My favorite ways to heal your gut to support healthy hormones & fertility
This week we are diving into all things digestion! I know your probably wondering what does my stomach and digestion have to do with my fertility? Well the truth? A whole lot!
Our digestion sets the stage for our nutrient absorption, immunity, hormone balance, detoxification and so much more.
It's not surprising that most people are walking around with a baseline level of digestive dysfunction without even realizing it. Bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, reflux, cramps, gallstones, and more just to name a few are NOT normal and healthy digestive symptoms to be having on a daily basis.
Digestive dysfunction many times begins with the… you guessed it metabolism! I know I know, it's all I talk about! But truly, it's the root cause of almost all issues. So when we have a slow metabolism (and thyroid- they go hand in hand) everything in the body begins to slow down to conserve energy. Especially digestion!
When our overall digestive system slows down it creates a cascade of dysfunction… It begins with our stomach producing less stomach acid. When we don't have as much stomach acid its harder to break down our food as well. Low stomach acid is also often seen in those with acid reflux (I know your whole life you've been taught the opposite). SO then as a result we take things like Prilosec or other over the counter antacids that just further reduce the stomach acid we have.
So now our food isn't getting broken down properly and moves into our small intestine. We have lots of bacteria in our gut that helps to break down food. But with the overuse of antibiotics many of us don't have a healthy microbiome and in fact many have growth of bad bacteria. The kind that will live off of and thrive on the food we eat. Artificial sweeteners and other food additives can also deplete the healthy gut flora causing imbalances. In addition to this, if we can't break down our food and absorb it well then we are not able to get the beneficial nutrients from our food. This leads to nutritional deficiencies in the body.
This dysbiosis can also lead to hyperpermeability of the gut lining or “leaky gut” as it is often called. This is when food pieces, pathogens and toxins escape through the gut lining and enter the bloodstream. Poor diet, GMO's and consuming unspotted grains are another culprit for this as well.
So now we have to rely HEAVILY on our liver to detox our body and many times it gets overburdened. When the liver is overworked and not given the nutrients it needs to doesn't do a great job converting thyroid hormone or ridding the body of excess estrogen. This is where we see estrogen dominance popping up aka imbalanced estrogen to progesterone.
Lastly, our food leaves our body after making its way through our large intestine. If you are not having a bowel movement 1-3 times a day then toxins are able to reenter your body because they are just sitting in your colon for days on end getting reabsorbed.
I invite you to look at the symptoms below and make a checklist to see how many you have.
Symptoms of Digestive Dysfunction:
Food Allergies/ Dairy sensitivity/ gluten sensitivity
Sinus congestion/ Seasonal Allergies
Ezcema
Bloating after eating
Hives
Craving bread
Crohn's Disease
Asthma
Less Than 1 bowel movement a day
Stool difficult to pass
Blood or mucus in stool
yeast infections
taken antibiotics
Irritable bowel syndrome
dark circles under eyes
ring worm or athletes foot
foul smelling gas
gas/ belching after meals
bad breath
heartburn/ reflux
sleepy after meals
fingernails chip
stomach pain/ cramps
chronic diarrhea
feel better if you don't eat
feel like skipping breakfast
sweat has a strong smell
stomach upset by taking vitamins
anemia unresponsive to iron
undigested food in stool
headache over eyes
pain in between shoulder blades
nausea
greasy or shiny stool
gall bladder attacks/ gall bladder removed
motion sickness
dry skin, itchy peeling feet
easily hungover
sensitive to chemicals
hemorrhoids or varicose veins
history of morning sickness
stomach upset by greasy food
First we are going to want to be prioritizing nutrient dense foods. Gmo's, artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, vegetable oils are only going to hurt our digestion more. We also want to be eating in a relaxed state and chewing our food thoroughly.
Aim to include easily digestible foods. Animal proteins, fruits, root veggies are a great place to start. Gluten, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, raw veggies are tougher on our digestive tract . Alcohol and caffeine will also be things that you may want to limit as you heal.
Include some helpful supplements to support your body where it is while you heal. I listed my favorite below.
Include mineral rich water into your day for adequate hydration to support waste removal
Eat a raw carrot salad daily to help rid the body of excess toxins and estrogen. The skin of the carrot also has microbial properties which act as little scrubbers in your digestive tract cleaning it up.
You can also add in Castor oil packs to support your liver.
As a side note for anyone who has had their gall bladder removed I highly recommend bile salts typically from ox bovine to support bile production.
One // Digestive Bitters
Helps to support healthy stomach acid production before eating
Two // Digestive Enzymes
Helps to provide the gut with the necessary enzymes to break down our food for optimal absorption
Three // Spore based probiotic
Stronger probiotic than traditional probiotic to support healthy microbiome
Four // DAO
This is only needed if suffering from histamine reactions. DAO blocks histamine response from high histamine foods.
Five // TEA
Dandelion Root tea, Throat Coat, Nettle Root tea for healing of the gut lining and liver support
Six
Gelatin/ Collagen
Gelatin gummies, bone broth, collagen to support healing of the gut lining
xoxo, Meghan
