The link between gut flora and our health is not new and many health conditions such as autoimmune diseases, mental health issues and skin conditions like eczema and acne are closely linked.
As the father of modern medicine said “All disease begins in the gut.” – Hippocrates. This amazing health system acts as the ‘engine room’ for our entire body. If the gut looses its efficiency, there can be a flow on effect through our entire health.
Such a complex topic, our gut health is a very individual thing and it’s not all about popping a daily probiotic. There is actually a process that our gut needs to go through first for the good bacteria in the probiotics to stay in the gut.
I want to share with you a simplified version on what that process is, so that you can start to become aware of your own gut health and begin to improve it yourself:
1. Gut Repair
Look at this first stage as 2 weeks of bombing the bad bacteria overgrowth.
Here, you’re aiming to take away the burden of bad bacteria from your gut and heal any inflammation or breakdown of the lining in the gut wall. Add into your diet things like slippery elm, psyllium husk, tumeric and garlic oil. Make up a little tonic of these and mix into a small glass of water. Drink before bed every night to start the war on bad bacteria overgrowth. Remember you must also get rid of the foods that are aggravating the situation such as sugar, dairy and gluten.
2. Gut Seed
Look at this stage as 2 weeks of adjusting bowel pH and begin to re-seed your gut with good bacteria.
By this stage, you’ve begun to make space for the good bacteria to sit in the gut, by getting rid of the over growth of bad bacteria. Start taking a good quality probiotic first thing in the morning. Away from you probiotics, have things like lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, ginger, other fibre and lots of ‘good’ oils e.g. fish oil and olive oil to nourish this second stage.
3. Gut Feed
In this last stage, continue to feed your gut with good bacteria and build it up even more.
Continue with probiotics, add fermented foods and stick to a low reactive diet. This simply means getting rid of processed foods including sugar, dairy, gluten and anything else that you may unknowingly be intolerant to e.g. eggs. After 2 weeks of ‘feeding’ your gut you should be well underway to improving your gut health.
Remember there are many gut conditions that you may need to investigate for first. For many, it’s not always this simple, but at least you can start to get an idea of what’s involved in improving your gut health and therefore your overall health and wellbeing.
Head over to the comments below and tell me about gut healing success stories you have heard?
P.S. If there’s anyone in your life (friend, family, employee) who feels they want to do better with their health, please share this post. It might be the fresh perspective they need to feel better.