Top 3 Ways to Optimize Gut Health + Digestion
If you didn't catch last week's blog Why Optimizing Gut Health Matters, I highly encourage you to start with reading that first!
Our gut is SO tied to hormone production + healthy (or unhealthy) hormones! Our guts make hormones and produce neurotransmitters that help our brain and our bodies communicate and carry out various different processes. We can eat all the healthiest foods and take top quality supplements but if our gut and digestion aren't where they should be, we won't see the results we desire - optimized hormones, fertility, and cycles with little to no notable symptoms (that is the goal + it IS achievable!)
The health of our gut has to do with how we are absorbing nutrients necessary to produce healthy hormones, cycles, and fertility. If your gut is not in a good space, you won't see healthy hormones and cycles. Period.
When it comes to supporting the gut and digestion,
these are the TOP 3 things I'd focus on first
1. Poop DAILY. Daily, easeful bowel movements ensure we can absorb the good things needed from our foods and supplements, but also to ensure we're removing the toxins and other used substances from our bodies that are no longer serving us.
2. INCLUDE gut-supportive, anti-inflammatory foods and probiotics. Help balance the good and bad flora (aka the good and bad bugs) in your gut by including gut supportive, fermented foods such as kimchi, organic hormone free kefir or yogurt and/or or using a targeted probiotic. It's great if you can choose a probiotic based on gut testing, but if not, one of my personal favorite probiotics is UltraFlor Spectrum by Metagenics (which you can get on my Fullscript account for 15% off! Simply click here to set up a free account and search for the product by the full name I listed here "UltraFlor Spectrum by Metagenics") because it includes a good mixture of strains that support large and small intestine and it also directly supports the guts immune response which supports our overall immune response. I also like to include regular anti-inflammatory foods in the diet to support healing and lower inflammation which is another root cause of hormone issues (in addition to poor gut health). Anti-inflammatory foods I live include salmon, avocado, mushrooms, olive oil, turmeric, cumin, ginger, and I don't personally love parsley but it is also included in this list. ProOmega CoQ10 by Nordic naturals (also available for 15% off with link above) is my favorite omega because it is naturally anti-inflammatory AND it includes CoQ10 which directly supports our egg quality.
3. AVOID inflammatory foods. Foods that can trigger inflammation and overall poor gut health should be avoided as much as possible. This includes most things in the standard American diet... it's called the SAD diet for a reason... including foods high in sugar, fried foods, processed flowers, low fiber, low phytonutrient and phytochemical. Aka processed and not including the rainbow! Additional foods that tend to be common food triggers for allergies or inflammation for a lot of people (tune into your body or consider food inflammation testing to see if these should be removed for you personally: conventional meat and dairy products treated with hormones and other harmful chemicals (this does NOT include organic, grassfed, hormone free meat and dairy), sugar, caffeine, alcohol, poor quality oils (sunflower, safflower, corn, soybean oil), and for some night shades (tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, potatoes), corn, peanuts, soy and eggs.
These tips are all general tips for addressing and improving gut health.
But we're not all one size fits all and I do think it is important to remember that...
If you want to make the most impact for YOUR specific body, gut microbiome testing is the best + most targeted way to do that! Gut microbiome testing tells us if you have an overgrowth of bacteria, virus, fungus, yeast, candida, H pylori, bugs that may trigger further inflammation or even autoimmune conditions; it tells us how your gut is digesting, if there is inflammation, leaky gut, if your immune and detox systems and functioning adequately. It is SO helpful and very clear for knowing which actions will best serve YOU and your body, symptoms, and overall health.
In addition to gut testing, food inflammation/food sensitivity testing helps us get really clear on which foods may be triggering inflammation and dis-ease in your body that would be helpful to remove while working on targeted healing. This is particularly helpful when leaky gut or food sensitivities are known or suspected.
If you'd like to take the next step and discuss targeted testing and guidance in healing your gut, hormones, cycle, or fertility issues, I invite you to check out my Body Harmony program and to set up a FREE clarity call to talk about how YOU can get started on this healing journey.
to your beautiful body + it's healing,
Dr. Mona
