#1. Diet
The best way to maintain gut health is through your diet. Avoiding the bad stuff is just as important as eating the good stuff, and nothing is worse than sucralose. The primary ingredient in Splenda is made by binding chlorine to sugar molecules. For those who aren’t aware, chlorine is poison; in order to deal with the poison, our bodies create chemical reactions that are harmful to the body.
Alcohol is another substance that can be detrimental to a healthy gut. Even moderate drinking has been shown to cause dysbiosis. A common condition caused by alcohol consumption is dysbiosis of the small intestine. This is basically when the small intestine has too much bacteria, which begins to consume nutrients meant to be absorbed by the body. This often leads to malnourishment, gas, and bowel problems.
Other foods to avoid include excess sugar and carbs, processed fats, foods with preservatives or pesticides, and food with antibiotics. It’s no secret that the discovery of antibiotics has saved countless lives, but their overuse today is causing a much bigger problem. Antibiotics, like chemotherapy, kill without prejudice. That means destroying the good bacteria along with the bad.
#2. Say “No” to Antibiotics
In 2015, U.S. pharmacies dispensed nearly 270 million doses of antibiotics – enough for five out of every six Americans to receive antibiotics every year. The CDC reported that at least 30% of these prescriptions were unnecessary. And there’s a bigger issue: most antibiotics are used in agriculture. Due to a bacterial infection affecting citrus trees, the EPA approved the broad use of streptomycin and oxytetracycline, antibiotics used to fight tuberculosis and syphilis. This was despite warnings and condemnation from the CDC, FDA, and WHO.
In the U.S., about 80% of antibiotics sold are used on livestock. Fearing an outbreak that could cost millions, farmers routinely administer heavy antibiotics to their entire herd – even if they’re perfectly healthy! Greed from the pharmaceutical industry has made things worse, with targeted advertising encouraging widespread antibiotic use.
What this means is that your meat, poultry, dairy, fruits, and vegetables may all contain antibiotics. Couple that with the extremely liberal prescription habits in use today, and our guts are constantly under attack. You can protect yourself by buying organic food raised without hormones and saying “no” to unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions.
But there is something even better you can do for your gut.
#3. Probiotics
Pre- and probiotics are a veritable “silver bullet” for repairing gut health and keeping it that way. Probiotics come from the foods we eat. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), increasing probiotic content in your gut through supplementation or consuming probiotic-rich foods can help with allergy disorders, liver conditions, and even the common cold.
The best natural source of probiotics can be found in fermented foods. Sauerkraut, kimchi, and kefir are all excellent sources of fermentation. What’s more, fermented foods have been shown to treat cancer and increase longevity! If probiotics are the soil in which we grow healthy gut bacteria, then prebiotics are the fertilizer.
#4. Prebiotics
Prebiotics are a class of plant fiber that can’t be digested by humans but is a critical food source for probiotic bacteria. Without prebiotics, probiotics can’t do their job. Without probiotics, our gut health fails. There are two primary prebiotics that your body needs: inulin and oligofructose.
There are also two sides to your colon; one prefers inulin (the left) and the other prefers oligofructose (the right). These two prebiotics have been shown to provide maximum nourishment for your internal ecosystem. They help to multiply beneficial bacteria and combat gut dysbiosis, a bacterial imbalance in the gut that can result in indigestion, bloating, and other gastrointestinal symptoms.
#5. Essential Oils
It’s also possible to heal your gut with essential oils. Dysbiosis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and nausea can often be treated with the right essential oils. Oils like lavender and peppermint can be used not only to treat gut symptoms, but to actually restore balance the microbiome. It’s always best to check in with a professional before using essential oils – especially when ingesting them – so remember to seek guidance beforehand.
#6. Detoxify from Heavy Metals
Heavy metal poisoning has a particularly harsh effect on your gut. Vaccines are one major source of heavy metals. Water is another. Groundwater can be contaminated by any number of toxins and most major cities on the east coast still use pipes with lead in them. The best way to protect your gut is to avoid these toxins altogether (a quality water filter is key). Another way is to detoxify your body. When it comes to toxic heavy metals, you can’t do better than chelation.
#7. Eat Organic
Another major enemy of gut health is glyphosate. The key ingredient in Roundup weed killer is sprayed on fields all over the world. But all the evidence shows that glyphosate causes cancer! Specifically, a blood cancer called non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Glyphosate poisoning is one of the major causes of leaky gut. What does leaky gut do? It allows pathogens into the bloodstream and suppresses the immune system.
Toxins – immune response = cancer.
The best way to avoid these problems is to eat organic, non-gmo food. Between harmful antibiotics and harsh chemicals, almost everything you see at the store is going to damage your gut health. But even that may not be enough, as glyphosate has been found in more than half of all surface waters, soil, and sediment. In addition to eating “clean,” we need to make detoxification a regular part of our routine.
When it comes to good health, it’s clear that taking care of your gut is step #1. Your body needs a healthy gut to absorb nutrients, keep the immune system strong, prevent brain disorders, and protect against toxins. There are plenty of things you can do wrong that will lead to dysbiosis and disease. But there are also so many ways to heal your gut and ensure that it stays balanced.