination. Also, steel oats can be easier to digest than rolled oats, as they’re much less processed! Sprouted oats are also a great option! But, as with everything, it’s all about what works for you 🙂 Feel free to give them a try and see how your body does. 💕