In a world where digestive problems run amok, it’s little wonder that people are desperately looking for remedies that will help fix their gut issues. Although it is not simple, these five superfoods can help clean up the ‘internal trash’, balance your bacteria, and heal any damage that has been done, so you can get your gut back to normal.
Garlic
Garlic is an amazing superfood that can dramatically alter your inner ecology with its antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. Quite simply, it helps safely remove all those little critters that are destroying your digestive system.
In fact, Washington State University has confirmed that garlic is far more effective than pharmaceutical antibiotics in fighting a common bacteria known as campylobacter bacterium, which currently infects 2.4 million Americans per year.
Keeping your gut clear of these harmful bacteria will go a long ways to healing your digestive system.
Coconut kefir
Coconut kefir is somewhat of a lesser-known superfood, but is powerful nonetheless.
Coconut kefir is the simple process of using young coconut water and fermenting it to a state that leaves it teeming with billions of beneficial microorganisms. These friendly bacteria help balance your inner ecosystem, which in turn facilitates digestion, nutrient absorption, and toxin removal.
Bottom line, if you want to clean up your gut, repopulating it with beneficial bacteria is a requirement. Taking an ounce of kefir in the morning, at meals, and before bed is a great way to start.
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is essentially fermented cabbage, which contains a vast array of nutrients and a hardy strain of probiotics, and does an exceptional job of cleaning and ‘furnishing’ your gut with beneficial bacteria so that it can heal and work efficiently again.
Add it as a side to any meal, or get creative and incorporate it into dishes where you would normally add vegetables.
Aloe vera
Aloe vera is a highly medicinal plant, and most of the benefits seem to come from the gel.
Aloe gel contains active compounds that help temper inflammation and block bacteria from infecting various areas of our body, including our digestive tract. They are also believed to help regenerate cells for faster healing times, which is vitally important in healing your gut after significant damage has occurred.
Aloe gel has also showed promise in healing gastric ulcers. According to a study in the World Journal of Gastroenterology in April 2006, when given internally, aloe gel reduced gastric inflammation and generated ulcer healing in mice.
Sangre de drago
Sangre de Drago is a latex-like red sap that comes from the Croton species of tree in the Amazon rainforests. This medicinal sap has been used for a variety of ailments, including ulcers in the stomach and intestines.
The two main phytochemicals responsible for its healing properties are an alkaloid known as Taspine (documented as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumorous, and antiviral) and a lignan known as Dimethylcedrusine, which plays a central role in sangre de drago’s wound healing capabilities.
When smeared onto a sterile plate and allowed to dry, then doused with E. coli bacteria, it was found that the bacteria promptly died in the presence of the sangre de drago.
A clean gut can create a clean bill of health
Eighty percent of our immunity, and conversely, where 80 percent of things go wrong, starts in the gut. It is perhaps the most important factor to consider when deciding to clean up your health.
Start with these five superfoods, and continue to add to your arsenal in order to keep your gut free of damaging pathogens, and full of beneficial bacteria.
My gut says go for it.
Sources for this article include:
http://ajpgi.physiology.org/content/279/1/G192.full
http://www.rain-tree.com/sangre.htm#.Ucifa-BQPTQ
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