The season is changing. There is a nip in the air already. During this time instead of focusing on the latest fad diet and stressing your already stressed system further, I say you do a gut cleanse instead.
Give your gut the importance it deserves – it is the basis of your health. This is where all that you eat goes first, so your nutrient supply is dependent on gut health. Plus, it is your first line of defence against viruses and bacteria and that is why poor gut health is strongly linked to a compromised immune system.
It also leads to unexplained weight gain or loss, aches and pains, nutrient deficiencies, anxiety and mood swings. Enough reasons to go on a gut cleanse. Right! Besides we all live toxic lives, and our gut bears the brunt of it all the time, so it deserves (needs) a thorough cleanse regularly, particularly like I said during the changing season.
How to Do a Gut Cleanse
The basic idea of a gut cleanse is to ban certain foods to ensure that the “bad bacteria” in your gut are starved. And eat foods that help build up good bacteria and heal the gut lining.
So ban these sugar, sweets, chocolate, jams, fruit spreads, chips, burgers, fried foods, alcohol, coffee, soft drinks, margarine, commercial dressings, sauces, artificial colours, flavours, and additives-laden processed foods.
Basically, anything directly from a packet or a can.
And include these: fermented foods such as kefir, kombucha, kimchi, dhokla, homemade pickles, and gluten-free grains (rice, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, millet.)
Begin your day with water. Drinking water, especially warm water on an empty stomach, helps kick start digestion; it detoxes the system and helps digest food better.
Eat gut friendly spices: nutmeg (stimulates the digestive process by promoting peristaltic motion in the smooth muscles of the intestine, saffron, clove and turmeric anti inflammatory and protect the gut against pathogen invasion) and holy basil (detoxes the system). Also eat a little bit of honey; it relieves acidity in the stomach and diminishes digestion issues.
Diet to Follow
(Kavita is a nutritionist, weight management consultant and health writer based in Delhi. She is the author of Don’t Diet! 50 Habits of Thin People (Jaico) and Ultimate Grandmother Hacks: 50 Kickass Traditional Habits for a Fitter You (Rupa).)
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