We eat every single day, maybe once, maybe three times, maybe six times a day. So the food that we eat, of course affects the way that we feel in our bodies, right? The foods that we eat literally start to form the cells in our body and they can turn genes on and off. They can increase our energy, they can feed disease or fight disease. Food is really the biggest source of medicine because when you think about it, if you’re putting something into your body day after day after day, and it’s not very good for you, maybe containing toxic oils, you can have a sensitivity to it. This includes super high amounts of sugar coming into your body second after second, day after day. So the body is incredibly powerful and able to heal itself. However, when we keep throwing logs on the fire, it just gets bigger and bigger, right?
So we really have to make sure that we’re taking a look at the food that we eat and seeing whether it supports our health or is really hindering our health. With that being said, let’s dive in to my top tips for what to eat in a day to optimize our gut health.
First and foremost, we’re going to talk about prebiotics. You’ve probably heard of probiotics, right? But prebiotics are just as important. Why? Because prebiotics actually feed the probiotics. So if you just continue to put probiotics, like taking a supplement or something like that into your system, but you’re not feeding them the right foods, they’re going to kind of enter the system and then they can’t grow. They’re not being fed properly, right? So they love to eat prebiotics. So prebiotics are going to be found in foods like green apples, green bananas, garlic, leeks and artichoke.
Those are some of my favorite foods that are loaded with prebiotics. So these are so, so important to make sure that you’re getting them in your diet for better gut health. Now we’re going to start talking about probiotics.
The number two recommendation is going to be fermented foods. So now I’m talking things like kimchi, sauerkraut, miso (be mindful of miso if you have a soy intolerance), and other things like that. These foods actually help our gut repopulate with the good bacteria. So we need both, right? We need the fermented foods to help bring the good bacteria and kind of repopulate the gut. We also need the prebiotic foods to feed those good bacteria. The last thing I’ll say about fermented foods is that if you notice that when you eat them, like one to two tablespoons of sauerkraut or something like that, if you notice an increase in bloating or that you can’t digest them very properly, that could be a sign of dysbiosis or a bacterial overgrowth.
So you want to reach out for help. If you find that you get more bloated when eating, things like that because you’re feeding those bugs, right? You’re adding in some of the good bacteria, but if there’s an overgrowth in the bacteria, they can actually lead to more symptoms and bloating. So if that happens, reach out for help. Reach out to me a functional medicine practitioner, someone, and make sure that you get a look at that.
Number three is going to be antimicrobial foods. So these are going to be foods like coconut oil or oregano, fresh oregano. Antimicrobial foods are going to help keep your gut flora in check, so they help kill off the bad bacteria in the gut, which we don’t want it overgrowth of. And therefore there can be a good balance and good ratio of more good bacteria than bad bacteria.
So this is really, really helpful because when we get an overgrowth, that’s when we start getting all these symptoms. That’s when it starts leading to all sorts of symptoms and disease. It can be dysbiosis, it can be CBO, Candida overgrowth, and leaky gut can be connected to that too. So really important to make sure that you’re getting in some nice antimicrobial foods there too.
Number four is going to be Omega three fatty acids. So Omega three fatty acids have been shown to help decrease inflammation really systemically, so all over, especially when it comes to brain health and immune system health as well as cardiovascular health. So most people often find that they’re actually low in Omega three fatty acids because many of the foods that we eat have such a high percentage of Omega six, which is okay when in proper balance. Most people’s ratio is seriously out of balance.
So we want to make sure that we’re getting in more of those healthy Omega three fatty acids. You’re going to find this in things like wild salmon, oysters, sardines, things like that. And if you can’t get them through your food, you really want to be making sure that you’re taking a supplement, but get tested. See how your levels are and see how it could be affecting your health.
Number five is going to be L-glutamine. This is one of my absolutely favorite components. L-glutamine is an amino acid that helps really seal up the junctions in the gut lining. So we have a very thin gut lining. It’s like less than, it’s like thinner than a fingernail. Okay. And oftentimes when we eat these foods that we have sensitivities to it causes inflammation, it breaks apart the tight junctions that we have in the gut lining.
So we, when they break apart, all of these things start to flow through like a potentially parasites and I just said proteins, things like that. We really don’t want them flowing through and into our bloodstream. So in order to keep the junctions nice and tight, right, that’s why they’re called tight junctions. We want them really sealed up. L-glutamine helps do this, which causes like a ripple effect of goodness. So you are going to decrease inflammation, you’re going to keep things really where they should be and it’s really, really beneficial for your overall gut health. This is something that I always talk about in all of my gut health programs. So you can take this as a supplement, but you can also get it in things like collagen and bone broth as well.
Number six is going to be foods rich in zinc. So zinc is another really important kind of component to healing that gut barrier and keeping that gut lining nice and tight and strong. Many, many people are kind of deficient in zinc, so foods rich and zinc are going to be so helpful for your gut health and really good for your skin.
Some of the foods that contain zinc are going to be oysters, cashews, chickpeas, almonds, things like this. You may want to look into getting a supplement, ask your doctor first for sure, but foods and zinc will really, really help keep that gut healthy.
Barrier number seven is going to be foods rich in polyphenols. So polyphenols are so important and they have major anti-inflammatory effects on the gut. Foods rich in polyphenols are going to be like, blueberries, cranberries, pomegranate seeds, things like that, as well as one of my personal favorites, cacao powder, cacao powder being the raw form of cocoa powder, AKA the chocolatey tastes, right?
It comes from the cacao bean. I love to use this to make hot chocolate, to make yummy desserts. I have tons of recipes in my cookbook that actually contain cacao powder, which is also really high in magnesium, something that most of us are deficient in.
So some of my favorite recipes are my brownies (like my grain free, dairy free, sugar free brownies, they’re only five ingredients and they’re amazing), and my chocolate bark and my hot chocolate (that I make almost every day because I love chocolate and I got healthy way to consume it).
Last but not least, I couldn’t make this video without talking about fiber. I love fiber so much and fiber is so important for your gut health. So fiber helps keep everything moving, right? It attaches to toxins in the body. It helps bacteria be eliminated out of our system as well as it helps feed those good bacteria in the gut.Fiber can reduce cholesterol levels. It keeps our heart healthy and it attaches, like I said, to toxins and extra fat calories, helps pull them out of the body and it also helps us feel full.
So when we feel full throughout the day, it’s easier for us to make good decisions come the next meal. If that makes sense, right? But if we’re in this state where we’re just like starving and panicking, it’s more difficult for us to actually make a supportive decision when it comes to lunch or dinner or snacking, right? Because we’re so hungry, we don’t even care. So fiber is beneficial in a multitude of ways. And some of my favorite fiber foods are going to be flaxseeds chia seeds, leafy greens, psyllium husk are really amazing. And you’ll find in my cookbook my three day gut reset, I talk a lot about fiber and I show you some of my favorite sources and why they’re a critical component of the “HAN Morning Power Smoothie” all of the reasons that I just said and more so.
Please, please, please make sure you’re getting enough fiber. It’s recommended that you get at least 35 grams of fiber a day and most people don’t get that. It’s kind of harder to get it than you think. So. But I promise if you take one thing away from this video and it’s to increase your fiber, you will feel and see a difference like almost immediately. It’s a total game changer, but make sure that if you, if you’re coming from a place where you really don’t need a lot of fiber at all and you’re increasing it, increase it gradually as opposed to like so much overnight because can actually lead to constipation if you increase too much and make sure that you’re drinking more water because it needs that water to help kind of pull everything out of the system. So if you don’t drink enough water, that could lead to some bloating as well as just increasing your amount of fiber too quickly.
So if you’re at something like 15 grams a day, which a lot of Americans are, then kind of gradually increase, try 20 then try 30 then try 40 type of thing. Um, yes, don’t do it overnight. It could lead to some, some issues, especially some bloating. But fiber is my favorite gut friendly food. But if you are also dealing with something like small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, this can actually make things worse. So make sure that you have been tested for that if you’re having a lot of gut health issues. Um, but if not, overall fiber is a really, really helpful piece to the gut health puzzle. And if you’re looking to refresh and help reset your gut microbiome and as little as three days, make sure to check out my three day gut reset. It’s totally free. It has all the meals planned out for you.
The recipes are amazing and so delicious. I love them so much. Most people end up making them like far along after the reset, but it’s a really powerful and science backed and effective way to help get your gut microbiome on your side and as little as three days, it’s the bomb. So make sure to check that out. Any questions that you have in the comments below, tell me what you love the most out of this video and I’ll see you in the comments as always to connect and answer any questions that you have. See you in the next video.
