How I Healed My Gut
We honestly all have some sort of gut issue. Just like almost everything in life, there is a sliding scale ranging from just a little bloating to an entire digestive disease diagnosis. There is a wide variety of reasons that the health of your gut is impacted, from environmental exposures to poor nutritional choices and even stress. With that being said there is not going to be just one thing to heal your gut and improve your health. I also want to acknowledge bio-individuality, the concept that what works for someone may not work for someone else.
I’ve struggled with my gut health for years and years, but I didn’t understand that it was my gut health until after college. I just thought that the anxiety I had or the bloating after meals or the constant sickness I experienced were random and I was unlucky. Symptoms that my doctor wrote off with a prescription and little to no education.
Fast forward to today, I’ve grown my knowledge immensely and have healed my gut holistically! As I mentioned before, it hasn’t just been one thing that improved all my symptoms and helped me heal but a combination that consistently made a difference.
Everyone, yes including you, should be implementing habits to support gut health. Why is it so common to wait until you have a list of symptoms to start implementing habits?
Five holistic habits that helped me heal my gut:
Gut lining supportive supplements. Specifically, the supplement ION Gut Support is an all-natural, soil-derived liquid supplement to defend you from environmental toxins and diversify your gut microbiome naturally. I was skeptical about this supplement because it’s so simple and the majority is purified water but truly a key component to my healing journey.
Breakfast before caffeine. I’m sure you’ve heard this one before as it has a profound effect on more than just your gut health. You gotta get something in your stomach before you pour in the caffeine. Simply because it slows the absorption but also because you’re protecting the lining of your gut which is extremely delicate, decreasing inflammation and irritation.
Eliminating gluten. This was a struggle, I’m not going to lie. It is still something I have to be mindful of, I’m Italian and miss eating an entire loaf of bread during Sunday sauce. It was one of the best steps I could have taken as I healed my gut. Wheat can commonly cause inflammation and leaky gut (intestinal permeability) due to a lot of the wheat being sprayed with glyphosate, wreaking havoc on your gut tissues.
Breathwork has supported much more than just the health of my gut. Although, it has allowed me to manage my stress and regulate my central nervous system which is necessary for healing. There are many different ways to approach breathwork, I like to use the guided method of breathing through my mouth only, paired with prompts and music. I highly recommend learning about breathwork techniques before jumping in and understanding how your body can react. The first time I had a breathwork session my hands went stiff, and my body was tingling and profusely sweating. All normal reactions to breathwork could have been scary if I wasn’t prepared or aware.
Decreased alcohol consumption is a must to heal your gut. It seems as though there is a larger movement of becoming sober curious or living a “damp” lifestyle, meaning that you only partake in consuming alcohol on occasion.
You need to start shifting into a proactive and growth mindset over a reactive and stuck mindset! That is the key to living a holistic lifestyle and supporting your health for the long haul.