Gut Essentials

The goal is to remove the things causing the response and then add in the things that are going to allow you to heal as fast as possible.

Below are my must do’s for the gut:

• AVOID ALL GRAINS

  • This may sound hard, especially if you are a big bread eater, but I can

  • unequivocally say that grains are one of the biggest hazards to our gut. Most

  • people rave on about gluten – as they should do, but there are over 200

  • other types of proteins that can cause reactions in the gut.

Grains attack in three major ways:

  1. Upset the balance between good and pathogenic bacteria (microbiome) in the gut – this is called dysbiosis. The goal is to have this bacterial colonization in the perfect balance (it’s like an ecosystem). Grains feed the pathogenic (not so good) bacteria

  2. Grains stimulate the release of a protein called zonulin which opens the tight junctions in the gut lining causing LEAKY GUT. Zonulin is so powerful that pharmaceutical companies are researching it very intensively because they want to utilise this mechanism to get their drugs into your body faster!

  3. Inhibits the release of pancreatic enzymes from the pancreas which are released into your digestive tract to break food down. Without these enzymes you essentially get undigested food particles and a whole lot more stress for the gut. Also, this means food hangs around in the stomach fermenting which can result in IBS like symptoms such as bloating, and gas.

• AVOID ALCOHOL

  • Alcohol upsets the bacterial balance in the gut – dysbiosis. It also inhibits the assimilation of nutrients from your diet, so you may be eating the best diet in the world but if you are not drawing the nutrients out..

• HEAL THE GUT

  • Supplements:

    • L- Glutamine (a must-have if your gut is destroyed)

    • Be Pure has just put out a gut healing vitamin which by all accounts ticks a lot of boxes

  • Bone broths

    • One of the ‘superfoods’ for the gut microbiome

    • Nutra Organics Bone Broth is a freeze-dried broth you can find online, or at speciality supermarkets. It’s around $30 which may seem expensive but it goes a long way, and its handy as you can take it with you anywhere to add to a cup of hot water.

    • Have a cup every day

    • This I would start ASAP!

  • Natural probiotics

    • You have to replace and rebuild your microbiome. Eating natural probiotics is cheaper and far more effective than buying supplements.

    • Fermented foods DAILY – sauerkraut, kimchi.

    • Milk Kefir

  • Bitter greens – think rocket (lettuce)

  • Dark leafy vegetables (broccoli, spinach etc.)

  • Dress salads with apple cider vinegar (ACV) – load up on apple cider vinegar

  • Sprouted seeds (chia, flax, and hemp)

  • No coffee – coffee can actually be helpful for your microbiome but if you are severely damaged in the gut you may need to put it aside just for a while. Reach for the teas!

  • Slow cooking methods – slow cookers are great for this!

  • Intermittent Fasting

    • Eating all your food in a 6-8 hour window. Essentially this means missing breakfast and then counting off the time from your first meal to when you have to have your last.

    • Fasting is AMAZING for the body and gut. It helps restore the microbiome balance and kicks into gear all the healing processes the body has to ‘clean house’. I do one to two of these a week, however if someone is suffering from gut issues I would get them to do it daily if not every second day.

• DIET

  • Go Low carb, Embrace high quality fat

  • Avoid ALL processed foods

  • Low carb refers to net carbs (total carbohydrates minus fibre). Fibre, which are complex carbohydrates, are essential for gut health.

  • A diet high in rich sources of fibre, which you’ll get from whole fruits and vegetables, feeds the good bacteria and produces the right balance of those short chain fatty acids to keep the gut lining in check

  • High fat / low carb = ingredients nourish not only healthy biology but also a healthy brain

  • Setting aside the gluten factor, one of the main reasons that consuming too may grains and carbs is so harmful is that they spike blood sugar in ways that other foods, such as meat, fish, poultry, and vegetables, do not.

  • Foods high on the glycaemic index notoriously increase inflammation

  • The more sugars consumed - even artificial ones - the sicker the micro biome becomes.Gut Essentials

  • Far too often people think a low carb diet is all about eating copious amounts of meat and other sources of protein. Meat and animal products should be a side dish, not a main course.

  • Good proteins – get into eating organ meats like kidney / livers etc. Meat is not bad for you, you just need to be eating the right type and in the right amount. Technically ‘meat’ gets a bad rap because of methionine which is broken down from muscle meats. As a population we used to eat ‘nose-to-tail’ – brains, ears, organs… the lot! In nowadays because most of us only eat muscle meat our methionine has gone through the roof – which is bad! We need good protein in order to build and repair the body – this is where Vegans go off track in a big way (but that is whole different story)

  • Be careful not to over-consume protein. Excessive protein just converts into sugar in the body, and also inhibits the organelles responsible for producing energy in the body – the mitochondria. This leads to a world of other problems. Keep protein servings to no more than the palm of your hand!

Brain Maker Foods:

  • Vegetables - leafy greens and lettuces, spinach, broccoli, kale, cabbage, onions, mushrooms, cauliflower, sprouts, green beans, radishes, garlic, leek, spring onions, ginger, parsley

  • Low sugar fruit - avocados, bell peppers, cucumber, tome, courgettes, squash, pumpkin, aubergines, lemons, limes

    • Other fruits are high in fructose which feed the pathogenic bacteria

  • Fermented foods - see above

  • Healthy fat - Extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, MCT oil, organic or pasture fed butter, ghee, almond milk, avocados, coconuts, olives, cheese (except for blue cheese), and seeds (flax, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, chia)

  • Protein - Whole eggs, wild fish, shellfish (prawns, crabs, mussels, oysters), grass-fed meat, poultry and pork

  • Fibre

    • Eat plenty of fibre, found in most fruits and vegetables, especially leafy greens, flax, hemp and chia seeds, berries, broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts, root vegetables, peas and beans, as well as prebiotic foods (foods that feed the healthy bacteria) such as garlic, leeks, onion, dandelion greens and asparagus. Prebiotics are indigestible food ingredients that provide no nutrition per se. Their purpose is to nourish the friendly bacteria inside your GI tract.

  • Eat in moderation (once a day, or ideally, just a couple of times per week);

    • Carrots and parsnips

    • Cow’s milk and cream

    • Legumes (peas, beans, lentils). Exception: chickpeas (hummus is fine)

    • Whole sweet fruit: Berries are best; be extra cautious of sugary fruits such as apricots, mangos, melons, papayas, plums (or prunes), and pineapples)

  • Drink filtered water

  • The chlorine in the town water supply is the biggest assault to your microbiome (gut bacteria). It is put there to kill bacteria obviously but what it doesn’t do is differentiate between good and pathogenic bacteria, it just kills the lot – terrible if you are at all wanting a healthy microbiome!

STRESS

  • Don’t eat when stressed:

  • This means the wrong part of your nervous system (the sympathetic nervous system, or fight & flight) is fired up when your body is trying to digest food. This will only lead to incomplete digestion and extra strain on your gut. Get your breath rate down to 31/2 breaths per minute prior to eating… this will ensure that you are operating from the right side of your nervous system (the parasympathetic nervous system)!

  • Stress is not great for the gut. You need to manage your lifestyle and try and get a better balance if you feel it is always tipping over too much. Everyone is unique in regards to what works for them. For me I know that if I am doing yoga, riding my bike, or spinning my legs on a stationary bike, or doing something in the water I am WAY better balanced.

  • When we are stressed we release cortisol which when released in excessive amounts creates a highly inflammatory environment in the body. You can do everything under the sun but if you keep spiking your cortisol levels through the roof, a lot of your hard work will be wasted. That being said you are in a much better position if you are covering the fundamentals as I have listed above.