Eating for the gut
Wild foods and a red flag warning:
Eating wild foods (foraging) carries the local microbiome. A finger tip of soil from an organic garden or a healthy forest carries the microbiome of its environment. Even sucking on a maple leaf is a good way to get the local "bugs".
Heal first! One small red flag: If you are having gut problems (leaky gut), the first thing you need to do is heal your gut lining, otherwise large food molecules will get into your bloodstream and confuse your immune system (no matter what you eat), creating an allergic or inflammatory response, so prioritize healing your gut first before diversifying your diet and eating wild.
For healing your gut: Butyrate = the primary energy source for colon cells, reducing inflammation, and strengthening the intestinal barrier, promoting digestive health.
Aloe vera (taken internally), juice form (not straight from the plant, which is fine for a skin topical)
Foods with butyrate include: butter, ghee, some cheeses like parmesan, and
Cooked potatoes, legumes, and (of all things) green bananas or green plantains or plantain flour (all sources of resistant starch in these foods, which acts as a prebiotic that feeds gut bacteria. These bacteria then ferment the starch to produce butyrate.)
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Eat all organic to avoid glyphosate / local (organic) best for local microbiome
cut out sugar / use organic honey for sweetener (raw pressed) / for a sweet treat, figs and dates
less salt
less chocolate. (Most brands, even organic have high levels of lead and cadmium due to use of leaded gas in poorer countries.)
red meat -- eat less or eliminate
cut out processed foods entirely
reduce gluten (some grains do not have gluten, like rice, oats, millet, quinoa, millet, (*corn), buckwheat
make turmeric a food, not just a seasoning (eat it on everything) / cooking, use with black pepper
mushrooms are superfood
seasonings: ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cayenne
"eat the rainbow", stagger varieties of fruits and veggies
parsley, garlic, onions
no farmed fish
no large fish, especially no tuna -- these fish have mercury in fatty tisse
no clams unless they are from unpolluted sources
Eat roughage (organic): hemp hearts, chia seed, milled flax etc
Hydrate
Eat nuts and seeds: (organic, raw, unsalted) pumpkin, raw sunflowers, walnuts etc, etc
Beans (legumes)
apple cider vinegar -- teaspoon in warm water (prebiotic)
Eat turmeric as a food on everything. Men: turmeric can lower your PSA
eat fermented foods (probiotic): miso, kefir, the better brands of organic yogurt (w no additives), fermented sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, sourdough bread, tempeh
.........
What about bread?
Try to avoid bread (white or whole wheat) that isn't organic. Wholegrain and sourdough are best.
More things to avoid:
only organic coffee / tea
Wean off / avoid: acid blockers, steroids, antibiotics
avoid mainstream cosmetics (rule of thumb is: don't put anything on your skin you wouldn't eat!)
use only safe cookware (no nonstick pots (forever plastic) or aluminum. Stick with iron or stainless steel. (Non-stick companies are making wild claims to sell their products, but it is all bad for us and the environment)
Do not drink any city (tap) water unless filtered / if traveling bring your own. Boiling tap water is not sufficient.
*the scoop on corn: be careful with corn. For decades it was the monocultural grain of choice in this country for processed foods. It was in everything. And it was the main source of fructose (the processed sweetener in sodas and so-called healthy treats.) Just make sure the corn in your tacos and cereal is organic. In spite of this bad rep it has antioxidants, vitamins and fiber. But be aware that it is also relatively high in carbohydrates for a grain.
