The term “Gut” or “Gut Health” has become ever more popular in the last handful of years. It will continue to be that way as more and more research comes up about the significance of our gut and the importance it plays in overall human health.
As a man who has written a book on how to live a Gut Friendly Lifestyle – you can check out more information on that here and buy the book here.
For this article, I’d like to take you through 5 simple, yet critical, steps you can take right away that will help you move towards optimal health, by improving your gut.
The first step in achieving better gut health is to have an understanding of what the gut is all about and why it’s important. Without at least a basic understanding of your gut, you’re really not going to be able to get the reasons and importance for why having a healthier gut is going to be positive for you and your health. Let’s begin.
Step 1: Understanding the importance of the gut as the second brain
We all know we have a brain, and that brain resides in our head, within our cranium (the bone structure that is referred to as the skull). We know that our brains control many of our conscious mechanisms as well as our unconscious mechanisms. We also know that the brain is a powerhouse, and it is where logical thoughts and processes are developed and used over our lifespan, it’s where our memories live, etc. Furthermore, we also understand that if we had a traumatic incident to our head, our brains, most of us, if not all would be severely handicapped and perhaps dead, depending on the force on the brain.
Now, what if I told you that we have a second brain and its importance should be revered just as our first brain – the one in our head? This second brain is our gut. The gut is a simple word that is used to describe our digestive tract, which starts in the mouth and runs all the way south to the back door (the anus). This is a big brain we are talking about here, and in comparison, to the brain in our head, you should consider this important, just as much so.
You see our gut is very essential, it is where the line of defence resides – our immune system. Many significant chemicals and hormones are created in the gut, which are vital to proper human functions. It also is the first thing to touch, and process what we put into our bodies. It plays vital roles, and numerous roles at that. It should be something we take more care of and put more thought into how we treat it, after all, it is a major part of us.
Our gut has a major role to play on a 24/7 basis. Just as you know your heart is always beating, your brain is always firing neurons, so too is your gut, albeit it to a level that matches its health. So, what you put into your body has a straightforward effect on your gut, which in turn results in a direct correlation to the overall health of the individual. You need to protect and take care of your gut, just as you would your head, your brain. Another thing to understand is that almost all chronic diseases are due to an unhealthy gut. This is where the term “leaky gut” and “autoimmune disease” comes in. A gut that cannot hold and maintain its function by design is leaky.
What do we know about leaky pipes? Well, it allows anything to get through and over time it will be flooded, so to speak. Another way to put it is, garbage in, garbage out.
This is why it is so important to take care of your gut health, because it's the only body you have in this lifetime. And why this is an important step towards optimal health. Because without having at least a basic understanding of why you do anything, you’re probably not going to keep doing it. When things get difficult in anything you’re trying to do, if you don’t understand the 'why' behind it, it is basically game over.
So, with our first step of understanding why our gut health is significant, to the point it's referred to as the second brain, let's move onto step 2, which is reducing and eliminating.
Step 2: Reduce & Eliminate
This step is about simplification, by reducing or eliminating. To simplify your life of the choices you make that impair your gut health, it is most apparent that we need to reduce and eliminate the garbage that is affecting your health.
I’ll list the most common things to reduce or eliminate in your life, that will help your health improve, drastically and quickly:
Reduce overall stress; emotional stress – the stress from things you know you shouldn’t be stressed about.
Ex. Things that are out of your control like the weather, traffic, things on the news, something someone said, etc. Stress is a huge factor in deteriorating one's health.
Reduce your exposure to mainstream news, and lower vibrational television.
Go for true stories, light-hearted movies, documentaries, and such
Remember to detach yourself from the emotions of the movie and its characters, we all know how we can get sucked into entertainment as if it were for real.
Eliminate seed oils used for cooking and all foods that contain these seed oils. The names of these seed oils are usually labelled as:
canola, sunflower, vegetable, corn, palm, sesame seed
Eliminate processed foods and packaged foods that have too many ingredients listed on the label
Usually after 6–9 ingredients, it's gone through too much processing to call it a real food.
Eliminate refined sugars in all consumables
Eliminate all foods and drinks that have glucose-fructose & high-fructose corn syrup listed in ingredients
Eliminate sugary drinks
Reduce liquids to that of real fruit juices only
Eliminate your fast-food intake
Go for only the protein that is offered. Ex. have burger patties with cheese
Eliminate breads, gluten and wheat-based products
Reduce to eating only sourdough products, and sparingly, as that is a fermented wheat product, that may be easier for you to digest
Eliminate beans, lentils, chickpeas
Reduce and as best you can eliminate vegetables like dark leafy greens, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, corn, and those similar
These all contain defence chemicals of a certain degree that will damage your gut lining, causing it to leak and not function properly
Eliminate all raw nuts, only choose roasted
The simple reasons behind reducing and/eliminating the above foods are:
raw nuts, most veggies, wheat products, and the like, contain defense chemicals like lectins, oxalates, phytic acid, goitrogens, gluten, zonulin. Those and others are basically anti-nutrients that cause internal havoc on your gut and systems through the body and overtime typically lead to serious chronic health issues, chronic inflammation.
These type of foods offer next to none for solid nutrients that are deemed required by our bodies
Processed foods are created with the intention of spiking addiction related feelings, by way of the chemicals they produce in your body
It might sound extensive, but this is ideal for those who are beginning their journey towards better health, by improving their gut health. And for those that want to see results quickly.
Step 3: Improve nutrition
If you don’t already know me enough yet, I condone a carnivore diet or an animal-based diet. In fact, I don’t even call it a diet because that word usually represents a temporary thing. That said, carnivore and animal-based nutrition is the optimal way for humans to eat. If you want to read more on Carnivory and how to get started, here is my article on that.
Improving your nutrition will be the most challenging aspect of improving your gut health, but again, if you understand “the why” behind the fact you need to improve your gut health, this part becomes easier.
Since food is such a vital part of a human, it’s a main source of our energy, you need to dial in proper nutrition for your gut health to improve and thrive. I recommend going carnivore, or taking a more animal-based approach. This means you should be eating majority meat - like beef, bison, pork, game meat. Also includes eggs, butter, fruits and honey. For cooking, use coconut oil, butter, beef tallow. Drink water, or a quality BCAA drink, or a real fruit juice kind. Fermented foods like saurkraut and kimchee are helpful for their probiotics and prebiotic nutrients. You have lots of options here.
Step 4: Add Movement
Exercise is critical to optimal health and your gut health will love it. There are so many positive benefits from exercise that this should be a no-brainer. The amount of exercise you do will be dependent on your current level of fitness, and what goals you have that you’ve set for yourself. Many chemicals and hormones are produced from exercising, which in part is related to your gut, so you must move daily.
Metabolic health across the world is at its worst, this is because the majority of people are living sedentary lives, among many other unhealthy things they choose to do/do not.
Step 5: Add Supplements
Supplements are very beneficial in the beginning stages of healing your gut and working to improve it. Certain supplements are necessary to take that will offer tremendous benefits. To name a few supplements to help get you started:
Probiotics
Digestive Enzymes
Hydrochloric Acid
Magnesium
Vitamin D
Iodine
Zinc
Dessicated Beef Liver
If you're unsure about these supplements and if you can take them, always consult your doctor about it. You can also contact me further to get more information on these above-mentioned and how to take them effectively.
Now, let's take a step back. We’ve just gone through the five basic fundamental steps for improving your gut health. These steps are:
Understand the importance of your gut
Reduce and eliminate the things that are destroying your gut and overall health
Improve your nutrition
Add daily movement (exercise)
Add supplements to aid in improving your gut health
Your gut and its health are so important to your overall well-being that by taking these steps, you will no doubt feel better all around. This includes mental health, emotional health, spiritual health and of course physical health. There are many people that I’ve helped to understand the importance of the gut, that they’ve been able to regain control of their lives, and I would love that for you too.
If you’re looking to improve your gut health, if you’re looking to improve your metabolic health, then I’d be happy to guide you through that with the personal coaching services that I offer.
Contact me today and let's get you on the path to optimal health!
SD