3 Everyday Health Issues That Can Be Solved with Diet

1. IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) There are a number of different things that can cause IBS. Chris Kresser mentions 5 different ones: gut dysbios…

There’s a huge movement going on. It’s all centered around healing common health issues rather than medicating to treat the symptoms. More and more, voices like Dr Mark Hyman, Sara Gottfried M.D., Chris Kresser M.S., and Dr Joseph Mercola are speaking up about the ways we can actually heal our bodies from chronic illnesses for good with the right foods.

Here are just a few issues you can use your diet to heal or improve.

 

1. IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

There are a number of different things that can cause IBS. Chris Kresser mentions 5 different ones: gut dysbiosis; which is when there is “a change in the composition of gut bacteria”, typically an increase in bad bacteria and a decrease in good bacteria, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO); which can adversely affect the way you digest food and absorb nutrients, gut permeability; a situation which occurs when barriers between the cells lining the GI tract become permeable, gut infection; caused by the presence of parasites in the gut, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity, along with other food intolerances.

If the cause is gut dysbiosis, Kresser suggests that switching to a low-FODMAP diet could be beneficial, or the addition of prebiotics and probiotics; if the cause is SIBO, he recommends antibiotics; for gut permeability issues, he suggests adding probiotics to your diet along with some specific supplements; and for potential food intolerances, he recommends starting an elimination diet to determine which foods or food groups could be affecting you.

2. Bad cholesterol

Too often, according to Dr Mark Hyman, doctors prescribe medications which aim to lower cholesterol. The problem is, he says, that they aren’t always the most effective. He says, the best way to rectify high cholesterol and low HDL cholesterol, is through cutting out or drastically reducing flour and sugar, eating healthy fats, adding protein to every meal, exercising, and managing stress.

3. Eczema

This one kind of blows my mind, but it’s worth looking into. Hyman claims that the reason we get eczema is because our bodies are inflamed, which is due to issues in our immune system. He limits the causes of eczema down to two things; leaky gut, and abnormal gut flora. To address the issues, he recommends a whole host of things; an elimination diet, to help find out what is causing the inflammation, eating anti-inflammatory foods and nutrients, taking prebiotics, probiotics, and digestive enzymes to help generate healthy gut flora, getting the right amount of sleep, exercising regularly, and practicing active relaxation.

Are you surprised by any of these? How can you make changes to your diet to improve your health?

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