With chronic conditions, Lyme, and any other time the body is particularly stressed, I find one of the MOST important ways to manage and increase overall health is through diet and gut health. Taking charge of this in my own life, admittedly through baby steps, was one of the PRIMARY ways I finally started to experience increased healing.
This is where working with a Functional Medicine provider can be quite helpful! There’s a reason our Standard American Diet yields the acronym S.A.D. The standard way of eating in our society IS sad. It’s high on inflammatory foods, and low on actual nutrition. This can lead to a whole host of problems within our bodies that may manifest in a variety of subtle or obvious ways.
What are some bodily signs of poor gut health and inflammation stemming from the GI system? This article sums it up nicely!
A healing diet will look very different from what society tells us in acceptable eating habits. Typically, a healing diet will include food that promotes healthy cells, fuels the body, encourages detoxing, and reduces inflammation throughout the body.
To recap the article linked above, our gut has its own microbiome (the organisms living in our bowels, stomach, and digestive tract.) We NEED a balanced microbiome for maximum health throughout our entire body. This includes our immune system functions, mental health and hormone production, and SO much more! I'll keep saying it - the gut is where lots of our health starts, my friends. What we eat, put on, in and around our bodies, and our stress levels and mental state ALL impact our guts and our overall well being.
The 7 signs of an unbalanced gut from the article above include:
~Upset stomach
~A high-sugar diet (I’d go so far as to say ANY processed/white-based foods contribute here!)
~Unintentional weight changes
~Sleep disturbances or constant fatigue
~Skin irritation and rashes
~Autoimmune conditions
~Food intolerances
So what can you do to improve your gut health if you are suffering in that area for any reason? Here are THREE quick changes you can start implementing right away to help!
Start taking high quality pre and probiotics, and consider digestive enzymes as well - do your research to make sure you are getting the best quality possible. NOT all supplements are worth your money, and some can do more harm than good. For probiotics especially, look for a good mix of bacteria strains, and I would definitely recommend Bifido strains especially! Look 'em up - they do some great things for our bodies! Check for colony forming units (CFUs) too, and at least 1 billion bacterial strains is considered most ideal.
Check for food intolerances - ideally working with a knowledgeable provider. But if you are taking matters into your own hands, an elimination diet can pretty quickly tell you if you have food sensitivities.
This is where working with a Functional Medicine provider can be extra helpful, in terms of tailoring dietary changes to your needs and also getting proper gut tests done to help guide you and get you answers, but in the meantime, consider temporarily eliminating the top allergenic foods such as gluten, dairy, corn, soy, legumes, and eggs (and possibly even more, such as sugar, grains in general, shellfish, etc...definitely is an individualized approach here, but starting SOMEWHERE is better than not starting at all!)
If you go this route, the key will be to eliminate chosen food(s) entirely for 1-3mo, and THEN, reintroduce by eating just one eliminated food at a time, a few times a day for a couple days before reintroducing another. Keeping a food diary here helps tremendously as well!
Change your diet - consider low inflammatory and gut-health-based ways of eating such as Paleo/Whole30, Autoimmune Protocol (AIP), GAPs, Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), Ketogenic, Low Histamine, or Mediterranean (and I’m sure there are others out there!). I also recommend you look at what Weston A. Price discusses, and possibly grab the book Nourishing Traditions, written by Sally Fallon. It is my goal to have my household eating this way comfortably at some point (tolerating soaked grains and proper forms of dairy, etc). Every body is different and needs different nutrition, so you will want to tailor a way of eating to YOU.
Changes like these can seem hard, overwhelming, or impossible. But I promise, even baby steps are steps in the right direction! What small changes in each category can you make TODAY to better your health for tomorrow?
If you enjoy baby stepping this health journey as much as I do, here’s my guide to quickly taking charge of your health journey NOW, along with a recipe I think everyone can use! Cheers!
**Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional here to diagnose, treat, cure, or otherwise influence your medical journey outside of the guidance of a medical professional. I am simply sharing my own journey and what I have learned along the way. Please find a doctor you trust and discuss any medical concerns or treatments with them. Also, please know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases through my site at no extra cost to you.
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