By Dietitian Jill Place AKA The Good Gut Queen
In this article, I’m going to give you a gift … easy-peasy microbiome diet guidelines that anyone can follow. In my last, we talked about how the microbiome … our internal terrain of 10-100 trillion symbiotic microbial cells harbored by each person, primarily bacteria in the gut plus their genetic makeup … got polluted.
If you haven’t read it, by all means … Now we’re going to scour the microbiome clean and feed it righteously!
[click_to_tweet tweet=”Truth is we have to be a TON more vigilant of what’s around us and what we put in our bodies these days. Because the pollution has reached epidemic proportions not only outside of us but within us.” quote=”Truth is we have to be a TON more vigilant of what’s around us and what we put in our bodies these days. Because the pollution has reached epidemic proportions not only outside of us but within us.” theme=”style2″]
What Are We to Do?
Time to wise up! You CAN reverse the results of leaky gut and even autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and even Lupus. Because they’re just wake-up calls that you should doing something about your health.
First of all … get The Heal Your Gut Diet (it’ll pop up any sec … or go to the bottom of this page to download it). Then here’s what I’d suggest … and most of these deserve an article on their own … coming soon …
Develop a Functional Medicine Mindset
Functional medicine is an idea whose time has come … it’s a whole paradigm shift in medicine that puts the power of healing back in your own hands. It’s about treating dysfunction before it turns into disease. And only you can do that on a day-by-day, meal-by-meal basis
I encourage you to treat dysfunction before it becomes disease. And it actually becomes almost too late for you to reverse the imbalance brought about by inflammation which results in leaky gut which results in … well you name the malady.
You probably need a functional medicine practitioner at that stage. And most likely before that. Because they can help you [click_to_tweet tweet=”change your mindset from ‘have a symptom-take a pill’ (which doesn’t cut it in our polluted autoimmune times) to ‘I can make a difference in my own life.'” quote=”change your mindset from ‘have a symptom-take a pill’ (which doesn’t cut it in our polluted autoimmune times) to ‘I can make a difference in my own life.'” theme=”style2″]
As well as find the individual baby steps toward health that work for you alone. You will have to go a large part of the way on your own … as no one’s going to be there to pry the fast food and styrofoam containers out of your hands at 2am. But as Dr. Tom O’Bryan says … “base hits win the ballgame.”
What can I say about his imagery … he’s a guy. I prefer to think of it instead as “baby steps that lead to big wins”. Either way … here’s some …
Avoid These Environmental Pollutants
Perfluoroalkyls (PFOAs)
Forget teflon pans. Their coatings can to cause obesity, thyroid and kidney diseases as well as several types of cancer. Find non-PFOA nonstick cookware … which are more expensive but don’t flake off in your food, causing potential internal pollution.
Bisphenol-A (BPA) and Phthalates
BPA and Phthalates are used in the manufacture of all plastics … and are virtually everywhere. In my kitchen is a mountain of plastics that I’m going to use in a few days in a Facebook Live. All I did was to put them aside as they came into my life … in less than a week!
Looking down, I see a huge assortment of food containers, water jugs, wrappers, and even nutritional supplement bottles. Even my coffee capsules are plastic.
And Phthalates, which make plastic flexible, can show up in shampoo, hair spray, deodorant, nail polish, insect repellent, and even your shower curtains. And are detectable in meats, tap water, and pesticides … among many other places.
These chemicals mimic estrogen and bind to estrogen receptors, therefore crowding out what’s supposed to be there in the first place. And cause a biochemical cascade within fat cells that increases inflammation and stimulates fat cell growth.
So we’re looking at pollutants that can potentially cause infertility, obesity, and inflammation. And BPA-free packaging is not always the answer, as there may be other elements in plastic just as dangerous … we just don’t know about them yet …
[click_to_tweet tweet=”My take … avoid plastics as much as you can. I know that’s difficult as they’re everywhere … but at least stay clear of plastic containers with the number 3, 6, or 7 on the bottom. Instead, look for the numbers 2, 4, or 5 recycle code on them” quote=”My take … avoid plastics as much as you can. I know that’s difficult as they’re everywhere … but at least stay clear of plastic containers with the number 3, 6, or 7 on the bottom. Instead, look for the numbers 2, 4, or 5 recycle code on them” theme=”style2″], which means they are pretty much BPA- and phthalate-free.
Chlorine, Aluminum, and a Host of Other Pollutants
When I heard that chlorine was the major disruptor of thyroid function (20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease and women are five to eight times more likely to have thyroid problems. One woman in eight will develop a thyroid disorder during her lifetime. And that doesn’t account for Hashimoto’s; a recent study hinted at an almost 15% U.S. incidence), I instantly ordered a chlorine filter for my bath.
Because thyroid dysfunction runs in my family, I’m a woman, and I’ve had symptoms in the past. And our major exposure to chlorine is in bath and shower water. First week … I started to dream … something I almost never did. And my joints are less inflamed than ever (and I’m 74). Whether this is real or placebo … I don’t care.
And aluminum … here’s a research study that shows aluminum flaking into our food, especially at the high temperatures. It may be a little scholarly, but if the pictures of the flakes of aluminum in your food don’t motivate you to give it up, flip to the end where it says “excessive consumption of food baked with aluminum foil may carry a serious health risk. ”
Don’t forget (pun intended) … excessive aluminum in the brain (where it seems to naturally accumulate) can cause Alzheimer’s. And even though it doesn’t run in my family, I AIN’T going there.
Mop Up Your Diet
Tom O’ Bryan has some simple steps to do this … and I thank him for them. Here are some of his ideas … and some of mine. I’m going to give you TWO of my “Fabulous Freebies” … a HEAL YOUR GUT DIET and an “Almost No-Cook” HEAL YOUR GUT MENU PLANNER (below).
Clean Up What You’re Currently Eating
Get those fast food containers out of your life! If it’s “2 for $1”, the quality will be as cheap as the price. Instead embrace the microbiome diet…
BUY ORGANIC, NON-GMO! [click_to_tweet tweet=”I don’t care WHAT those chicken people say … if it’s not organic, it’s not fit for human consumption.” quote=”I don’t care WHAT those chicken people say … if it’s not organic, it’s not fit for human consumption.” theme=”style2″] And that’s not only meats but fruits and vegetables too. Because our whole external environ is pretty polluted right now … so it just makes sense to eat the safest food we can.
Yet another multi-million-dollar suit was just settled last week for yet another victim of glyphosate … spraying the pesticide Roundup on fields not only to kill bugs but to get them all to ripen at the same time. Don’t go there!
LEARN TO COOK! Huge names in nutrition are encouraging people to cook again. Because we’ve gotten lazy with the onset of fast food.
I have to admit that I LOVE to cook … and was a chef at one time. But I’m so busy that I have organic meats delivered. And cook stuff … like the air-fried meatballs I made last week … and the black beans I’m going to make tonight … that I can use in several meals all week.
Or freeze in individual glass containers for future use. Frozen or not, at least you’ve cooked them clean.
Change What You Eat
GO GLUTEN, DAIRY, and SUGAR-FREE! Up to 60% of us are gluten intolerant, and recent research has shown that even those of us who don’t have a wheat problem can get leaky gut in five minutes by eating it.
Fortunately, the gut heals quickly too. But constant exposure can eventually cause loss of oral tolerance … and then you’ve got leaky gut.
Most of the world (at least 75%) is also dairy-intolerant. Not only that, research has shown that dairy isn’t actually bone-protective (yes, we’ve been sold a fake bill-of-goods by the dairy industry), may increase the risk of prostate cancer by 30 to 50 percent, and increases the body’s level of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) — a known cancer promoter.
And what can I say about sugar … it not only messes with your insulin and causes weight gain, use has been linked to every major disease. Including the big three … heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Not to mention fatty liver, cell and skin aging, dementia, kidney problems, and poor dentition. Need I say more?
And Even MORE Ideas …
EAT PREBIOTIC FOODS! Prebiotics are types of dietary fiber that feed the friendly bacteria in your gut. This helps the gut bacteria produce nutrients for your colon cells and leads to a healthier digestive system. So they promote the growth of “The Good Gut Guys” … friendly bacteria … as well as producing things that help your metabolism.
You don’t have to take fancy pills or potions to get these … simply eat things you can get every day like bananas, apple, oats, and sweet potatoes. A complete list is in my Kickstart Your Health Diet coming soon!
EAT FERMENTED FOODS (PROBIOTICS)! Probiotics are the actual beneficial bacteria … “The Good Gut Guys” … found in your digestive system. And again, you don’t have to resort to pills or potions. Just take a forkful or two a day of foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, and other fermented vegetables, miso, non-dairy yogurt with active cultures, kefir, and so forth. This is a diet to feed your microbiome.
If this sounds easy … IT IS! There’s no magic to cleaning up and feeding your microbiome to keep it and you healthy. Just follow these simple guidelines. And GET MY KICKSTART YOUR HEALTH DIET COMING SOON!
So do me a favor … get The Heal Your Gut Diet (just wait a sec and the pop-up will pop UP). The Heal Your Gut Diet is the first two weeks of this journey.
Need more help. Here’s an “Almost No-Cook Health Your Gut Menu Planner” below for those who HAVEN’T started to cook yet. Of course, you have to prep a little. Oh WELL …
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