Gut Healing Protocol
1. Eat oatmeal for breakfast. Do not add sugar. You can add berries and fruit. Oatmeal is very high in glutamine, the primary energy source for our intestinal cells. Berries are very high in anthocyanidins, which help our circulatory system and are general antioxidants.
2. Glutamine powder supplement, 2-5g/d.
3. Other healing supplements include DGL or glycyrrhiza (licorice), althea (marshmallow), and ulmus (slippery elm). Digestive enzymes may also be beneficial. I prefer either Intestinal Repair Complex by Biogenesis or GI Encap by Thorne.
4. If you are experiencing a lot of gas and bloating, fennel, chamomile, and ginger will help relieve the flatulence. You can take this as a tea (fresh or found as tea bags, Traditional Medicinals is my favorite brand).
5. Eat overly cooked vegetables throughout the rest of the day with (overly) well cooked whole grains (rice, quinoa, millet, oats, barley, bulgar, farro, kamut). Do not eat flours. Do not eat pre-packaged foods, especially those with added chemicals, dyes, flavoring, and preservatives. You can eat meat, but do so in minimal amounts as this can be harder to digest. Bone/meat broth soups are highly recommended.
6. Consider digestive enzymes.
7. Consider adding probiotics to your regimen, either through fermented foods or as a supplement. Aim for 10-15 billion CFUs per day (dose). Food sources include sauerkraut, kombucha, kim chi, cultured dairy products (kefir, yogurt, cultured sour cream), fresh veggies
8. Avoid stimulants (caffeine), alcohol, and smoking.
9. Avoid abusing certain drugs that are very hard on our digestive system, such as Aspirin and other NSAIDs. Talk to your physician before discontinuing any medication.
10. Exercise will help tremendously, even if it’s just walking around the block. Get out and move daily.
11. Castor oil packs over the abdomen with heat daily for >20min. Castor oil is incredibly anti inflammatory and can ease stomach aches, abdominal cramping, and the like. Read about Castor Oil Packs here.
Commit to this regimen for 1 week during acute inflammatory flares, and for 1 month in the beginning stages of gut repair.
If your gut is particularly inflamed and seems uncontrollable, the best option to calm inflammation is to commit to a 1-3 day water fast. Always seek the counsel of a physician before and during a water fast.
Simple Congee Gut Healing Recipe:
Think about eating things that will be soothing, building, and protective of your gut. The more we cook things, the easy it is to digest. It also creates a more gelatinous meal that can coat our intestinal lining. This congee can be altered to whatever veggies you have in your fridge and is incredibly easy to make (one pot!) Regardless of if my gut is inflamed or not, I usually make a congee about 1x/week for general maintenance.
Bring chicken and water to a boil in a 5-quart heavy pot, skimming froth. Add wine, ginger, scallions, and salt and cook at a bare simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes, or until breast meat is just cooked through. Transfer 1 breast half with tongs to a bowl and continue to cook stock at a bare simmer, skimming froth as necessary, 2 hours and 40 minutes. Meanwhile, cool chicken breast long enough to remove skin and bones, returning skin and bones to stock.
Cool breast meat completely and tear into shreds. Chill shreds, covered, and bring to room temperature before serving.
Pour stock through a large sieve into a large bowl and discard solids. (you should have about 8 cups: if less, add water; if more, cook longer after adding rice.) Return stock to cleaned pot and add rice. Bring to a boil and stir. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered until consistency of oatmeal, about 1 3/4 hours, stirring frequently during last 1/2 hour of cooking. (Congee will continue to thicken as it stands. thin with water if necessary.)
Season congee with Braggs Liquid Aminos (or salt)
1. Eat oatmeal for breakfast. Do not add sugar. You can add berries and fruit. Oatmeal is very high in glutamine, the primary energy source for our intestinal cells. Berries are very high in anthocyanidins, which help our circulatory system and are general antioxidants.
2. Glutamine powder supplement, 2-5g/d.
3. Other healing supplements include DGL or glycyrrhiza (licorice), althea (marshmallow), and ulmus (slippery elm). Digestive enzymes may also be beneficial. I prefer either Intestinal Repair Complex by Biogenesis or GI Encap by Thorne.
4. If you are experiencing a lot of gas and bloating, fennel, chamomile, and ginger will help relieve the flatulence. You can take this as a tea (fresh or found as tea bags, Traditional Medicinals is my favorite brand).
5. Eat overly cooked vegetables throughout the rest of the day with (overly) well cooked whole grains (rice, quinoa, millet, oats, barley, bulgar, farro, kamut). Do not eat flours. Do not eat pre-packaged foods, especially those with added chemicals, dyes, flavoring, and preservatives. You can eat meat, but do so in minimal amounts as this can be harder to digest. Bone/meat broth soups are highly recommended.
6. Consider digestive enzymes.
7. Consider adding probiotics to your regimen, either through fermented foods or as a supplement. Aim for 10-15 billion CFUs per day (dose). Food sources include sauerkraut, kombucha, kim chi, cultured dairy products (kefir, yogurt, cultured sour cream), fresh veggies
8. Avoid stimulants (caffeine), alcohol, and smoking.
9. Avoid abusing certain drugs that are very hard on our digestive system, such as Aspirin and other NSAIDs. Talk to your physician before discontinuing any medication.
10. Exercise will help tremendously, even if it’s just walking around the block. Get out and move daily.
11. Castor oil packs over the abdomen with heat daily for >20min. Castor oil is incredibly anti inflammatory and can ease stomach aches, abdominal cramping, and the like. Read about Castor Oil Packs here.
Commit to this regimen for 1 week during acute inflammatory flares, and for 1 month in the beginning stages of gut repair.
If your gut is particularly inflamed and seems uncontrollable, the best option to calm inflammation is to commit to a 1-3 day water fast. Always seek the counsel of a physician before and during a water fast.
Simple Congee Gut Healing Recipe:
Think about eating things that will be soothing, building, and protective of your gut. The more we cook things, the easy it is to digest. It also creates a more gelatinous meal that can coat our intestinal lining. This congee can be altered to whatever veggies you have in your fridge and is incredibly easy to make (one pot!) Regardless of if my gut is inflamed or not, I usually make a congee about 1x/week for general maintenance.
- 3 1/2 to 4-lb chicken, cut into serving pieces, including back and giblets (exclude liver)
- 10 cups water
- 3 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or medium-dry sherry
- 3 (1/4-inch-thick) slices fresh ginger
- 3 scallions, halved crosswise and smashed with flat side of a heavy knife
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup long-grain rice
Bring chicken and water to a boil in a 5-quart heavy pot, skimming froth. Add wine, ginger, scallions, and salt and cook at a bare simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes, or until breast meat is just cooked through. Transfer 1 breast half with tongs to a bowl and continue to cook stock at a bare simmer, skimming froth as necessary, 2 hours and 40 minutes. Meanwhile, cool chicken breast long enough to remove skin and bones, returning skin and bones to stock.
Cool breast meat completely and tear into shreds. Chill shreds, covered, and bring to room temperature before serving.
Pour stock through a large sieve into a large bowl and discard solids. (you should have about 8 cups: if less, add water; if more, cook longer after adding rice.) Return stock to cleaned pot and add rice. Bring to a boil and stir. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered until consistency of oatmeal, about 1 3/4 hours, stirring frequently during last 1/2 hour of cooking. (Congee will continue to thicken as it stands. thin with water if necessary.)
Season congee with Braggs Liquid Aminos (or salt)
