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I’ve been working on my 2020 Gut Health Group over the last few months. It starts in January-I can’t wait!

I’ve been making a list of foods and products that have become instrumental in healing my gut and making me feel good by nourishing myself from the inside out.

Today I’m sharing my four must-have gut health products and foods for 2020, and how they support the gut!

1. Bone Broth

As a former vegetarian, this was a hard thing for me to get into at first. Now, I have bone broth on the daily and love it. Simmering bones and the marrow in them for hours pulls out an amino acid called glutamine. Glutamine has been shown to heal the intestinal barrier in our digestive tract, supporting people with leaky gut or digestive issues. It’s an anti-inflammatory amino acid that is great to include in your diet daily if you’ve suffered with digestive stress, which I’d venture to say, is most of us. Along with gut benefits, bone broth supports skin health, bone health, and sleep.

The most important component of bone broth is the quality of bones. Bone broth won’t do you good if you are using bones from a cow raised in an unhealthy way. You want grass fed, grass finished, organic bones. If you want to make your own bone broth (Yay!) find a local ranch at eatwild.com to source the best bones. Also, take a look at my bone broth recipe here to learn how to do it!

If you want to outsource your bone broth, Bone Deep Broth Co. has a great product.

2. Sauerkraut

Fermented foods are my jam! If you already live a relatively healthy life with lot’s of plant food, and your digestion is under control, adding fermented foods like sauerkraut into the mix is for you. Fermented food has lot’s of good, probiotic bacteria that we need to take up residence in our gut. The more diverse, good bacteria we have in the gut, the healthier our gut will be.

You can take a look at this post from a while back about how to make your own sauerkraut (it’s just water, salt and cabbage) or buy a high quality source at your local grocery store. THIS IS NOT THE KIND THAT IS SHELF STABLE. Shelf stable sauerkraut uses vinegar which speeds up the fermentation process, meaning the good bacteria didn’t form. You want the kind that you find in the refrigerated section, usually by the vegan stuff. I love the brand Firefly, but if you don’t see that, look for a brand that has minimal ingredients- just cabbage, salt, water, and a spice. There shouldn’t be any vinegar involved.

3. Honey

A high quality, raw honey is my favorite way to calm my sweet tooth and know that I’m doing something good for my body. Honey has long been known for it’s medicinal and healing benefits, and it is true when we talk about it’s relationship with the gut. It’s antiviral properties are nourishing and soothing to the digestive tract, supporting anyone that has suffered from IBS, leaky gut, or digestive distress.

My favorite honey sources are from local bee keepers (often found at farmer’s markets) where I know the bees are being well cared for, as is the honey. Or the company Bee Keepers Naturals. They thoughtfully, ethically, and with environmental conciosness have created raw honey and other products that are incredibly nourishing for our body and gut. My favorite is their B Powered Superfood Honey- it’s delicious!

4. Plants!

Fourth and finally your must have gut health product of 2020 is, PLANTS! It’s not a special product, just eat a large variety of plants every day and your gut will thank you. Your gut needs a diverse amount of fiber. The more fiber, the more bacteria. The more bacteria in your gut, the better it will work. Eat at least 9 servings of fruits and veggies a day and you are good.

What a day of 9 servings of fruits and veggies can look like-

• Breakfast- A large bowl of oatmeal topped with blueberries and banana slices = 2 servings!
• Lunch- A big bowl of a veggie and protein filled soup. It could have sautéed celery and carrots, beans, chicken, and topped with parsley and greens = 4 servings!
• Grab an apple and almond butter for a snack = 1 serving!
• Dinner- Finish the day off with roasted spaghetti squash with marinara that has sautéed mushrooms and greens, topped with meatballs = 3 servings!
• 10 servings of fruits and veggies total!

Holiday Gifts

If you have someone in mind that has been struggling with digestive health, brain fog, poor sleep, low energy, or is constantly sick, their gut might be part of the issue. Create a fun little holiday gift bag for them with some of these gut healing foods and products!

If YOU are someone that suffers from these symptoms of an imbalanced gut, give these a shot.