How to Heal Your Gut – Naturally

It could be that if you don’t get tummy-aches, you think your gut is okay. That may or may not be true. If you grew up with the traditional American diet, it’s likely not true!

Have you heard the term, microbiome? We have trillions of bacteria, viruses and fungi in our gut. This is what is referred to as the microbiome. Some of these are dangerous to our health, but others are critical to our immune system, weight, and even our brain health. About two-thirds of our immune system is housed in the gut, so yes – it is crucial to our overall health to keep our microbiome healthy.

Many of us are weight conscious. While the number on the scale says virtually nothing about who a person is, or even how healthy a person is, we seem to have a strong drive to being trim and fit. However – please understand that we can get trim and physically fit (or so it may seem if we exercise, etc.), but still not be healthy in other ways! 
 
For a brief description of the gut, please watch Dr. Elizabeth Swenor’s video.

Of special interest is how the gut, which may leak in less healthier individuals (also called gut permeability), can affect the brain and be implicated in mental health and other physiological functioning, such as depression, Alzheimer’s, autism spectrum disorder, Parkinson’s, anxiety, etc. For a very interesting peer-reviewed journal article by Martin, Osadchiy, Kalani, and Mayer (2018), go here.

This research and other studies give new hope for natural yet highly effective treatments protocols. While these disordered conditions have been traditionally handled with pharmaceuticals with mixed to low to no good results not to mention all the toxic side effects, newer, natural approaches are sometimes achieving miraculous recoveries!

Some approaches are nutrition based, and may include probiotics (yogurt with live cultures), prebiotics (natural soluble fibers which feed the good bacteria in our gut, such as leafy greens, citrus, flaxseed, etc.), green tea (acting as a mild laxative to assist the bowel in moving fueled by its caffeine), aromatics (carrots, garlic, cabbage, sauerkraut and other fermented foods), bone broth (which can be made at home or purchased), and more. Avoiding most grains and sugars is a given to creating a healthier gut (sorry – just the messenger)!

For more information from Jordan Rubin and Dr. Josh Axe, go here. They give 9 steps to achieving a better digestion. There are also links to more articles by Dr. Axe, one of my favorite authors!

Please consider visiting Health and Wellness Online, LLC for more information on natural ways to get and stay healthy. To learn more comprehensively about 10 different ways to get and stay healthy, go here.

Happy learning and please enjoy your day in a holistically healthy style!