For those of you that have worked with me or have followed my newsletters and articles over the years, you know that I am very passionate about gut health. This passion originated out of personal health issues and continued to be fuelled by witnessing the impact of gut healing on the lives of clients that I worked with.
In the same way that your skin protects your body from the outside world, the lining of your intestinal tract separates the outside world from the inside of your body. This is why about 80% of your immune system is located in your gut. We have the support of gut microbes in detecting and eliminating unwanted pathogens and an army of immune cells waiting to engage and kill unwanted invaders. If something is wrong with the integrity of your gut barrier or the composition of the gut microbes (which is very common in this day and age), your immune system is continuously overloaded with work and over time this can impact its ability to do its job properly.
Supporting gut health is therefore extremely important to keep our immune system strong and able to fight viruses such as Covid-19.
As always, the nutritional foundation for health is a diverse, colorful, wholefoods diet that contains a variety of rainbow-colored vegetables and fruits, protein and healthy fats, and well-prepared whole grains, if tolerated. To support gut health specifically, here are five more of my top-tips:
1. Home-made bone broth
An excellent source of minerals and collagen, great for healing and repairing the digestive tract. Drink a bit every day or use it as a base for soups and sauces.
Here is a recipe for homemade chicken bone broth: https://www.moniquejhingon.com/homemade-chicken-bone-broth/
2. A good quality probiotic supplement
I have two current favorite brands: MegasporeBiotic and Seed Synbiotic. The first consists of spore-based bacteria that act as gut “fertilisers”- they support the growth and diversity of beneficial bacteria. The second consists of a number of well-researched strains of bacteria that have clinical evidence for systemic benefits in the area of immune function, cardiovascular health, digestion and absorption, and skin health.
3. Herbs and spices
There are so many wonderful herbs and spices that support the digestive system: ginger, turmeric, peppermint, fennel, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, oregano, parsley, cayenne, rosemary, and many more. Many of these help modulate the gut microbiota, support gastrointestinal motility, stimulate digestive secretions. Just add them where you can!
4. Garlic and onion (raw!)
These are prebiotic rich foods, which means they are great sources of food for the beneficial bacteria in our gut. In the process of “eating” these foods our gut bacteria produce metabolites that positively impact immune function, gut function, metabolism, brain health, neurotransmitter production and more. I like to add finely chopped garlic into my salad dressing and thinly sliced onion to salads.
Note: if you experience severe bloating after eating raw onion and garlic, you may have some underlying gut imbalances that need to be tackled first. Some of my clients who experience these reactions after eating raw onion and garlic and other prebiotic-rich foods test positive for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and need to first clear this with a targeted gut protocol before they can venture into a prebiotic rich diet.
5. Fasting
Fasting for at least 4 hours between meals and at least 12 hours at night helps to support the gut’s Migrating Motor Complex, which helps clean up the digestive tract by sweeping out food remnants, unwanted bacteria and other debris, allowing the gut barrier to restore itself and the gut microbiome to rebalance. Intermittent Fasting has been shown to favorably impact the gut microbiome. Again, bio-individuality is key in health and nutrition practices. You can read more here on Intermittent Fasting and contraindications for extended fasts.
Be well and stay healthy!
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