12 Natural Essentials For Good Gut Health

For good gut health:

1. Bone broth/ fermented veggies

Bone broth provides vitally healing nutrients that heal and seal the gut wall. Bone broth contains electrolytes, collagen proteins, and glucosamine, all of which can either speed recovery or maintain gut integrity.

2. Anti-inflammatory diet

Certain foods can irritate the gut mucosa, leading to immune activation and maldigestion. Avoiding foods like gluten and sugar is important, while adding in foods like green leafy vegetables, berries, coconut oil and olive oil, wild caught fish, and grass fed meats can aid in gut health.

3. Destress

Be mindful and find ways to destress, like meditation, deep breathing, yoga or pilates, and walking outside. All of these have been shown to decrease stress, turn off inflammation, and decrease aging.

4. Boost your fiber

Bulk up your diet and feed your good bacteria- they will thank you! Load up with chia seeds, flax seeds, berries, starchy vegetables like sweet potato and yucca.

5. Sleep

Getting enough sleep can dampen inflammation, balance hormones, stabilize blood sugar, and much more! Shoot for 8 hours per night for optimal health.

Healing herbs and nutrients:

6. Zinc

Zinc supplementation has been shown to decrease intestinal permeability and aid in balancing the immune system.

7. Glutamine

When under stress, our body will use up more glutamine to heal and repair tissues and for energy production. Glutamine is an essential amino acid used as fuel for the enterocytes (gut cells).

8. Turmeric (curcumin)

The most famous and potent anti-inflammatory. This can dampen intestinal inflammation and be soothing on the gut lining.

9. Ginger

Ginger is an anti-inflammatory and can aid gut motility, meaning that the bowels can move along easier.

10. Probiotics

Probiotics help replenish and feed gut bacteria. Look for probiotics with different strains of bacteria and billions of colony forming units.

11. Enzymes

Pancreatic enzymes aid in the breakdown and digestion of food in the small intestine. Hydrochloric acid can aid the stomach in breakdown of food, especially protein. I would advise speaking with your functional medicine doctor prior to beginning an enzyme regimen.

12. Vitamins  A, D, E, K

These fat-soluble vitamins are critical for the integrity of the gut lining and strength of the immune system.