A leaky gut sounds like a bit of a scary concept, right?! The thought of your gut lining having holes in it, allowing food particles and bugs to escape through into places they’re not meant to…causing all sorts of problems in your gut and beyond…

As scary as it sounds, it’s something that you can do a lot about. You can take steps to repair that leaky gut of yours.

Why repair your leaky gut? So you can reduce those unpleasant digestive symptoms..the bloating, pain and bowel problems…and so you can entertain the thought of adding cheese, or apples, or broccoli back into your diet at some point (a.k.a. reversing your food intolerances).

You’re probably wondering where on earth you’d start with repairing a leaky gut, which I understand. It seems totally overwhelming, but there’s actually a clear process you can follow to get there..

THE LEAKY GUT REPAIR PROCESS

If you’re familiar with functional medicine, you’ll recognise the below as the simple 4R approach used to heal the gut.

1. REMOVE TRIGGER FOODS

This first step is all about removing the bad things you’re putting into your gut that are causing it to become leakier. By removing these things, you can give your gut a break and allow it the time and space to heal.

By trigger foods I mean:

1. Inflammatory Foods (the stuff everyone knows is bad) – alcohol, caffeine, drugs, sugary foods and emulsifiers.

2. Dietary Stressors (foods you’re personally intolerant to) – you may already know what these are or you may not. If you don’t, I’d recommend trying some form of an elimination diet, e.g. the low FODMAP diet, to work them out.

Removing these foods will allow your gut the chance to heal. It doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to eat them again. You may later be able to reintroduce them, once your gut has repaired itself.

2. REPLACE NUTRIENTS

This second step is all about replacing the nutrients that you need to help you digest and absorb food properly. You can do this through buying expensive digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid supplements. However, not only are these expensive, but there are some studies showing they can deplete your body’s natural ability to produce them.

Therefore, I’d recommend taking digestive bitters or eating bitter vegetables with a meal and having a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar mixed with water before meals. These will stimulate your digestion naturally.

3. RE-INOCULATE WITH GOOD BACTERIA

This is all about rebuilding a healthy, balanced gut microbiome, to boost your gut health and prevent further damage (for more info on why your gut microbiome matters, click here).

This can be done through probiotics (the good bacteria) and prebiotics (food for the good bacteria).

• When it comes to probiotics supplements, make sure you’re taking the right one. Lactobacillus acidophilis, bifidobacterium bifidum and lactobacillus planterum have been shown to support the gut lining and improve its functioning. As well as, or instead of supplements, it’s a good idea to introduce fermented and cultured foods into your diet, as you’ll get a whole host of natural, good bacteria from those.

• Prebiotics are also needed to feed these good bacteria and keep them alive and thriving when they’re in your gut. Prebiotics are found in vegetables and foods high in fibre, such as nuts and seeds.

4. REPAIR THE GUT LINING

Removing your trigger foods for a long enough period of time will allow your gut to repair gradually, but this will take time. To speed things up, however, you can give your gut some extra support, so it doesn’t need to work quite as hard.

These foods have been shown to help your gut repair itself:

• Protein:

  • COLLAGEN – in powder, tablet or bone broth form. This is a protein, rich in amino acids, that literally seals the leaks in your gut by repairing damaged cells and building new tissue.

  • L-GLUTAMINE – another amino acid that’s been used to repair the gut lining, and can be taken in supplement form.

• Healthy fats – Omega 3s and 6s are vital for supporting your gut, especially coconut oil and fatty fish oils

• Greens – green leafy vegetables contain lots of the vitamins your gut needs to repair (e.g. E, A, C).

This process isn’t an overnight fix or a magic pill, but it does work. It’ll take everyone a different amount of time to heal their gut and this will depend on how long it has been ‘leaky’ for and how severe that ‘leakiness’ is.

But, the point is, it is possible to do this…without spending lots of money and taking a tonne of medications.

SUMMARY

You can repair your leaky gut and there is a clear, proven process to follow to do so.

The Leaky Gut Repair Process:

1. REMOVE Trigger Foods – inflammatory foods + dietary triggers

2. REPLACE Nutrients – bitters + ACV

3. RE-INOCULATE with Good Bacteria – probiotics + prebiotics

4. REPAIR the Gut Lining – protein + healthy fats + greens

We cover this whole process as part of my 4 Part Gut Healing Method, which I take clients through in my one-to-one IBS Management Coaching.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and letting me be a part of your journey in taking control of your gut, eating well and living your life.

Sophie x