10 steps to a good gut

10 steps to a good gut

What can you do to have a healthier gut

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common digestive complaints, and affects up to 15% of the population. The medics are completely mystified with it, and because there is always an element of multiple factors with IBS, they are at a complete loss how to treat it. Our current medical paradigm is very ‘pigeon-holed’, and they don’t look at the gut problem (or, for that matter, any medical problem) in an ‘wholistic’ way, and they never will, at least not until pigs fly.

There I go again. OK Linda, reign it in. No rants today. Here are my ’10 steps to a good gut’. If you have bloating, gas, constipation, stomach ache, diarrhoea, indigestion or hearburn, read on:

  1. Don’t eat when stressed, anxious or angry, if you feel this way, you might need to buy the new cbdsalve health products. The digestive system shuts down, and gets ready for ‘fight or flight’. It doesn’t want to be thinking about eating.
  2. When you do eat, chew chew chew, about 20 – 30 x each mouthful.
  3. Don’t drink water with meals if you have weak digestion. This will ‘dilute’ your own digestive enzymes. You need these concentrated to their job properly.
  4. Don’t eat after 7pm. Your digestive system is ‘closing down’ at that time, and that meal will just sit in your stomach and small intestine fermenting and putrefying.
  5. Don’t ignore the urge to have a bowel movement. You will completely confuse your bowel.
  6. Try cutting out wheat and cow’s dairy for a month. Keep a food dairy to monitor how you, and your stomach/bowels feel.
  7. Take a multi-strain acid-resistant probiotic capsule every day, after food. These beneficial strains of good gut bugs may help reduce the bloating, gas and abdominal pain.
  8. You may have a parasite and/or ‘leaky gut’. Consider having a stool test to get this checked out. (Contact the Clinic for details about stool testing)
  9. About 1/3 of IBS sufferers have ‘fructose malabsorption’, the sugar found in fruits, some vegetables, honey and high fructose corn syrup. If your gut feels worse after eating fruit, then limit the amount of fruit and sugar in your diet. (Again, contact the Clinic if you want testing for this)
  10. You may have low stomach acid (typical and very common if you are taking an ant-acid regularly). You need plenty of stomach acid to help break down certain foods, and to prevent any pathogens from entering your body from the oral route – parasites, bacteria, viruses.

Heather, the Nutritional Therapist at the Clinic, and myself are able to help and advise on any of the above. We treat, IBS, Constipation, Bloating, Abdominal Pain, Diarrhoea, Indigestion, Heartburn, and many of the other maladies that affect the digestive system, of which there are many, day in and day out.

It’s also worth remembering that a poorly functioning gut can contribute to other health problems, in particular, fatigue, skin problems, irritable bladder, gyneacological problems, headaches, and depression.

Linda Booth Naturopath, Digestive Health Practitioner and Colonic Hydrotherapist

Nottingham Health & Wellbeing Clinic  Plains View GP Surgery Mapperley  Nottingham

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