Research is showing how your gut relates to more than just your stomach – it affects the immune system, brain health, skin and more. Keeping your gut in tip-top shape is beneficial for so many reasons. Here’s how we accomplish a healthy gut through diet and some of our favorite AgeBlu supplements.
Eat Whole Foods
A healthy diet is always a smart first step. Avoid foods with an ingredient list and choose clean, unprocessed foods. Food additives can disrupt microbial balance and cause undesirable gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. Many of my patients have heard me say, “The less it’s touched by man, the better.”
Washing all produce – even organic produce – with a produce wash to remove herbicides. Herbicides can upset the gut microbiome and cause things like inflammation.
Try this recipe for Produce
Produce Wash
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup vinegar
- 2 TBS baking soda
- 2 TBS lemon juice
Mix water, vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice then pour in clean spray bottle. Spritz on fresh produce generously. Sit for 5 minutes then rinse off well.
Note: Make sure to first combine ingredients in deep container since there will be some fizzing action.
Manage Inflammation
Avoid inflammatory foods, especially the three big offenders: sugar, gluten and dairy. Incorporate foods that decrease inflammation such as greens, berries, fatty fish, raw or home roasted nuts.
Focus on Fiber
Consider the less popular produce that’s high in fiber and nutrient dense. When you see dandelion greens or watercress, go for these rather than spinach or kale which are grown in much larger crops. Also consider veggies like radicchio, artichokes, okra, and endive.
Get Ahead of Cravings
L-glutamine – you can take this in capsules or powder form – is an amino acid to maintain the integrity of the GI tract lining. This particle amino acid has been studied for curbing sugar and alcohol cravings by increasing neurotransmitter formation, so we feel good and crave less.
Regularity is Key
Routine and regularity are so important for gut health. Blu Move is an aloe product that is helpful with regularity. Take 2-3 nights per week as needed at bedtime. It’s great to pack for travel too. Blu Move is not addictive, and it’s gentle.
Probiotics
Spore based probiotics are the safest when you don’t much about your gut, meaning you haven’t done testing. High count bacterial probiotics can make you feel worse if you have dysbiosis (imbalance) in your GI tract. I recommend Blu Spore, a spore-based probiotic. Blu Spore contains a blend of Bacillus spore strains plus Saccharomyces boulardii (an actual good bacteria) to help decrease candida overgrowth (if present).
Poor gut health can manifest as recurrent problems such as dermatitis, joint pain, gas or bloating, reflux, migraine and headaches just to name a few. If you experience any of these symptoms, consider seeing a health care provider for functional medicine testing, such as food sensitivity testing or stool testing.
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Linda McIver, FNP-C, ABAAHP
Founder, ÂgeBlu
Linda McIver, is a board-certified family nurse practitioner and an American Board of Anti-Aging Health Practitioner (ABAAHP). She has enjoyed a career in healthcare for almost 30 years, and her background is diverse. She attended Auburn University for her Bachelor’s in Nursing, followed by Kennesaw State University for her Master’s degree. Linda has embraced the concepts of functional medical practice, and she has completed the A4M fellowship program.
