If you’re often bloated or go days without doing a poo, it’s time to consider your gut health… because it’s probably not happy and contributing to those other ‘weird’ symptoms you’re dealing with.
Taking gut health for granted is something most of us do – until something goes wrong. It’s only then that you realise how grateful you are for your gut and start looking for strategies to heal uncomfortable symptoms like:
- constipation
- diarrhoea
- nausea
- reflux
- heartburn
- stomach cramps.
As a Naturopath who specialises in gut healing, I want you to know that, while some symptoms clearly highlight digestive dysfunction, things like fatigue, poor sleep, sore joints, crabby moods and infertility often link back to gut problems too. These can be more complex cases that require layers of healing strategies, and that’s why I’m sharing 5 key strategies you NEED to know if you’re serious about healing your gut.
First, though, I’d like to share my personal journey:
If you’d asked me as a teenager whether my digestion was good, I would have told you it was. However, when I reached my 20’s I realised this wasn’t the case and that I’d been dealing with digestive issues most of my life.
For starters, my bowel movements weren’t regular. There were rare times when I went every day, but it was more ‘normal’ for me to go every 3 days.
I was also dealing with CONSTANT bloating, which left me feeling yuk most of the time – and younger me had no idea why. Most of the time I was eating what I thought was plenty of fruits and vegetables.
BUT at the same time, I was also feasting on lollies, chocolates, KFC, and McDonalds whenever I could. Obviously, this wasn’t doing my gut any favours.
I was about 22 or so when I discovered my gut was super unhappy. It took 2 courses of antibiotics, a stressful event, a broken heart, lower abdominal cramps, and the fear of an infection lowering my fertility to show me that I HAD to be more aware of my pelvic and abdominal health. This is when I began my gut healing journey and, after 15+ years of learning, I’d like to share what I discovered works best.
Be Mindful Of Your Food Choices
I am sure you already know that eating lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is essential for gut health. But, have you ever thought about the healthy foods YOU CHOOSE not to eat – and why this may be so?
Before I embarked on my gut healing journey, eating vegetables made me cringe. Even today I’m not a fan of plain veg and enjoy them most when accompanied with meat (No, I don’t plan on becoming a vegetarian any time soon).
What you NEED to know:
If you value your health, not being excited to eat healthy food, like vegetables, isn’t reason enough to avoid it. Personally, I discovered my resistance to eating vegetables was actually a safety mechanism that subconsciously protected me from having what I perceived as a horrible experience. This perception was, I think, based on when I was growing up, watching my father refuse to eat any vegetables with his dinner. Combined with my 7-year-old self being told I couldn’t leave the table until I’d eaten all my vegetables. In reality, eating more vegetables wasn’t the horrible experience I expected, and I’ve always been pleasantly surprised at how good they actually make me feel. Nowadays, I enjoy a 2-3 week cleanse every year where I eat a 100% plant-based, wholefood diet.
See A Naturopath
Talking to a Naturopath about your gut health can help you understand where dis-ease is occurring in your body, as well as how to fix the problem at a core level.
Before I saw a Naturopath or trained to become one, I visited many doctors in an effort to understand what was going ‘wrong’ in my gut. While I learned I didn’t have bowel disease or pelvic inflammatory disease, that’s where the answers stopped. It was then that my open-minded perspectives kicked into overdrive and I decided to consider holistic approaches.
What you NEED to know:
Seeing a Naturopath empowered me to understand a) what was happening in my body, and b) how food choices were impacting me physically and mentally. I began choosing gluten-free options more often, which, 15 years ago, meant choosing whole foods more regularly. Improvements in my gut health didn’t happen overnight; but, pretty quickly I noticed less bloating, more regular bowel movements, and that I had way more energy. Click here to book your Naturopathic appointment today
Understand Your Digestive System
Understanding how your digestive system works helps you make informed choices about what does, and doesn’t, support your health.
Personally, I have the type of brain that wants to know how things work. That’s why, when my health failed and natural medicine started to give me answers, I chose to study Naturopathy, Nutrition and Herbalism. I committed to 8-years of full-time medical study – and my curious brain loved it!
What you NEED to know:
I’m dedicated to helping you understand your health, which is why I’m creating an online course all about the digestive system. This course will fast-track your learning so that you, too, can empower yourself by learning the processes of digestion and how to support each phase in an efficient and holistic way.
Functional Testing Gives You Deeper Insight
Functional Testing allows you to be proactive in detecting metabolic dysfunction long before there’s an identifiable disease.
The first test I ever did was called an IgG Food Allergy Test. It tested 40 different foods to see whether they triggered my immune system, and the results were a definite turning point in my digestion. After altering my diet to match what I learned, I started moving my bowels once or twice daily and I discovered just how amazing it felt to have a complete evacuation. I also noticed my stomach was flatter, my appetite was better, and that my emotional health was skyrocketing. When people asked me how I was, it wasn’t just, “Good, thank you”, it was “Really fantastic, thank you”.
What you NEED to know:
GI-mapping and Food Allergy Testing aren’t always necessary – but they’re valuable tools if you’re keen to improve your digestion and gain a better understanding of how your body reacts to food. Functional Testing is especially useful for those with mystery illnesses and complex health conditions.
Your Healing Journey Won’t Follow A Straight Line
The healing journey is more like a roller coaster, complete with loop-de-loops than a straight line.
I’ve worked hard to improve my gut health, but I’m still prone to occasional slip-ups. Right before I became pregnant with my first baby, I’d healed my gut to a stage where I wasn’t experiencing any pain, I was going regularly, and I could tolerate not-so-healthy foods on occasions. Interestingly, my digestion became even stronger during my pregnancy and I began enjoying more of the foods I used to react to. Everything was great – until 6 months after I gave birth when I had a Japanese meal rich in teriyaki sauce. This meal severely inflamed my gut and, for the following 3-4 days, it hurt to walk or put pressure on my abdomen. To heal from this meal took close to 2 years, with the turning point being the IgG Allergy Test I mentioned earlier.
What you NEED to know:
It’s normal to feel like you’re taking one step forward and then two steps back during your healing journey. In moments of supposedly backward motion, I recommend you do these 3 things:
- Try to gain more understanding of the digestive process, as this can help you heal much faster.
- Listen to your body for valuable insights.
- Trust in the healing process. You may feel disheartened during the steps back and be tempted to revert back to your old ways, but the trick is to stick with the positive changes you’ve made.
Moving Forward
I’ve learned that gut healing works best when you combine these healing strategies. Of course, healing can happen when you make only one change, but I know from experience that treating the gut usually requires a multi-faceted approach in order to fully strengthen the gut lining and gut microbiome. You’ll know when this has happened as you’ll feel your digestion improve, complex symptoms subside, and you will be able to tolerate healthful foods all of the time and, on rare occasions, not-so-healthy foods.
If you’re keen to overhaul your gut health, or discover if your ‘weird’ symptoms are related to gut dysfunction, I invite you to book a consultation with me so we can begin finding the healing strategies best suited to you.