Dear ,
As we embrace this season of new beginnings, it’s the perfect time to invest in a healthier version of yourself.
Whether you're looking to boost your energy, improve digestion, or simply feel more vibrant, the choices you make today can set the
tone for the year ahead.
Today I'm excited to share five simple yet powerful tips to help you maximize the nutrition you absorb from your food, nourishing your body from the inside out.
Nutrient Booster
#1 - Betaine HCL
Low stomach acid (known as hypochlorhydria) is a common cause of poor gastrointestinal health and malnutrition. It might seem strange, but acid reflux, or heartburn, is a frequent symptom of low stomach
acid.
When people with this condition use acid blockers, it further reduces acidity in the gut - and makes it even more difficult to break down food and absorb its nutrients!
This is why it is also VERY important not to drink too much liquid
with your meals. Liquids dilute the HCL in your stomachs and reduces your ability to digest food. It is best to drink no more than a few ounces of water during a meal.
Betaine HCL is a supplement that can be used to slowly raise your body’s natural hydrochloric acid levels. It is important to always take betaine HCL at the start of a meal. If taken without food, stomach burning may result.
If you notice a significant burning sensation in your gut after you’ve taken betaine HCL with a meal, this is an indication that your stomach is overproducing acid. Stop using the supplement.
It is also important that those who take corticosteroids, aspirin, ibuprofen, or any other NSAID pain relievers only use betaine HCL under the guidance of a physician.
These types of medications can already damage the GI lining and supplementing with HCL could aggravate the damage.
How to Take Betaine HCL Safely
- Eat a meal that contains at least 15-20 grams of high quality protein (grass-fed beef, pastured pork, wild fish, pastured chicken or turkey).
- Take only one pill (650 mg or less) at the beginning
of the meal.
- After you’ve finished your meal, observe your body for any changes in feeling in your belly. If you feel heaviness, heat, burning, or other GI distress, the current dosage may be too high or it may be just enough. Try the same dosage the next day and observe again.
- If you don’t notice any sensations after taking one pill, stay at the same dosage for another day of meals. If you still don’t notice anything on the third day, try taking two pills.
- If you still notice no symptoms, try three pills.
- Once you feel slight burning, heaviness, and other GI sensations, stop increasing your dose. You have found the correct dose.
After a while, you will be able to taper off the supplement as your digestive system begins making enough hydrochloric acid on its own.
Nutrient Booster #2 – Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) with “Mother”
A gentler alternative to betaine HCL is apple cider vinegar (ACV). You should always use the
raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar with the “mother” as it is rich in proteins, enzymes, and friendly probiotic bacteria.
Build up your dose of ACV gradually, just like you would with the betaine HCL. Begin with one teaspoon mixed into a 4-ounce glass of water 20 minutes
before your meal. At your next meal, repeat the same process. Increase the dosage to one more teaspoon each day until you notice a mild burning sensation in your gut.
For example:
- Day 1: Take 1 teaspoon in a 4-ounce glass of water 20 minutes before each meal. Observe for stomach sensations.
- Day 2: Take 2 teaspoons in a 4-ounce glass of water 20 minutes before each meal. Observe for stomach
sensations.
- Day 3: Take 3 teaspoons in a 4-ounce glass of water 20 minutes before each meal. Observe for stomach sensations.
As soon as you feel slight burning, tingling or heaviness in your stomach, you’ve
found the right dosage. Continue with that dosage, slowly tapering down if stomach sensations become uncomfortable.
For an easier way to reap the benefits of ACV, try Paleovalley's Apple Cider Vinegar Complex - it makes getting organic apple cider vinegar into your body faster, easier, and without having to
tolerate the taste.
Their Apple Cider Vinegar Complex also contains four additional superfoods shown to support gut health, help with inflammation reduction, weight loss, and supports blood sugar stabilization.
Unlike other
similar products, Paleovalley uses all organic ingredients in order to avoid the pesticides and herbicides so prevalent in our food system today.
Nutrient Booster #3 - Probiotics
Those of us living with inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, or any other type of chronic digestive disorder will more than likely struggle with nutrient absorption.
This is why probiotics are so
important. Probiotics are the “good” gut bacteria that help heal leaky gut syndrome, ease inflammation and improve nutrient uptake from food.
According to a study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, just one dose of a probiotic strain called
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, colonizes the digestive tract and keeps it teeming with good bacteria for up to seven days!
Traveler’s diarrhea, antibiotic-resistant diarrhea, and relapsing Clostridium difficile colitis (C. diff) are all noticeably improved with LGG supplementation.
This powerful probiotic strain also provides beneficial effects on intestinal immunity by increasing the number of IgA (antibodies that play a crucial role immune function) and other immunoglobulin-secreting cells in the intestinal mucosa. (1)
There is also another strain of
healthy bacteria that is known to be proteolytic - that means it can help to digest and assimilate protein (the hardest macronutrient to break down).
This
bacterium also expresses potent killing action against viruses and pathogenic bacteria. It helps to reduce gas, bloating, constipation and indigestion. And it is also known a “transient” bacterium. That means it enters your system… does its job… and is then excreted.
(This is in contrast to other species which can take up residence
in your gut, overpopulate and potentially disrupt your original flora).
Of course, you’re probably aware that many probiotics are killed by stomach acid and never even reach the gut! In this case, a research team has created a patented “Super-Strain” of this bacterium that not only has extreme proteolytic action… it can also easily survive in the human
digestive system!
In addition to taking a high quality probiotic supplement, be sure to add lacto-fermented foods like real sauerkraut and pickles, kimchi and kombucha to your daily diet.
Nutrient Booster #4 - Eat Vegetables with Healthy Fat
Although mainstream nutritional advice often leaves out this critical information, how we combine our food is just
as important as what type of food we’re eating.
One example of healthy food combining is eating vegetables with healthy fat. In order for fat-soluble nutrients like vitamin A, D, E, and K (as well as lipid-soluble phytonutrients like curcumin, lycopene,
astaxanthin and more) to be properly absorbed, they must be consumed with healthy fat.
In addition to cooking with highly stable animal fats including grass-fed tallow, pastured lard and duck fat, also include
nutrient-boosting Extra Virgin Olive Oil in your diet.
Studies show using a specific type of olive oil helps you lose weight, supports heart health, softens your skin, and even helps your
immune system.
However, before you run to the pantry and pour yourself a shot of olive oil, there's 1 thing you should know…
All olive oil is NOT created equal! In fact, store-bought olive oil can be spoiled and rancid…
meaning you won't get all of the health benefits.
Dr. Gundry recently filmed a short video where he reveals EXACTLY what to look for when buying olive oil.
He includes his 3-part checklist – along with which olive oil he
takes every day.
Watch this video before your next grocery run.
Nutrient Booster #5 - Slow Down and Chew Your Food Well
Most of us are so busy, sometimes eating a meal seems like just another chore to get out of the way.
Because of this, we may give into the temptation to shovel the food down as fast as we can, not tasting it, and wonder why we feel bloated and uncomfortable later on.
Digestion begins in the mouth. The moment we start chewing, an enzyme in our saliva (called amylase) helps break down large food particles into smaller ones, making the food easier for our stomachs to digest.
Take smaller bites.
Chew slowly and mindfully. Savor the flavor and texture of the food.
Avoid taking another bite until you have swallowed.
Maximizing nutrient absorption is just as important as choosing
nutrient-dense foods.
So fill your plate with brightly colored veggies, healthy sources of fat and ancestral superfoods like liver (and other organ meats), bone broth, grass-fed and pasture-raised meats, and wild seafood… and then maximize your absorption of these nutrient powerhouses with the tips above.
To Your Health,
Kelley Herring
Healing Gourmet
REFERENCES
Gorbacha, L, Sherwood (M.D). Probiotics and the
Microflora of the Human Intestine: Probiotics and gastrointestinal health. The American Journal of Gastroenterology. January 2000. Volume 95, Issue 1, Supplement 1, Pages S2–S4.
De Alvarenga, J. F. R., Quifer-Rada, P., Juliano, F. F., Hurtado-Barroso, S., Illan, M., Torrado-Prat, X., & Lamuela-Raventós, R. M. (2019). Using Extra Virgin Olive Oil to
Cook Vegetables Enhances Polyphenol and Carotenoid Extractability: A Study Applying the sofrito Technique. Molecules, 24(8), 1555.
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