11 Gut Healing Foods
Gut health is extremely important for hormone function, digestion, detoxing pathogens, and absorbing nutrients. Digestion is the process from the moment we consume food to the moment the food is excreted. A large indicator of gut health is intestinal permeability. The intestine is where we absorb nutrients, and everything left behind will pass onto the colon and leave the body as stool. The intestine is lined with a single cell wall called lumen, and past the lumen is the bloodstream. This cell wall is thin so that it is easy to absorb nutrients, and contains tight junctions to keep out anything that is not a nutrient. If the junctions loosen up in the cell wall and become permeable, then larger substances like toxins can pass through the wall and into the bloodstream with the nutrients which cause damage. Certain gut healing foods can help support gut healing.
Here are 11 gut healing foods:
1. Bone Broth
Bone broth, one of the gut healing foods is high in L-glutamine. L-glutamine is a conditionally essential amino acid. This means that the body can produce enough of it on its own, but in times of stress or some other dysfunctional state, it needs to be consumed through food. Lots of data support that L-glutamine can protect the gut against atrophy and injury induced by external stress, especially in athletes. The amino acid was found to increase the lifespan of enterocytes which are the cells that line the inner wall of the small intestine. Increasing the lifespan and health of these cells is important for protecting against intestinal permeability, which is when toxins are able to ‘slide’ through the intestinal wall and cause damage to the rest of the body. This is why bone broth is one of the gut healing foods.
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2. Gelatin & Collagen
Gelatin and collagen are sourced from animal connective tissue which are high in gut healing amino acids and L-glutamine. These amino acids are building blocks for many reactions in the body. Their function in gut healing foods like gelatin and collagen is to help tighten the junctions in the intestines, and to protect against atrophy and injury in the gut.
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3. Wild Caught Salmon
Wild caught salmon is another one of the gut healing foods because it is high in omega 3s. Polyunsaturated fats are fatty acids that contain at least 2 double bonds in the structure. Two types of polyunsaturated fats are omega 3 and omega 6. Most western diets consume a ratio of 1:20 of omega 3 to omega 6 when it should be 1:3. This evidence is correlated with inflammation, showing that omega 6’s are pro-inflammatory and promote poor gut health, while omega 3’s have protective effects. Inflammation is a common symptom with gut issues because if there is intestinal permeability then inflammation occurs to try and eliminate the toxin that slipped through. Omega 3s have been shown to have beneficial impacts on this by eliminating the inflammatory particles.
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4. Turmeric
Curcumin is the bioactive part of turmeric and has so many known benefits for hormones and gut health, making turmeric a gut healing food. Curcumin has anti-inflammatory properties that aid in intestinal health and tight junctions. It also regulates gut bacteria creating the right balance to optimize absorption. Combining turmeric with black pepper or looking for curcumin supplement formation with black pepper or piperine can enhance the absorption of curcumin. Piperine is the bioactive compound found in black pepper that has been shown to increase the absorption of curcumin
5. Ginger
Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, ginger is one of the gut healing foods. It has been found that ginger can support women with nausea and reduce symptoms of vomiting and nausea in pregnancy. This is important because nausea and vomiting in pregnancy are typically caused by a rise in estrogen that your body is not used to, and we know that high estrogen is a symptom of gut issues. Stomach emptying is another gut issue that can occur because if the stomach takes a long time to release its contents to the small intestine, this can be a sign that the stomach is not functioning right. A study found that ginger can shorten the stomach emptying time by 4 minutes when it is consumed after a bowl of soup.
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6. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is another one of the gut healing foods. It has been shown to have antimicrobial activity which helps to eliminate the bad bacteria in the gut. When the bad bacteria builds up it can cause poor effects on absorption and intestinal permeability. Another benefit of apple cider vinegar as one of the gut healing foods is that it also has anti-inflammatory processes too. These anti-inflammatory processes help soothe the gut and decrease cortisol levels. The apple cider vinegar is also one of the gut healing foods because it supports stomach acid balance.
7. Coconut Oil
Coconut oil contains high amounts of lauric acid which make it one of the gut healing foods. Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid in coconut which has antioxidant properties. Lauric acid has been shown to have antibacterial effects against pathogens which explains that lauric acid is beneficial for intestinal health. The lauric acid was found to have low antimicrobial activity towards lactic acid bacteria which is a positive result because lactic acid bacteria are probiotics in things like yogurt and cheese. These probiotics improve the gut health, so it is good that lauric acid doesn’t eliminate them. Additionally, in a study between coconut oil, soybean oil, and olive oil, coconut oil was shown to have the greatest impact on the absorption of caffeic acid, a component found in all plants and is used to increase athletic performance and exercise-related fatigue.
8. Garlic & Onions
Garlic and onions are also noted as gut healing foods. They are both high in allicin which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. As garlic is broken down, cut or ground alliinase is released which eventually catalyzes into sulfenic acid. Eventually, the sulfenic acid will self condensate and make allicin. The allicin gets decomposed and turns into many other organic sulfur compounds and is responsible for many of the benefits of garlic as a whole. The allicin is found to have antibacterial functions. In a study that compares a high fat diet and normal diet, mice were given garlic to see the effects on metabolism and gut microbiota. They found the garlic to have protective effects for reducing high fat diet induced metabolic disorders, it has protective effects on mucosal damage and ulcer development, and overall promotes nonpathogenic bacteria in the intestines.
A rat study that looked at the effect of onion on gut health also shows onion to be a gut healing food because it has prebiotic effects on the intestines, and it supports antioxidant defense by improving the gut microbiota diversity.
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9. Pineapple
Pineapple is another one of the gut healing foods. It contains a very well absorbed enzyme called bromelain. This enzyme can heal the gut because of its inhibiting effects on diarrhea. It does this by counteracting common pathogens in the intestinal tract by modulating the receptors on the inner intestinal wall. It has many other antibacterial methods which help aid the digestive system from pathogens. Bromelain is also anti-inflammatory so it inhibits inflammatory mediators.
10. Fermented Veggies
Fermentation is a breakdown process that is induced by a microorganism like bacteria or yeast. This process can be done on vegetables to produce sauerkraut and kimchi. These foods contain probiotics which is a food that contains microorganisms that benefit our digestive tract. The bacteria from the probiotics line the digestive tract and act as a defense against pathogens from passing through. Probiotics can help to reduce bloating, gas, and diarrhea by improving the bacteria balance in the intestines. This is why foods like sauerkraut and kimchi are gut healing foods.
11. Cooked Veggies
Cooked veggies are also gut healing foods. Raw vegetables have the maximum nutritional value, but as you cook them certain nutrients can leach out and become less abundant, especially fiber. Some people have a sensitivity to too much fiber, so eating cooked vegetables will still provide nutritional value but will also be easier on your digestion. Though fiber is touted as solving all digestive issues, there is a sweet spot with consumption amounts. Fiber is not digestible so consuming too much can cause a lot of stress on the intestines. Fiber and the intestines is analogous to a car in traffic, a decent amount of cars will make the traffic run smoothly but too many will stop traffic all together.
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