Podcast 043: Gut Health
Dr. Meaghan and Wendy discuss different aspects of gut health and what you can do to make sure that you have proper gut health throughout life.
When there are gut issues they need to be addressed and they can take awhile to heal. It is best to take a 4R approach to healing the gut.
1. First R- Remove. Remove any infections or inflammatory mediators. This can include Candida, bacterial or viral infections, or food sensitivities/allergies.
2. Second R- Reinoculate. A huge part of gut health is the balance between the different flora in the gut. It is important to make sure to put in the good bacteria (probiotics) and feed them with prebiotics (fuel for the gut bacteria. This includes inulin, FOS, and fiber).
3. Third R- Restore. Restore proper function to the gut. If the gut is inflamed than many times it is not going to work to the best of its ability. Therefore, it is important to support good gut function. You can do this through digestive enzymes, HCl and other supplements.
4. Fourth R- Repair. Repairing the gut is necessary after infection or inflammation and often times forgotten. It is important to make sure that you are giving the gut what it needs to repair and decrease the damage that happens due to leaky gut. You can do this through l-glutamine, licorice, aloe, zinc, and Vitamin D.
If you are having major gut issues than it is important to have a functional medicine doctor to help guide you in the program. There are many different facets to the gut and it is important to work with someone that can help you.
I also find that foot reflexology charts are very helpful when working with both adults and children with digestive issues. Acupressure and essential oils to those specific areas really makes a huge difference.
Most importantly, we found out the meaning of from Soups to Nuts means. It comes from the origin that everything is covered because the meal starts with Soups and it ends with the dessert of nuts. Thanks Producer Scott for teaching us what this means.