Gluten, dairy, sugar - do we really need to cut them out for good?

Gluten, dairy, sugar - do we really need to cut them out for good?

Gluten, dairy, sugar - do we really need to cut them out for good?

Whether you like it or not your gut is bombarded with so many insults nowadays (often unavoidable) that contribute to poor gut health.

This could be your choice of diet but it could also be pesticides in your environment, chemicals in your water, perfumes, plastics leaching into your food and water, pollutants, toxins from clothing, skincare, excessive amounts of cortisol….the list goes on!

We can try and avoid these things as much as possible but inevitably we are going to be exposed. Unfortunately these can then lead to gut symptoms such as loose bowels, irregular bowel motions, bloating or indigestion. It could also be contributing to conditions such as eczema, acne, depression, autoimmunity which are all largely rooted in the gut.

The severity of how these toxins affect your gut is dependent on how robust your gut is. There are 3 key areas here:

  1. Your microbiome - the collection of bacteria, yeast and fungi that live in your gut

  2. Your intestinal lining - the barrier that separates your gut from the rest of your body

  3. Your digestive capacity

When these areas are functioning well we can handle a few toxins with no drama however, if these areas are already compromised due to factors such as stressful lifestyles, lack of sleep and inadequate nutrient intake then the gut will feel the effects of these insults more so. 

This is where a Gut Reset can be incredibly helpful in order to provide an optimal space for the gut to heal and reset. Your gut is very malleable allowing us to influence its function and development. We know that cells in the intestinal lining turn over every 3-7 days - the quality of the new cells produced depends on the environment that they’re growing in and overall nutrient status. 

I think most people would benefit from going through a gut reset either as an insurance policy for prevention purposes or to address niggly gut symptoms and to address any condition related to the gut e.g. poor immunity, eczema, acne or post antibiotics to restore your microbiome. 

How would you do a gut reset on your own?

Following the below steps for a 3-4 week period is a simple and easy way to take the load off your gut and give it some space to heal and reset.

1. Remove gut irritants: 

All of the following foods are either known to inflame the gut, interact negatively with your microbiome or are difficult to digest. Some of them provide little to no nutritional benefit and so actually take more energy to digest than they contribute.

  • Sugar

  • Alcohol

  • Gluten

  • Dairy

  • Seed oils

  • Soy

  • FODMAP containing foods (only for those with extreme bloating or a known fodmap reaction) 

2. Flooding the gut with healing foods: 

  • Clover Ferments! 

    • This is the perfect tool to support and restore all 3 areas of your gut: your microbiome, your intestinal lining and your digestive function. The probiotic rich nature of the kvass works to restore the microbiome which in turn supports the intestinal lining and the digestion of food. This makes the gut a lot more resilient and more tolerant to insults. The tonics are also rich in nutrients and enzymes to further support the function of the gut. Taking this drink at a high dose for a set period of time during a gut reset allows it to be more effective as it’s not competing with the likes of sugar and alcohol. This drink is the KEY player in boosting gut health.

    • If you go for the Mixed pack for example (one Beet Kvass, one Blend Kvass and one Turmeric kvass), start on 30mls of each tonic once a day, increasing to 70mls of each tonic once a day.

  • Whole foods

    • It goes without saying that a gut reset would need to be based around whole, real foods, with the removal of all processed foods, in order to provide the optimal environment for the gut to heal and to really allow the kvass to take effect. 

    • This would include meat, seafood, poultry, whole grains, vegetables, fruit, eggs, nuts, seeds and legumes. 

  • Bone Broth

    • Having 1-2 cups of bone broth per day is a nice way to soothe your intestinal lining and provide additional gut healing nutrients. 

Following this regime for a 3-4 week period is a fantastic way to reset your gut and restore the microbiome. Improving your microbiome and gut lining should allow you to tolerate more foods without adverse reactions - unless you have a known intolerance. We often experience bloating or a change in bowel motion after certain foods due to the poor health of our gut - when we optimise this we can have a more varied diet. Not that I’d encourage you to do this in order to eat more gluten, sugar and alcohol!! But, it does give you more variety and peace of mind that the odd thing is not going to set you off. 

You could then go through a ‘test’ phase of the removed foods to see how they affect you. The main two that you would want to test out would be dairy and fodmap containing foods. You’ll need to have them one by one over a 3 day period per food to clearly distinguish if the food is affecting you or not. It may show up as a gut symptom but it could also be a headache, lethargy or skin reaction. 

Too often we wait for health concerns to arise and then have to work a lot harder to address them! This would be an awesome annual or bi-annual reset to implement to support your health and prevent health issues from arising.

- Grace Mortimer

 

For those who need a bit more guidance as well as 4 weeks of tonic deliveries, we have our Clover Ferments 4 Week Gut Reset!

Four Week Reset Bundle

Shop Now


 

About the author:

Grace Mortimer - Head Clinical Nutritionist
Pheno Nutrition
https://www.phenonutrition.com/

  • BSc Neuroscience

  • dipGrad Human Nutrition

  • HPN2 Clinical Nutrition

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