My Top 3 Gut Repair Foods for Healing Leaky Gut
Have you dealt with gut overgrowth in the form of SIBO, Candida overgrowth or parasites? Have you ever been on antibiotics (especially more than once)? Do you work with an autoimmune condition or have struggles with food sensitivities of an unknown cause?
All of these conditions typically have caused (or were caused by) some level of GI inflammation, irritation and damage to the GI lining(2) known as ‘leaky gut’ that warrant gut repair. ‘Leaky gut’ refers to disruptions in the tight junctions of the gut lining often (1) associated with autoimmune and gut dysbiosis.
In practice, I often see this gut repair step ignored or forgotten, leaving the GI tract less resilient, more vulnerable to recurrent infections/overgrowth, and you possibly feeling more sensitive to foods.
Scroll down for my top 3 foods for healing leaky gut and supporting gut repair.
⬅️ Gelatin gummies!
Whats the difference between collagen and gelatin?
Gelatin = the hydrolyzed or broken down form of collagen.
Gelatin forms a thicker gel when mixed with liquids and is typically easier to digest.
3 Foods I Love For Gut Repair:
1) Gelatin Gummies
The short of it - gelatin is rich in the reparative and calming amino acid GLYCINE.
Are we talking jello jigglers?! Not exactly! I’m referring to grass fed beef gelatin vs. the one that comes flavored and colored in a box.
Due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, AND its ability to promote collagen synthesis and aid in tissue repair, glycine offers significant healing benefits to the intestinal tract (3). Glycine is also considered a nervous system calming amino acid. Glycine has been shown to reduce joint inflammation, support healthy sleep, and also improve digestive capacity (how well we break down our food).
Do you eat mostly chicken and turkey? Pro tip: grass fed gelatin is high in glycine, proline and alanine - gut repair amino acids that are commonly low in those who consume a muscle-meat-heavy or even a vegan/vegetarian diet.
PS: I also love collagen peptides, bone-in meats (esp. when slow-cooked), and bone broth for rich sources of collagen and gelatin which help with gut repair and tissue healing.
How I eat it - Checkout my Gut Healer Gummies recipe below!
2) Cranberry
The short of it - it’s rich in gut-nourishing polyphenols aka gut antioxidants.
Cranberry offers a dense source of antioxidants that has been shown to have prebiotic-like effects by increasing levels of good gut bacteria and decreasing levels of the ‘bad guys’ (4). Polyphenols like cranberry have also been shown to alleviate intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress (5,6). Not to mention, Cranberry is a bitter food - fabulous for helping you to better digest your food, balance blood sugar and enhance detoxification.
PS: I also love Blueberry, Green Tea, Pomegranate and Raw Cacao as other rich sources of polyphenols!
How I eat it - Whole cranberries (unless you can find dried/unsweetened) - I love my cranberry polyphenol compote in my cookbook, whole/frozen cranberries snuck into a smoothie or cooked/baked into chicken dishes or baked goods.
3) Demulcents
The short of it - these are herbs that help soothe, heal and seal the GI lining. Think of them like a warm, gentle massage for your gut!
My faves for gut repair = aloe, marshmallow root, slippery elm and licorice (aka DGL). These herbs contain a mucilaginous substance that is soothing to inflamed bodily tissues and oftentimes has a prebiotic effect. PSA: if you have active SIBO I don’t recommend these herbs as they can sometimes amp up symptoms.
Slippery elm, like all of these demulcents, has antioxidant properties and may be especially helpful in cases of IBD like Crohns or Colitis (7). For reducing gut inflammation and irritation, demulcents are my go-to!
My favorite way to ingest: A hydrating Mineral Mocktail with inner leaf aloe juice. The recipe: 1/2 cup aloe juice + 1/4 cup fresh lime juice + pinch of salt diluted with some water or bubbly water. Drink daily!
Another recco =My Calm Gut Infusion (aka strong tea). I recommend ~1 cup 1-2x/day; PS it contains a nervine herb (lemon balm) which helps calm the nervous system. A calm nervous system = a healing gut!
My Calm Gut Infusion Recipe: Infuse 2 tsp slippery elm + 1 tsp dried lemon balm + 1 tsp licorice root in 1.5 cups hot water steeped for about 10 minutes then strain & sip. I don’t recommend this tea for anyone whose pregnant, has high blood pressure, kidney stones or actively has symptomatic SIBO.
Curious about more of my gut repair tips?
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Curious to learn more? Apply here!
Tart cherry offers a source of melatonin, so this recipe is rich in both calming glycine and melatonin - I love these before bed!
References:
Liang L, Saunders C, Sanossian N. Food, gut barrier dysfunction, and related diseases: A new target for future individualized disease prevention and management. Food Sci Nutr. 2023 Mar 7;11(4):1671-1704. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.3229. PMID: 37051344; PMCID: PMC10084985.
Candelli M, Franza L, Pignataro G, Ojetti V, Covino M, Piccioni A, Gasbarrini A, Franceschi F. Interaction between Lipopolysaccharide and Gut Microbiota in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Jun 10;22(12):6242. doi: 10.3390/ijms22126242. PMID: 34200555; PMCID: PMC8226948.
Aguayo-Cerón KA, Sánchez-Muñoz F, Gutierrez-Rojas RA, Acevedo-Villavicencio LN, Flores-Zarate AV, Huang F, Giacoman-Martinez A, Villafaña S, Romero-Nava R. Glycine: The Smallest Anti-Inflammatory Micronutrient. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jul 8;24(14):11236. doi: 10.3390/ijms241411236. PMID: 37510995; PMCID: PMC10379184.
Wang X, Qi Y, Zheng H. Dietary Polyphenol, Gut Microbiota, and Health Benefits. Antioxidants (Basel). 2022 Jun 20;11(6):1212. doi: 10.3390/antiox11061212. PMID: 35740109; PMCID: PMC9220293.
Anhê FF, Roy D, Pilon G, Dudonné S, Matamoros S, Varin TV, Garofalo C, Moine Q, Desjardins Y, Levy E, Marette A. A polyphenol-rich cranberry extract protects from diet-induced obesity, insulin resistance and intestinal inflammation in association with increased Akkermansia spp. population in the gut microbiota of mice. Gut. 2015 Jun;64(6):872-83. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2014-307142. Epub 2014 Jul 30. PMID: 25080446.
Han D, Wu Y, Lu D, Pang J, Hu J, Zhang X, Wang Z, Zhang G, Wang J. Polyphenol-rich diet mediates interplay between macrophage-neutrophil and gut microbiota to alleviate intestinal inflammation. Cell Death Dis. 2023 Oct 9;14(10):656. doi: 10.1038/s41419-023-06190-4. PMID: 37813835; PMCID: PMC10562418.
Langmead L, Dawson C, Hawkins C, Banna N, Loo S, Rampton DS. Antioxidant effects of herbal therapies used by patients with inflammatory bowel disease: an in vitro study. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2002 Feb;16(2):197-205. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2036.2002.01157.x. PMID: 11860402.
