My Gut Was Destroying My Life Until I Learned These Secrets
My Struggle with Digestive Health: More Than Just Stomach Pain
I used to have the worst stomach issues. At times it would occur at the least convenient time. I remember going to a birthday party with my husband. Before we had left the house I had a small snack to tie me over. By the time we got to the party I started feeling sick and I knew it wasn’t going to go well.
I tried to tell myself I would be fine but I started feeling worried. I ended up leaving the party early and asking my husband to get a ride with someone else. I spent the next few hours in bed feeling unwell. If you’re struggling with similar digestive issues, you’re not alone. Let me share what I’ve learned about the digestive process and how I finally found relief.
The Daily Battle with Digestive Symptoms and Social Anxiety
This struggle used to be real. Canceling events, avoiding social situations and skimping on meals was normal for me. I was tired of living life this way and having to explain why I couldn’t eat certain foods. When I was invited over for dinner sometimes I would bring my own food or hardly eat anything that was offered. Sometimes I would tell them I had already eaten which wasn’t always true. I was tired of living life this way and just wanted to feel better. I knew something had to change. To understand how I finally healed my gut, it’s important to first understand how digestion actually works.
Understanding Digestion: The Science Behind Gastrointestinal Health
The digestive process is fascinating and complex. When we eat food it is first broken down by enzymes in our saliva, this is the start of the digestive process. After this the food is sent down the esophagus and into our stomach to be further broken down and mixed around. Next the substance travels to our small intestines, here we have bacteria that are ready to be fed by the proteins and enzymes.
The Hidden Connection: How Stress Impacts Digestive Issues
Moreover, your emotional state plays a crucial role in this process. Stress has a direct effect on our digestion. The more stress we perceive and encounter the more issues we can have with digestion. We have nerves that run from our brain down to our stomachs. These nerves communicate back and forth sending messages to our brain and down to our digestive system.
When our body is stressed the brain is able to send signals alerting our digestive system. This can trigger several key digestive issues: Indigestion and bloating, Slowing of digestive muscles, Changes in gut bacteria, Food sensitivitie, and irregular bowel movements.
Why There’s No Quick Fix for Chronic Digestive Problems
When our digestive system goes hay-wire most of us are looking for something quick to get things back on track. Sometimes this can be all it takes – fixing a few things in our diet. When chronic digestive issues set in it’s typically not a quick fix. There isn’t one food or magic pill that will put everything back into alignment. Even if it did, it’s not sustainable. Adhering to a healthy lifestyle, diet, and low stress life are the keys to getting digestion back on track.
Breaking the Cycle: Managing Stress to Heal Digestive Symptoms
I have naturally been a high stress worry-some person. When I haven’t had problems in life I would find things to worry about. This was not doing my stomach any favors. I have found myself feeling sick to my stomach when overly stressed.
Another significant factor was the vicious cycle of worrying about symptoms. I would worry about what-if situations, symptoms and the feeling of not being able to heal. When I changed my focus and told myself everything is okay or I will be alright I felt better and over time I was able to heal my digestive system.
Learning to manage my stress has been a game changer in addressing symptoms. Stress is a big factor in how well the digestive system functions. When we are constantly in stress mode the digestive tract cannot perform as well and even tenses up. This can look like constipation, diarrhea, food intolerance, and bloating.
Changing how I handled stress made the difference. Here’s what helped: Regular yoga practice, daily meditation, making time for relaxation, learning to say no to being overly busy, and breaking the cycle of worrying about symptoms.
Natural Remedies and Solutions for Digestive Health
After trying countless approaches, here are the natural solutions that finally made a difference for me. The herbs I found most helpful were better than any medication on the market. My top herbal and supplement choices included:
- Ginger for nausea and improved digestion
- Oregano oil as a natural antimicrobial for fungus and bad bacteria
- Caprylic acid for gut restoration and yeast overgrowth
- Apple cider vinegar for proper stomach acid levels
- Digestive enzymes taken before meals
Breathing exercises are a great way to regulate the nervous system and relax the digestive tract. I practiced deep breathing in the morning before getting up. I implemented this before meals too, this helped me slow down and prepare my body for digestion.
Chewing food slowly is a big one! How often do we eat so fast that we don’t know where our food went? Chewing food 20-30 times is a good habit to get into. This helps the saliva break down the food and prepare it to enter into the stomach. By doing this it helps the stomach to not be overworked breaking down food.
I prepared myself for eating by taking digestive enzymes before a meal. It’s best to take them fifteen minutes before a meal. This gives the enzymes in your saliva time to prepare and salivate to be able to break down food. It also signals to the stomach to prepare for digestion.
What I Learned: Navigating Digestive Health Challenges
When I was going through the thick of things I spent a lot of time and money on going to doctors appointments. I want to say that I think it’s important to rule everything out. After that it’s taking the long road and allowing your body the time to heal. At the time I wanted a quicker solution or a timeline given to me. That didn’t happen. I kept having blood tests done that didn’t fix the problem.
I tried green drinks, powders, and a plethora of supplements. While some supplements helped, others were just another item to add to my regimen. I learned less is more. Overflowing the body with tons of supplements is not always the answer.
I thought limiting my diet would help heal my gut. Unfortunately my symptoms became worse and I didn’t see much change. Once I slowly started adding nutritious foods back in I noticed a difference. It wasn’t overnight, with time I was able to eat more foods without discomfort and I knew I was making progress. Changing my diet and lifestyle were two of the biggest factors that repaired my digestive system.
I learned that patience was a factor in healing. I had to believe I could get better. If a supplement didn’t help overnight it didn’t mean it wouldn’t work in the long run. At times changing course too soon was what sent me in the wrong direction. What works for one person may not work for another.
Creating a Sustainable Routine for Digestive Wellness
Creating a routine will help set you up for prevention of recurrent digestive issues and success. I recommend having a morning routine that you can stick to. This may look like not looking at your phone right away. Doing some deep breathing or meditation before getting out of bed. Thinking positive thoughts first thing can set you up for a good day despite what may occur.
This makes it easier to handle stressful situations and not impact digestion. Drinking lemon water or apple cider vinegar is a good practice to aid digestion in the morning.
Having regular meals is important to fuel the gut. Aim for at least 3 balanced meals daily. We need energy and nutrients to heal. Limited diets are not going to heal an unbalanced gut. If anything it might send it the other direction. Getting enough protein, pre and probiotics in fruits and vegetables is what will help to get the digestive system thriving again.
Winding down early in the evening plays a role in digestion and sleep. I stopped eating at least two hours before bed. I limited screen time an hour before bed and set myself up for restful sleep. By doing this the gut is able to “clean house” so to speak and my cells have the time and energy to repair for the next day.
Getting 7-8 hours of sleep is essential for this. When people get less than 7 hours of sleep it impacts the immune system and can alter the digestive system.
Nutrition and Lifestyle: Keys to Healing Digestive Issues
Avoiding processed foods is essential to repairing the gut. Many packaged and processed foods contain ingredients and chemicals that disrupt the digestive system. These ingredients only do harm and are not beneficial for our health. It’s best to eliminate these as much as possible and stick to whole nutritious foods.
For example I have swapped maple syrup for sugar in many recipes and oatmeal. Instead of soy sauce I replaced it with coconut aminos. When I want a snack I might have an apple and cheese instead of overly processed chips or dip.
Living Well: My Journey to Digestive Health Recovery
Now I am not scared of symptoms or tummy issues. I rarely have them and if I do I can usually pinpoint it back to being too stressed or eating something that I know isn’t good for me. I know having perfect digestion may not always happen but it’s something that is now under control and I feel amazing.
It is possible to turn digestion around and not have to deal with constant bloating, food intolerance and other digestive issues. Taking small steps can lead to a big change. Those small steps compound over time. Dealing with constant digestive issues can feel so hopeless, I can tell you it is possible to heal and feel amazing again!