Gut Problems? How to Jumpstart Your Healing Journey!

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.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you purchase something from one of my links, I will receive a small percentage, at no additional cost to you. I will only ever recommend products that I truly believe in, and that I use myself or find to be very valuable. Thanks for helping me to keep my blog up and running!