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By Scott Collins Naturopath BHSc Naturopathy In our last article we discussed how essential good bacteria are for your health and the gut. The gut is one of the best barometers to gauge you’re health and that you need to make lifestyle changes.
The bottom line is this, it is not normal to have one bowel motion per week, or is it normal to smell like rotten egg gas, nor should you be running desperately to the bathroom every time you eat or always feel bloated. The signs are usually pretty obvious and to those around you, that your bowel is not working properly.
Our bowel function can be affected by a number factors:
Good gut health is crucial to our wellbeing, it is my belief that most people would benefit from a gut health program. We only have to look around and see the way modern society lives, watch what they eat and how little they exercise.
Over the years in clinical practice I have come to find some very valuable tools when assisting clients with good bowel health and good health in general.
1. Remove Sugars From the Diet. Sugar is in my opinion the number 1 reason for poor gut health. It causes an imbalance in the natural bacteria of the gut, affects the pH of the body and is pro-inflammatory. Sugar also feeds the unfriendly bacteria disrupting the delicate ecosystem, while feeding candida.
It is also a good idea to remove all processed foods from the diet, basically anything that is baked, or comes in a can or packet.
Avoid Alcohol – The body treats alcohol as a poison and as such places pressure on the body’s systems to get rid of it. Alcohol also destroys healthy bacteria and feeds the bad bacteria. The body also sees alcohol as a sugar, with no nutritional value, which means you put on weight.
2. Drink Water!! – It’s important to drink water, to help the body detoxify properly, alkalize and to allow the body to make repairs. Most people just don’t know how much water they have consumed each day, and guess at best. Use a water bottle (not plastic) to help you gauge your water intake.
3. Add a Natural Whole Food Probiotic to the Diet. It is essential to add a good healthy complement of friendly bacteria into the diet. A probiotic has 3 main benefits: it’s been predigested for increased nutrient absorption, it has pre-biotics to feed good bacteria and is a good source of friendly bacteria.
4. Consume only highly nutritious fresh foods. I feel organic fruits and vegetables are the way to go and remember FRESH is best. The diet should be a rainbow of colours, which means lots of variety.
5. Consume ½ tsp of Glutamine Powder in water 2x per day. Glutamine is not just for body builders, I often recommend this to my patients whenever I am working on repairing the gut. The beauty of glutamine is that it has no real taste and has many health benefits. As a safety tip take away from medications.
The following advice is not meant to take the place the professional care of your doctor or health professional. Please consult your doctor or health professional before considering any health program.
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