How to Heal Gut Problems Naturally

Let’s Talk Gut Health. In my seven-plus years of extensive research to heal my autoimmune system (hypothyroid) I have come to the conclusion that good health starts in the Gut!

We’re going to cover just that.

How to heal gut problems naturally. How to starve bad gut bacteria. How to grow good bacteria in your gut. How to fix inflammation or leaky gut. 

We will discuss all this in-depth today. Stick around for a free checklist of the best foods for gut health. A 14 day Gut Detox plan. I will be sharing all my tips and tricks to reset your guts health and fix leaky gut issues. 

Two of the most commonly asked questions about healing the gut are:

How to heal your gut naturally?  How to heal gut inflammation naturally?

Worst Foods for Gut Health

When it comes to our health, especially our gut health food plays a major role. So the first thing we need to look at after understanding what a healthy gut looks like and knowing what a leaky gut even means. 

We must look at FOOD. 

Food is the leading culprit of poor health today. Countries like the US follow what is referred to as the Standard American Diet (SAD). Yes. The acronym for the way the US and most other first-world countries eat is actually SAD.

Many countries will not accept food exports if they come from the US! Yikes.

All of these genetically modified crops. Compromise in farming methods. Industrial farming. And processed foods that are more about getting people addicted so they make more cells than they are about health and nutrition have caused pandemics we see now in 2021 and beyond.

Convenience comes with a price. For millions that price was their lives in dying from the diseases that these shortcuts in our food supply chain have taken. Whether it was for profit on the corporations’ side. Or convenience on the consumer side.

People have and are paying a high price. 

Food is Medicine or Food is Poison – Which are you eating?

What foods are disrupting our good gut bacteria and causing bad gut bacteria to run rampant?

Five years ago, nobody even knew they had a microbiome and their gut. Today our culture seems to be obsessed with it. Ok. Obsessed is a strong word. But in the health sector getting cleanses, got detoxes, and healthy food for your gut is a hot topic. 

We are moving in the right direction!

Remember our gut has little communities of microbes living in our bodies that number more than 100 trillion single-cell organisms. Our gut bacteria is what regulates most of our bodily functions, it creates vitamins controlling our immune system, it affects our brain function, and our ability to metabolize or lose weight. 

All critical functions contribute to our overall health and longevity. 

Modern living, bad lifestyle choices, foods, environmental toxins, Antibiotics, and other medications have all been really hard on our guts microbiome and balance. Ok. That would probably be a major understatement. Wreaking havoc may be a more appropriate description. 

We are hitting the overview here but if you really want to deep dive into healing from the inside out check out Dr. Colbert’s book “Healthy Gut Zone“.

Our gut bacteria has become very damaged as we continue to eat processed diets that are high in sugar, starch, carbs, Gluten, and Darry. Inflammatory foods are our gut microbiome the worst enemy. Too many bad bacteria and not enough good bacteria have led to a laundry list of disorders and diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome or IBS, leaky gut, SIBO, chronic inflammation, depression, and even cancer and heart disease. 

How to Starve Bad Gut Bacteria and Feed Good Gut Bacteria

It is our job to encourage these good microbes by feeding them things they need to thrive and grow living in a healthy balanced environment. While starving or avoiding the foods that feed the bad gut bacteria.

The old saying ‘what you feed grows and what you starve dies’ is key in repairing our gut health. 

No surprise that our gut bacteria love healthy whole organic plant-based Foods the ones that are high in things like fiber and contain lots of nutrients and do not contain artificial ingredients. 

What are good fiber-rich, organic, whole foods to focus on:

• apples (skin on)
• artichokes 
• avocados 
• bananas 
• berries 
• broccoli 
• brussel sprout 
• celery 
• coconut and foods made from coconut (MCT oil) 
• cucumbers 
• dandelion greens 
• figs 
• garlic 
• kale 
• lentils 
• nuts and seeds 
• olives and olive oil 
• onions 
• pumpkin 
• spinach 
• seeds especially sprouted 
• strawberries 

Good bacteria also thrive when we eat foods that have been fermented or cultured like:

• naturally fermented sauerkraut
•  pickled vegetables including organic pickles
•  kimchi
•  water Kefir
• kombucha 
•  miso
•  tamari
•  Tempe
•  naturally fermented coconut aminos
•  unpasteurized raw apple cider vinegar with the mother
•  coconut yogurt (unsweetened) 

Eating all the right foods in today’s culture is often necessary or some kind of outside assistance. It’s a great idea to invest in a good Prebiotic and probiotic supplement.

I will point out that taking one without the other is virtually useless. 

Taking good prebiotics and good probiotics is so important. Everyone is different. Some people are healing gut issues while other people may simply be wanting to grow good gut health. Look around for what serves your needs best.

Here are the ones we take and love (click either photo to shop the products on Amazon):

If we view our got like our inner Garden we may need to focus on pulling out the weeds, seeding, feeding all processes that a good functional medicine doctor can help you with. 

I love Dr. Mark Hyman. He has a book I highly recommend called, “Food. What the Heck Should I Eat?” and “Food. What the Heck Should I Cook?”. Along with endless hours of YouTube and Podcast content (click on either to hear more from Dr. Hyman on Gut Health).

This is a great place to start digging, learning, and gaining direction on your overall health. Not just the gut, but start there. 

Click on either book to shop on Amazon:

The first step is getting rid of the weeds. Digging into so research and testing to see what “weeds” issues your gut may be experiencing if any. 

Next, we want to be putting in good quality seeds. This comes in the form of the foods listed above and in supplementing with good probiotic and Prebiotic support supplements (our favorites are linked above).

Other common questions about gut health are:

How to heal gut inflammation? How to heal a leaky gut in 2 weeks?

Implementing the steps above and the ones we are about to dive into are the road to healing. Can leaky gut be healed in 2 weeks? That is based on the person’s gut. Some guts are more damaged and will require much more time to heal. Others sure healing a leaky gut in two weeks is totally possible. 

The goal here is healing not necessarily the timeline. If you stick to what you’ve learned here you will find healing for your gut. You will grow your gut healthy bacteria. You will starve your guts bad bacteria. It’s all about being consistent.

What Foods are Killing Good Gut Bacteria? 

• highly processed or packaged 
• foods refined grains especially wheat 
• sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners with aspartame 
• refined oils and fats especially things like seed oils, soybean oil, or corn oil
• antibiotic medications (only taken if absolutely necessary then up the “good gut foods” to help rebuild the gut bacteria that is killed by the antibiotics
•  hormone medications – including birth control pills
•  steroid medication
•  anti-inflammatories such as over-the-counter ibuprofen and Aleve or aspirin
•  acid blockers such as those prescribed or over-the-counter for things to treat acid reflux 

Click Here for a Printable Copy

It doesn’t just stop at these things other things such as antibiotic soaps, hand sanitizers, and even the dishwasher soap that we use can kill the good microbiome because it kills germs too well. 

Americans have become quite obsessed with killing all germs. But what we have actually done is completely handicap our gut microbiome from building a strong healthy immune system.

One of the best things we can do for our kids or even ourselves is go play in the dirt.

Go get dirty.

Stop washing your hands so much.

In her book “The Microbiome Solution” by Robynne Chutkan Dr. Chutkan quotes 

Hippocrates said that “All disease begins in the gut.” 

How someone hundreds of years ago, without any type of modern medical advancement even knew we had a gut is mind-blowing. Much less him telling us what in 2021 is just now becoming taught as truth. 

Our health starts in our guts!

Stress, Sleep, Exercise, and Our Gut 

Lack of sleep and chronic stress can be contributed to every chronic illness that has a name. And it’s no difference when it comes to gut imbalances. In fact, our guts listen and become influenced by our thoughts and feelings. 

No this is not a woo woo theory it is an actual medical fact. 

We are all different. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to sleep. We all need a different amount of sleep; some people function optimally on 5 hours of sleep while other people need a full 8 hours of sleep. Listen to your body here. 

Good quality sleep, between the hours of 10 p.m. and 2 am., will automatically reduce the amount of stress that you have in your life.  

Two birds one stone here. 

Recent studies have shown that exercise can have a powerful impact on our gut health. One of the studies shows that exercise alone, without any intervention, still led to increases in beneficial fatty acids which can prevent cancer, speed up our metabolisms, and reduce inflammation. 

Movement matters. 

It could be as simple as getting outside for a 1 or 2 Mile Walk every day. I actually don’t recommend going to the gym because of the harsh light recycled air and often dirty environment it’s better to just go outdoors and play sports with your kids. Take your dog on a walk. YouTube is full of hundreds of Tabata workouts, hit workouts that take less than 10 minutes but are proven effective. 

The key is movement matters. Find something you love and enjoy and that ensures you will stick to it. 

Let me know in the comments what did you learn that you are implementing today? What questions or topics do you want to hear more about?