Many people suffer daily with bad digestion. From heart burn to constipation, these seemingly minor health problems can create major health difficulties if left untreated, or if the underlying issue is ‘covered up’ with long term use of pharmaceuticals.

Digestive disorders are so common, that many people who consume antacids in large quantities don’t even consider themselves to be suffering from a chronic digestive disorder.

Flatulence, tiredness after eating, heartburn, full feeling in the stomach after small amounts of food, bloating, pain, diarrhea, constipation, are common signs of chronic digestive disorders.

Victoria West Naturopath says that ‘Digestion is our cornerstone for good health’. To be truly healthy it is important to be able to digest and use the energy of the foods effectively to maintain our life and healthy ageing.

Diet therefore is pivotal to good digestive health. Just as there is no “one” herb for people’s digestive complaints, there is no “one” diet for everyone.  Dietary advice underpins any good treatment programme.  Victoria’s food philosophy is one of eating a variety of foods (eating broadly) and eating seasonal foods (eating widely).  Eating the same foods every day tends to limit the types of bacteria we develop in our gut.  This can lead to reduced capacity for digestion and enzyme production.  A low diversity of gut bacteria (from eating the same thing every day for months and years) will limit the body’s healing and immune ability.  In some cases of strict dieting (not eating a balanced protein to appropriate carbohydrate diet) can even limit reproductive ability in some extreme cases Victoria has seen

Phone Victoria West now – 9792 4248 to find your digestion solution

Eleven point plan for a healthy gut:  

1. Chewing your food well and mindfully.  Do not eat when stressed, watching the news or in front of a scary movie.  Chewing helps start the digestive process, particularly supportive in  helping break down starches and carbohydrates
2. If you are unwell or suffer from significant digestive issues, try eating a mono diet.  This means you eat one type of food at a time.  Eg If eating protein, do not add any other foods and allow 2 hours to elapse before having anything else.  Do not eat fruit for 3 hours after protein.  If eating salad or vegetables then you can eat 30 mins to 1 hour after these.  Beware of brassica foods (cauli, broccoli, brussels) as these can cause wind and bloating.  Phone to discuss a treatment protocol if this occurs
3. Bone broth – to heal, seal and support the gut lining for repair and maintenance.  The one proviso here is that bone broth is high in phosphorus, so if you are already ‘fiery’ person, please phone me first before doing a long stint on bone broth.  Once a week for fiery people should be ok.  For those who are feeling weak, tired, bone broth can be great.  Use cautiously in overactive thyroid cases and seek medical advice
4. Fermented foods – sauerkraut, Kim chi, kefir’s, kombucha’s.  If you have significant gut issues, you may need to delay the introduction of fermented foods until you get some of the basic issues sorted.
5. Blueberries – great for all things in the body but contribute to building a beneficial bacteria in the gut called Akermansia :)
6. Digestive supports – peppermint, fennel and aniseed teas, Catmint, chamomile can all support digestion and help to reduce wind and bloating.  Best to buy the leaf or flower rather than tea bags (which have usually been bleached!)
7. Ginger – particularly if you are a cold person.  Ginger helps to warm digestion and helps to move food more efficiently from the stomach into the small intestine
8. Exercise is part of good gut routine.  Fast walking (swinging arms a little), slight jog with walk, swimming, yoga, Tai chi, Qi Gong, rebouding – all help to stimulate the gut and lymphatic system that surrounds the gut
9. Moving the bowel  well and fully, every day with good food practices (eating broadly, widely), keeping up fluids to help your fibre move through the bowel effectively, exercise and also making sure you are having good essential fats in your diet (virgin olive oil on veg and salads, avocado (if no issues with general allergies), nuts seeds
10. Keep emotions balanced with exercise, meditation and good sleep practices.  Anger, frustration, grief, shock, trauma and stress will all affect the bowel (usually in different ways) so keeping emotions balanced helps with a great digestion and therefore health
11. Reduce avoid: Sugar (toxic to gut and body), coffee.  These all interrupt digestion and the microbiome diversity and health

As good as this 11 point plan is, getting expert advice to plan an approach that suits you is always advised.

For further information phone 9792 4248 or contact @ bunburynaturalhealth@live.com.au

Youtube video link on digestion and how it works: