How long did it take to heal your (leaky) gut?

Original question:

Hi! I wrote to you on instagram in regards to Leaky Gut! I was diagnosed Friday - they're going to do an endoscopy just to confirm and blood tests! How long did it take to heal your gut? For now i'm doing NO read meats, and no dairy, soy, sugar, eggs, grains or nuts/legumes. THIS IS HARD. Oh, and no coffee alcohol. How long until I can try adding something back in? (if any at all) This is all new to me! I workout, am healthy but have learned that my chronic fatigue, anxiety, and digestion issues all link to leaky gut... crazy! Would love to hear your experience, any tips... etc :)

Answer: 

Hey! Thanks for asking me. Leaky gut is a huge topic these days and I have had my fair share of issues with it and trying to heal it. It took me ages to figure it all out! But luckily, it is way more commonly known these days and there is a ton of resources out there. Below I've listed my favourite tips that have worked for me over the years. To heal my gut initially it probably took 3-6 months, but keeping a healed gut is a lifelong effort. It can flare up again really easily. 

Nutrition:

1. Reduce processed, packaged and refined food. Take out any sensitive foods, for me that is all grains, dairy, soy and beef. 

2. Eat nutrient rich foods as much as possible. Eat your veggies, high quality sources of animal proteins (if tolerable), use plenty of herbs for polyphenols and eat as close to nature as possible.

3. Bone broth is an excellent food to heal the gut due to it's high collagen content

4. Try to not drink while eating, as this disrupts absorption of nutrients in food

Lifestyle:

1. Reduce stress, especially when eating. Try be calm while eating, so not watching any TV, driving or on your phone but rather aware of what you're eating, how you're eating and how it makes you feel. Stress is very toxic for the body.

2. Chew slowly and many times! Try putting your knife and fork down between every bite. Digestion begins in the mouth with saliva beginning to break down the food. This will allow the food to be absorbed better in the gut. 

3. Try fasting, to give the gut time to heal before being overwhelmed with food again. I fast every other day for 16 hours, so my eating hour is from 12pm - 8pm on those days.

Supplements:

1. Aloe vera juice: this is the number one supplement that helped heal the tiny holes in my gut lining. Try drinking some every morning before food. Make sure you get good quality, if your aloe vera juice is green, it's not legit. The inside of an aloe plant is clear.

2. L-glutamine: This is an amino acid that also helps close the tiny holes in the gut lining that allow food particles to slip through. I usually take a single dosage in my water when working out.

3. Collagen: This protein is available easily now. Part of the gut lining is made up of collagen, so replenishing it can help reduce gut permeability. 

Lastly, it's important to think about WHY you have leaky gut. What is the root cause? For me and most people, it is an overload of toxins from food, environment and products that the body cannot effectively handle. Reducing these toxins, adding in high quality food and supplements to sooth the gut is a great start and should significantly help.

Hope this helps and let me know how it goes!

Further resources:

1. I wrote this article for a magazine a while ago about my leaky gut journey 

2. How to Own Your Gut Bacteria and Fix Leaky Gut Syndrome

3. How to Fix Your Gut