Elimination Diets Won’t Heal Your Gut
Elimination diets are a key component to any gut-healing protocol, but you can’t expect to fully heal and restore your gut health simply by eliminating a food or multiple foods.
You need to work on healing the GUT LINING.
We’ve talked about leaky gut previously, and how when this single cell layered gut lining becomes damaged, we can develop all kinds of food and chemical sensitivities, along with symptoms outside the gut.
The important thing to know is that 1) you CAN heal, and 2) there are multiple areas to address in order to do so. Gut-healing is not a quick fix.
Elimination Diets & Testing Are Beneficial, But…
I fully believe an elimination diet is a beneficial tool for the gut-healing process, and always do some form of one with clients, whether that’s through running a Food Intolerance Panel or doing a 30-Day Elimination Diet and strategic reintroduction. But it’s not going to actually “heal” your gut, because if you’re eating real, whole foods, they’re likely not the main problem.
We Need to Do More Than Just Remove Foods
We need to remove the things that were causing damage to the gut in the first place, and while some of these are foods, there are other factors also. Things like antibiotic use, NSAIDs, stress, birth control pills, and the chemicals in our foods all affect the lining of the gut and can contribute to gut issues and food sensitivities.
Additionally, we can easily develop imbalances in gut bacteria, pick up pathogens like bad bacteria, parasites, v!ruses or develop yeast overgrowth if our gut and immune system isn’t fortified. These things must be addressed also, and often take some time.
Bring in The Good Gut-Healing Foods
As we remove the inflammatory foods and personalized sensitivities, we also want to bring in more gut-healing and antimicrobial foods, such as bone broth, turmeric, ginger, pumpkin, carrots, coconut oil, grass-fed beef, collagen, garlic and others.
Going Beyond Food to Heal Your Gut
The protocols I create for my 1-on-1 clients involve a multi-step approach to healing. First we remove commonly irritating foods, and use supplements to help clear hidden infections and start rebalancing the gut microbiome.
While we do this, I also use specific gut-healing supplements, such as l-glutamine or colostrum, and probiotics to help build and soothe and protect the gut.
Furthermore, there are often nutrient gaps to fill, so we may bring in certain nutrients to help bring balance back to your system. Another area of importance is your detoxification pathways and organs, such as the liver, colon and lymphatics, which must be addressed in order to fully heal.
Lastly, I commonly use adrenal supports to reduce stress, boost energy and aid putting the body into a healing, parasympathetic state.
Your Mind Matters
We also need to address the mind-gut connection. Only changing your diet, drinking bone broth or taking supplements might not be enough to completely restore your gut health.
That’s when we take things a step deeper. The mind has such a powerful affect on our gut health and our ability to heal. This was an area I really needed to dive into to make lasting changes in my own health journey. If the mind is not at peace, the body will not heal. Period.
So in summary, we must take a multi-pronged approach and while it does take time, it is possible! It can feel overwhelming, trust me, I’ve been there! But that’s why its’s crucial to work with someone who can guide you.
If you’re ready to make lasting change and restore your gut health, email me at asher@flourishnaturalwellness.com to discuss what it would look like to work together!
Asher Kleiber
Registered Holistic Nutritionist™
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