Healing Your Gut

Good health depends upon good digestion, and the ill effects of poor digestion can show up in dozens of ways across your whole body. While many people are told that they have a defective digestion, or a disease of some kind, the truth is they are usually eating the wrong foods. In fact, the majority of people today are eating the wrong foods but some people can tolerate it without such obvious symptoms as others. This doesn’t mean that low quality foods aren’t equally as detrimental to anyone, just that the symptoms appear later in life and in different ways. If you have a goal of weight loss, ensuring your gut health is optimal is the very first place to start. When it comes to healing your gut it’s important to remember to eat the right foods, take the right supplements and participate in proper detoxification.

The Culprit Behind Gut Problems

Carbohydrates are the most likely cause of problems in your digestion, however, some are healthier than others. Avoid foods high in disaccharides (sugars in groups of two) or polysaccharides (compounds consisting of many sugars joined together) and foods high in nutrient inhibitors known as phytates. Many people do not produce the enzymes needed to break down disaccharides, lactose (milk sugar) and sucrose, which then remain undigested and become putrefied by the microorganisms that live in the colon.

Anything containing sucrose (all sugars, including whole sugars like dehydrated cane sugar juice), dairy products such as milk, some soft cheeses and ice cream are disaccharide foods. Polysaccharides are the starches found in grains, and are long chains of glucose molecules. Sprouting or sour leavening your grains can make them easier to digest because it breaks the polysaccharide into individual glucose molecules. The sprouting process can also help to neutralize anti nutrients found in grain known as phytates.

Avoidance of the wrong fats is vital to your success, as is consumption of the right fats. Currently in the western diet, the ratio of omega six fatty acids to omega three fatty acids is way too high. While humans need a ratio in the range of of 1:1 - 1:4, we typically get around 1:20 - 1:24 Omega three to Omega six. It’s no wonder we have so much digestive distress and weight gain! Eliminate all vegetable and cooking oils and eat only pasture raised meats and animal bi products. Certain oils such as olive and flax may be used in small quantities but must be consumed raw. Coconut oil is another amazing gut healing oil that, even in small quantities has been shown to provide significant relief to symptoms of poor digestion. This is partly due to it’s antimicrobial properties that can also be found in butter from grass fed cows.

High quality cod liver oil is another amazing gut healing fat. Not only does it have a high amount of omega three fatty acids but is also high in fat soluble vitamins A and D. Both of these nutrients fight inflammation and help increase immune function, very important for anyone with digestive issues.

Consumption of bone broth is one of the best ways to soothe your gut and begin the healing process. Bone broth is antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and also brings a powerhouse of nutrients to increase the health of your digestive tract.

Detoxification

Detoxification is the final step in regaining digestive health, starting with avoidance of processed foods, commercially farmed and conventionally grown foods. Your detoxification should definitely include lots of high quality water and eliminate exposure to chemicals and toxins in tap water. Get all of your drinking water from a high quality water source, an artesian well is your best bet. Avoiding toxic cosmetics is a good idea, from deodorant to make up. I also recommend organic cotton clothing and an organic mattress to sleep on. Carefully scrutinize your daily life and ask yourself what little things could be changed that may have a profound effects on your health and wellbeing.

30 Day Gut Healing Kit

If you are really serious about healing your gut, Pete’s Paleo has a great package that lasts an entire month created especially for this purpose. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to get their digestion on track. After all, this is the first step to permanent weight loss and good health!

Pete’s Paleo Links