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Tuesday, 28 November 2017 17:11

Nourish Your Gut Microbiome for Optimal Wellness

Raspberry Kombucha

Article from mbg - Vincent Pedre M.D. - Gut Health Specialist & Best-Selling Author 

Many of my patients don’t have time to cook, resorting instead to unhealthy takeout, prepackaged foods, or skipping dinner altogether.

Ultimately, I encourage patients to forgo takeout and hot bars. Instead, I ask them to preplan a little and prep one of these three uncomplicated dinner recipes. My approach takes a simple but nutritionally comprehensive approach to dinner that takes the guesswork out of calorie-counting: Fill your plate with one-quarter protein and healthy fat, and for the other three-quarters, add a large salad or vegetable side dish.

I also try to incorporate fermented and cultured foods to support the growth and proliferation of healthy gut bacteria. These include:

  • Cultured foods, such as coconut yogurt or goat milk kefir
  • Fermented foods, such as Japanese fermented vegetables, sauerkraut, or kimchi
  • Cultured beverages containing favorable live bacteria, such as kombucha

Eating the right foods, including cultured or fermented foods, keeps your gut healthy and prevents dysbiosis, an imbalance between favorable and unfavorable gut microorganisms that leads to leaky gut, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and many other gut disturbances.

I’ve discovered a few other simple rules to follow to make every dinner gut-friendly and avoid overeating:

  • If you know dinner will be late and you’re getting hungry late afternoon at the office, have a healthy snack.
  • Take a moment to reflect on your day during dinner. As you strive to get a handle on your gut issues, I encourage you to keep a daily food and symptom diary. And in addition, keep a gratitude journal entry for each day.
  • Slow down and be mindful with your food. Some people confess to things like reading through social media, thumbing through their favorite magazine, or checking email while eating. These actions don’t let you be present in the relaxed state necessary for smooth and easy digestion.
  • If you suffer from gas, bloating, and other post-meal miseries, watch how much fluid you consume, drink less during meals to avoid diluting your digestive enzymes, and try a comprehensive digestive enzyme supplement about 15 minutes before meals. These three meals are designed to be easy on your digestive system, but symptoms can still occur if you don’t follow these rules.
  • Try to finish eating dinner no less than three hours before going to bed to reduce the chances of acid reflux from undigested food still sitting in your stomach pushing acid up into your esophagus.

 

Published in wellness + nourish + move
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