10 Steps to Healing Your Gut

For the past few months I’ve experience severe digestive distress, worse than any other time in my life. After much agony I decided I need to learn more about the digestive system to and get to the bottom of my issues. Did you know you’re supposed to have two bowel movements a day? Gross I know, but it’s important that you know this because your colon health is of the UPMOST importance ! Your skin, waistline, and immune system are all connected to your colon which means a healthy colon = a healthy body.

Let’s just say my body has been WAY off schedule, I’ve been racking my brain to figure out what I’m doing different to cause this to happen. After much experimenting I’ve finally gotten a somewhat handle on things and my body is starting to lean out again. If you are experiencing digestive distress and you want to get regular, decrease belly bloat and get lean lean lean, follow my list of 10 tips below.

1. Eat lots of fiber (especially raw veggies!) By eating more whole, plant-based, fiber-filled foods, you’re providing your body with the vitamins and nutrients it needs to keep your body healthy and happy. Fiber, which can be found in fresh fruits and veggies, can help to cleanse your body by moving things along in the digestive tract. You should be working towards trying to consume 6 to 8 servings of fresh fruits and veggies per day for optimal health. Other important veggies for your digestive tract are going to be the ones that are high in probiotics, foods such as raw onions, garlic, dandelion greens, artichokes and bananas.

2. avoid hard to digest foods. Certain foods can be harder than others to digest, until your digestion is healed you should avoid certain foods or at the least make sure you cook them first before ingesting. These foods include broccoli, cauliflower, pea sprouts, beans, raw spinach, and raw onions.

3. drink in adequate amount of water. Many people with digestive problems are extremely dehydrated. Drinking enough water is one of the most important parts of keeping your system regular. To improve your digestion even further drink at least one glass of water with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice. Sign up for Thrive Market and get your own apple cider vinegar here and get 25% off your first order.

4. eat more fermented foods. Fermented foods are high in “good bacteria” and eating them will help you to build back your gut flora naturally. Eat more sauerkraut, kefir, fermented vegetables, kimchi, or Kombucha.

5. take a probiotic (everyday). A daily probiotic supplement will help boost the good bacteria in your gut. Probiotics boost your immune system and help improve digestive issues. Get your own on thrive market and make sure to sign up here to get 25% off your first order.

6. add these foods into your diet to aid in digestion. Foods such as chia seeds, coconut oil, ghee, wild alaskan salmon, zucchini, bone broth, and aloe vera juice. find out more on how these foods can help improve your gut flora here.

7. don’t eat late at night (or right before bed). Sleeping causes your digestive system to slow down. When you have a big meal right before bed can cause you to feel bloated, uncomfortable, and full. Give your body a break and allow your system a few hours to digest before hitting the sheets.

8. avoid eating until your previous food has digested. Snacking It’s so easy to be tempted to snack all day, especially when we live in such a busy world. But if we don’t give our body an adequate amount of time to digest in-between means we can be causing a number of digestive disturbances. Give yourself time before starting your next meal to ensure your body can break down your food properly.

9. cut back on the caffeine. Caffeine blocks the absorption of magnesium, a key mineral that is essential to the colon’s regulation of normal, healthy bowel movements. Coffee itself compounds the problem by acting as a laxative, causing the bowels to move prior to the absorption of water and mineral nutrients but an overuse of caffeine can have the opposite effect – causing a sluggish digestive system. Avoid coffee, and even decaf coffee to improve your digestion. Check out my suggestion below to replace your coffee habit.

10. in extreme cases an enema can be the way to go. An enema can help you to rid excess waste that builds up in the colon from eating refined and processed foods, or foods that are high in fat and sugar and low in fiber. These types of foods can cause symptoms such as constipation and IBS. Use an enema to help clear the pathway so your body can produce better bowel movements.