Yesterday, we talked about the gut-chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) connection.
And I ended saying there are two simple steps standing between you and brighter days ahead…
Improving the diversity of the gut microbiome and repairing a leaky gut.
Let’s dive right in…
Revamp your diet
First and foremost, following an anti-inflammatory diet will go a long way towards tackling the most debilitating symptoms of CFS—it will help drive down the root cause of disease, inflammation.
And, of course, taming down inflammation will help repair your gut.
The overarching dietary principles I continue to advocate apply…
Cut out the packaged, processed garbage (sugar and grains, especially)—and focus instead on organic vegetables, healthy fats, and grass-fed and -finished meat.
(You can learn more by ordering yourself a copy of my A-List Diet book.)
In addition, carefully chosen supplements can help you heal the damaged junctions in your intestines that are allowing waste to leak into your bloodstream.
Here are the ones I recommend…
Take targeted supplements
Probiotics. It almost goes without saying that probiotics are necessary for restoring healthy balance to your gut bacteria. That’s because true health starts in the gut. Your gut is your second brain—and it’s another essential key to a healthy immune system.
The simplest way to make sure your microbial population is thriving is by taking a high-quality probiotic. Look for one with multiple live strains of good bacteria.
Just remember, when it comes to probiotics, more isn’t necessarily better. The key is diversity of strains rather than quantity. A good probiotic should also have its own food supply (known as prebiotics) and postbiotics (such as bacteriocins) to help to kill off the bad bugs in your gut.
The best probiotic products will check all of these boxes—which is why I’ve always recommended Dr. Ohirra’s. It features a dozen different strains of friendly flora in just one capsule daily—along with prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics.
Vitamin A. This reinforces the junctions of your intestinal walls and ensures proper function of the cells lining your gut. I recommend 12,000 mcg (40,000 IU) of vitamin A (as retinol) daily.
Botanicals. The following botanicals can help reinforce the mucosal lining of your intestines:
- Deglycyrrhized licorice (DGL)—500 mg per day
- Aloe vera leaf extract—250 mg per day
- N-acetyl glucosamine—250 mg per day
- Slippery elm bark—200 mg per day
- Marshmallow root—100 mg per day
Enzymes. When taken on an empty stomach, digestive enzymes can make their way into your bloodstream and go after any undigested food particles that may have slipped through due to leaky gut.
To learn more about how your gut drives overall health—and an ultimate guide to a complete microbiome makeover—check out my back-to-back features in the March and April 2019 issues of my monthly newsletter, Logical Health Alternatives.