Do I really have to cut out half the foods I enjoy to “heal my gut”?
Short answer… no!
Tell me if this sounds familiar:
You are talking to a friend and they say ‘I am doing keto and I feel so much better’, you are looking online and see someone with glowing skin (and the waistline you used to have) explaining how they are gluten/dairy/alcohol/sugar free. Dr Gundry pops up at the bottom of the newspaper article you’re reading with his ‘lectins are bad’ rhetoric. And you’re confused. What is the right thing to eat?
You just want to feel less bloated and more confident in your clothes and food choices. Since when did this get so complicated?
Remember that we live in a world now where information is confused with clickbait and the loudest voices are not always the most correct or helpful. Personally, I feel like it’s insane to incite fear in a population of women who have enough on their plate- aging parents and spouse, kids, career, retirement, the list is endless.
My general rules for things on the internet
Who is this person telling you to avoid foods? Check the profile/bio. My profile @womensguthealth says Molly Ostrander-Gut Health Dietitian. A dietitian is licensed with the DOH in the state they practice in (for example I can practice Medical Nutrition Therapy in 10 states in the US) held to a code of ethics, pass a board exam, practice continuing education, etc.
If you see the words health coach, blogger, author, healer, nutritionist, etc-these are not regulated terms in the United States. ANYONE can call themselves a nutritionist and give general nutrition advice (this is how I can see clients anywhere in the world).
It can be hard to tell the difference, which leads me to rule number 2. Are they creating fear or concern via a problem you have never heard of? “Don’t eat leafy greens because they have heavy metals” is an example. If they are, read the caption. Are they offering a solution that is only $99.99? Heavy metal detox, liver cleanse, special wash for veggies, the snake oil is real.
Dr Gundry does this with lectins. The amount of people who are actually sensitive to lectins is small, and we need more research on the whole thing because there are so many variables. Literally 80% of healthy food has lectins. What’s the solution to your ‘lectin sensitivity’? Well his lectin free line of products, of course.
Third one is to ask yourself WHY. Why does this solution look so good? What do I want it to fix? Have I tried something like it already? Be judicious. Do your homework.
If something looks too easy or too good to be true, you already know, it is.
What to do to feel good in your body
As a functional medicine practitioner I understand that root causes exist, especially with GI and autoimmune disease. You may be sensitive to certain foods, have increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut) like we discussed last month, need some liver/microbiome support, a short elimination diet, etc. But what we see online and on TV isn’t personalized to your body. Your symptoms. Your age and lifestyle and food preferences. It is impossible to know what is going to work because every recommendation is not for every BODY.
Do NOT eliminate a bunch of foods
The more foods you eliminate, the more you rob your gut bacteria of beautiful fiber that helps prevent chronic disease, stabilize blood sugar, help with weight and feeling full, boosts your microbiome, create energy, and a million other things.
When you have nothing to eat, you:
-break your ‘diet’ and feel like you failed.
-wait way too long between meals/snacks and inhale your next meal which causes more bloating.
-do not enjoy life as much.
-say no to fun things, social events, date night because you are afraid they have garlic (or whatever) in the food.
-lose muscle and don’t respond well to workouts because you aren’t nourished.
Give yourself permission to put yourself on the to-do list
It is not selfish to show up as a better partner/mom/pickleball team member by spending time supporting your nervous system. Taking that 20 minutes in the morning to sit on the porch, drink some warm water, and listen to a little meditation. Saying no to a pot luck you’d rather not attend in order to prepare some meals for busy days this week. Investing in a dietitian to help you improve energy, optimize your digestion, feel strong in your body, or regain control of unpredictable bowel movements.
Slow things down
That HIIT workout or restrictive diet (we will talk about this next month) may be making bloating and insulin resistance worse! Plus if what you were doing was working you would not be reading this. Try yoga, pilates, sculpt instead of dragging yourself to orange theory. Eat a more balanced breakfast for all -day energy instead of rushing out the door. Chew your food (I know, sounds crazy).
Stop outsourcing your health to influencers
The infomercial, the Facebook ad, the ‘5 foods to eat to get rid of stuck fat on your organs’ crap is just the Phillip Morris of 2026. If confidence did not come from a cigarette in the 80s, it is not coming from a Happy Mammoth fiber supplement today.
My philosophy is that women deserve to feel sexy, confident, and have a life that is easy. Yeah, we can make things complicated sometimes, but we are also processing thousands of opinions from decades of programming-be thin, have a butt, don’t have a butt, eat carbs, go running, don’t eat carbs eat protein, running makes you flabby so lift weights, weights make you bulky…. BLA BLA BLA!
I look at your health history, your lifestyle, current symptoms, foods you eat, current supplements and medications to develop a plan. My simple, repeatable process for meals, workouts, and life takes all of this overwhelming crap online and personalizes it to YOUR life
(not the life of the person you think you need to be) so you can have great digestion and a body that feels.. GOOD.
You’ve spent a few hundred dollars on supplements in the past year. How about investing in a solution that works?
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