3 Golden Rules For Choosing Your Foods
The food fear is real! You are scared to eat, worried there will be bloating and pain, with constipation or some sort of sick explosive diarrhea that has you sure your body is out of control. You have stopped going out to dinner with friends and family, your diet has become minimal and bland and you feel like everything would be better if you could just figure out what the heck to eat.
There is no doubt, fixing your gut has a lot of moving parts and food is certainly ONE important piece of the puzzle, so let's take a look at the 3 golden rules to easing your food fears and getting some good food in that belly of yours.
1. Keep it dairy and gluten free
Ok, technically that’s two, but that’s how important they both are! You may be thinking this is some fad type recommendation but the truth is dairy and gluten are inflammatory whether you are sensitive, allergic, having symptoms or not. It’s tough on the ole gut and the whole focus here is to give your guts a break. You know?... A chance to heal!
Instead of a big ole cup or bowl of inflammation, enjoy coconut, hemp or nut milks, cheese, yogourt and ice cream. You can also enjoy seed, brown rice or bean based breads, pasta, crackers.
2. Stick to foods that don’t require a label
Processed foods, are really not your friend! Sure they may be fast and cheap up front but they are costly in the long run. If it requires a label or list of ingredients than you bet your bottom is going to be angry about it.
If it doesn't look like english, don't eat it. A great example of this is carageenan, used in many products to thicken, or emulsify. This extra fun (but not actually) ingredient is a bowel irritant triggering inflammation and ulcerations within the gut.
While you are working to swap out milk, be sure to look for almond/coconut milks that are free of carageenan.
What you want to focus on is sticking to whole foods. Strawberries instead of “real fruit strawberry gummies” (um, is there even strawberries in those?).
3. Balance your plate
A common mistake I find my clients making is missing or way over eating certain food groups. While I understand your angry gut has you eating minimal bland foods, eating the same foods day after day can lead to food sensitivities and further digestive upsets.
Instead, let's focus on balancing your plate with this food group check list. A common breakfast is toast and peanut butter, which means you are getting carbohydrate and fat (no nuts are not a protein). You are missing protein and fruit! Eek!
The goal is to have something from each food category on your plate.
Breakfast should have: protein, carb, fat, fruit
Lunch & Dinner should have: protein, carb, fat, veg
✓ Protein: eggs, meat, fish, tofu, tempeh, plant based protein powders, beans, hummus
✓ Carbohydrate: brown rice, quinoa, sweet potato, pumpkin, beans, hummus
✓ Vegetable: spinach, cabbage, carrots, leafy greens, etc.
✓ Fat: avocado, olive and coconut oil, nuts, seeds, avocados, nut butters
✓ Fruit (at breakfast): berries, etc.
Example: Dinner:
Protein: Fish (seasoned with lemon juice, salt and pepper)
Carb: Quinoa
Fat: coconut oil for on top of veg
Veg: steamed broccoli
Now, you may be looking at some of the foods above saying "I can't eat this, this and this food". That's fine!
At the end of the day there is NO one diet fits all. Low FODMAP, GAPS, specific carbohydrate diet, keto, paleo, none of these have anything to do with your individual bodies needs. That's why they "aren't working".
A customized maximum nutrition plan with anti-inflammatory foods in conjunction with a complete gut repair system is the best approach for feeling normal, fitting in your clothes and being able to live your life agian.
