5 Ways to Improve Your Gut Health WITHOUT Changing What You Eat
Have you tried different diets, eating anti-inflammatory foods, tried all the supplements to get that stubborn bloating down or even successfully overcome a digestive issue or condition like Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) only to have it return again??
I know how frustrating this can be!!
When I was struggling with SIBO, I followed all the diets to a Tee, took my supplements religiously and I STILL suffered with bloating, diarrhea and gas.
When you put so much effort and hard work into changing what you eat and then see no results it can be discouraging and really demotivating.
When I really started focusing on HOW I was eating, this is where I really started seeing changes in my digestion and symptom improvement. This is because HOW you eat plays a HUGE part in how you digest.
It doesn’t matter if you’re just trying to get that annoying bloating down or if you have a more complex digestive issue to overcome like Candida, parasites, autoimmune conditions or SIBO- how you eat will affect how well your body is able to digest and absorb what you eat.
Eating Healthy is Not Enough to Improve Digestion
Our bodies and especially our digestive systems are complex and many different parts rely on each other in order to work properly.
I like to use the Jenga game as an analogy. Think about each block being a part of your digestive system. A solid foundational structure keeps the tower strong, just like a proper functioning digestive system. If you keep removing a block by adding different stressors like antibiotics, taking pain killers, eating foods you’re sensitive to, eating processed foods etc., eventually the structure gets weak and eventually crashes.
Your Digestive System: think of it like a game of Jenga
As you remove each block (think reduced stomach acid, not chewing your food properly, being stressed while eating), you are weakening the overall function of the structure, your body! Your digestive system will eventually meet it’s threshold after dealing with all these various stressors, which may eventually lead to a more chronic digestive disease.
It doesn’t matter how healthy your diet is, if your digestive system can’t break down the food and extract the nutrients properly, it will be difficult to improve your gut health.
Support Your Digestion with Proper Eating Habits
Eating habits create the foundation for a well functioning digestive system.
We’re getting right to the basics here! If the first few steps in the digestion process aren’t working (think chewing your food!) , then everything downstream will be affected.
Eating habits are something I work with EVERY client on, as most of us who have grown up in modern society are out of touch with how to eat and what our bodies are telling us.
5 Fail Proof Eating Habits to Improve your Gut Health-Distracted Eating
Here are 5 Fail Proof Eating Habits to Improve your Gut Health (especially if you have SIBO!):
Chew Your Food Thoroughly: I know this may sound simple but SO many of us miss this first and critical piece of digestion! Your intestines absorb more nutrients from your food when there is more surface area.
The more you chew, the greater the surface area, resulting in greater nutrient absorption and a healthier body! Larger, unchewed food pieces, especially carbohydrates, also have a greater chance of being fermented from the bacteria in your gut. The by-product of fermentation is gas, which you’d experience as bloating, burping or farting. So one of the easiest ways to improve your bloating is to chew better!
Tip for Implementation: Try using the dessert fork to eat so you’re taking smaller bites of food and place the fork down on your plate after each bite until you’ve fully chewed. Don’t pick the fork back up until you’ve swallowed. This will help to slow down the pace of your eating as well!
Eat ONLY when Relaxed (ie. don’t eat when stressed!): If you work through your lunch or eat right after a stressful meeting or fight with your partner, your body is still going to be in fight or flight or stress mode. This state was designed to help you escape danger, activating the nervous system and directing all the blood from your core out to your limbs so you can run or fight.
In order to digest properly, you want your blood to be in the center of your body supporting digestion, as well as a relaxed nervous system to support optimal stomach acid levels (which helps break down your food!). Ensure you are in this relaxed, rest and digest state before eating EVERY meal.
Tip for Implementation: Deep breathing is one of the most effective and quickest ways to shift your body into a relaxed state. Take 10 deep breaths before eating each meal to ensure you’re in a relaxed state before eating.
Avoid Distractions while Eating: Your body is designed to focus on one thing at a time. This means when you eat, your full attention should be on eating and eating alone. Many people eat in front of their computers, phones and TV’s, distracting them from really feeling and paying attention to their digestion signals.
What you’re reading or watching can also negatively impact your nervous system. If you watch a triggering news broadcast, this can shift it back into a fight or flight state as well, taking you back to point 2 above. One of the easiest ways to overeat is being distracted, so focusing on your meal can be a great weight loss tool as well!
Tip for Implementation: Eat with others when possible- if you’re at work, eat in the lunchroom or if you work from home, eat with your family. If you live alone, it can be beneficial to listen to relaxing music while eating which helps keep your mind at ease or try eating outside. I also suggest leaving your remote or phone in another room so you’re not tempted throughout your meal.
Eat Dinner 3 Hours Before Bed: Your body can take anywhere from 30 min to 6 hours to digest a meal fully, depending on what you eat. It’s best to eat at least 3 hours before eating to allow your body time to digest properly before your body goes into detox mode while you sleep.
Undigested food left in your digestive system once you fall asleep is stored as fat and may contribute to further fermentation and gas production or carbohydrate rich foods. It can also be harder to fall asleep when you have a full stomach, so this is another great tip for improving bloating, sleep quality and weight loss as well!
Tip for Implementation: Try meal prepping for a quick dinner! Prepare some pre-made foods ahead of time on the weekend or chop up ingredients the night before that you can throw into a crock pot the next morning and come home to a nice, warm dinner. I also suggest eating your heavier animal protein and breakfast and dinner and keeping dinner more plant based, which digests quicker as well.
Gratitude and Mindful Eating: It turns out saying Grace before your meals actually helps support digestion...and you don’t have to be religious to practice this! Taking a moment to pause and give thanks before eating helps bring your awareness to the activity of eating, supports mindful eating and reduces stress.
Tip for Implementation: Think about all the people involved in getting your food to the table, mother earth, the animal who may have died to nourish your body and say thanks either in your mind or out loud. You can also combine your gratitude practice with deep breathing!
5 Fail Proof Eating Habits to Improve your Gut Health-Gratitude and Mindful Eating
These changes aren’t meant to be done temporarily while you’re on a corrective diet or protocol to overcome a digestive disease. These habits need to be implemented in the long term. It’s important to remember that your symptoms or disease appeared in the first place because of the status quo and the current way you may be eating. That means in order to improve or overcome your symptoms or disease, positive, sustainable changes that you’re able to maintain need to occur.
Implementing proper eating habits and adopting a real, whole foods, anti-inflammatory diet are great first steps to improving your gut health. It can be a bit overwhelming to implement all the things to improve your gut health and tough to keep yourself accountable each week to ensure you’re on the right track! Sprout Your Health offers customized nutrition programs that focus on effective and easy to implement nutritional, eating habits and lifestyle changes that actually help you resolve your digestive symptoms for good.
🚨 Before You Go!
Want to get started on improving your diet to support gut health right now?! Download a copy of my anti-inflammatory food list-it’s free! You can access it right away by clicking here
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By Krista Znebel, R.H.N.©
August 8, 202