Do you ever wonder why you get frequent colds? Why you get anxious or depressed? Are you looking for ways to clear up your skin? Well, the stomach and intestinal lining, much like a castle wall, is our main barrier against the harsh and dangerous outside world. The intestinal lining houses the majority of our immune system, which protects the body against a host of threats that lead to disease. Outside of this lining, healthy bacteria influence our immune cells and help to keep the intestines strong.
However, the overgrowth of unhealthy bugs, such as certain bacteria and yeast, poor diet and stress can destroy the intestinal lining and the immune defences that guard the lining. A damaged intestine or imbalanced immune system can result in virtually every type of health concern.
NO ALLERGIC FOODS
Good guts start with removing foods in the diet that may be causing damage. The most effective strategy is to start with a two-week elimination diet, removing the most common allergic foods from your diet.
Alternately, you may consider a IgG blood allergy test, provided through a knowledgeable health professional. This will result in a specific list of foods for you to eliminate.
It is also important to stop eating abrasive foods for the first few weeks. These include foods such as raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, as well as harsh fibre supplements such as psyllium husk. Removing these foods from the diet will allow the intestinal lining to repair and weaken unwanted bacteria and yeast that
may be living in your guts, causing symptoms such as bloating, gas and nausea.
A diet consisting mainly of lightly cooked fruits and veggies, lean proteins such as chicken, fish and turkey, along with healthy fats such as coconut oil and olive oil will help to eliminate unwanted bacteria and yeast. And it will provide nourishment to repair the intestinal lining.
HERBS AND GREEN TEA
Using a variety of herbs, including turmeric, garlic and sea salt to flavour your foods will also help to clear out unwanted guests from the gut. Green tea plays an important role in repairing a leaky gut lining, and may be used to replace coffee during the first few weeks. These steps allow your guts to repair before restoring and replacing healthy bacteria.
FUNCTIONAL FOODS
Once you feel you have sufficiently taken back control of your intestines, you may introduce functional foods such as natto, kimchi, tempeh, kefir, sauerkraut and yogurt into the diet in large amounts, to increase the number of healthy bacteria.
REINTRODUCTION
If you have done an elimination diet, you may also carefully reintroduce one food group every two days to determine if you have any food reactions. Reactions may come in the form of abnormal bowel movements, though they may also cause problems with concentration, among many other symptoms. Be aware of any unwanted symptoms, and immediately eliminate that food group again until the symptom subsides. By also using stress reduction and deep breathing practices to increase blood flow to the intestines, you can virtually take control of any health condition and get your life back!
