-> Heard about "gut health" and don't know where to start?
-> Wondering what the heck the microbiome is?
-> Diagnosed with IBS and want to understand why you get so dang bloated?
Say no more, I got you.
At the beginning of this year, I left for a semester abroad in Singapore. Within three weeks, I learned that I loved the food, but the food did not love me back. I felt worse than I had in years.
Before said departure, I had gotten my IBS to 80% "cured" through diet & lifestyle factors (i.e. avoiding trigger foods, regular exercise, etc.) I was managing "fine", but make no mistake, I was not thriving. I was bloated everyday, and I just dealt with it. It wasn't a high enough priority to invest the time to get to 90% or 100% fixed. I was managing.
Well, all of a sudden I was at maybe 50% or 60% - terrible stomach aches, couldn't sleep, EXTREMELY bloated, etc. AND I had had tons of time on my hands. I was desperately searching for a solution, and also motivated to get to the bottom of it once and for all.
I started chronicling my experiences, which you can see here:
What did I do?
I started reading, listening, and watching videos. I collected a list of a bunch of helpful articles that were actually in plain English and made sense to a sciencey gal like me. No chemical structure diagrams, medical journals, or fancy terms here. In other words, these are digestible resources - pun 110% intended.
I will continue to edit this post as I find new info, but I want to keep it all in one place. Think of this post as a resource library for everything related to gut health, explained by people far more qualified and educated than I am.
All of these links have been personally vetted by me (aka they pass the "plain English" test) and are listed in order of simple/general to complicated/specific. I would recommend starting from the top and working your way down. (Podcasts are at the bottom).
ARTICLES
General Gut Health
Time Magazine: Here's Everything You Need to Know About Gut Health
Clean Eating Magazine: Gut Health Page (lots of articles; I haven’t read them all)
The Guardian: The human microbiome: why our microbes could be key to our health
Mental Health -> Gut Health Connection
Entrepreneur Magazine: Why Gut Health Is Mental Health (my favourite article)
Medical News Today: Can gut bacteria predict your personality?
Monash University: Anxiety, IBS, and microbiome
Food
Startsat60: What you eat can play a big role in how you feel
Best Health Magazine: These Are the Best Foods to Improve Your Gut Health (spoiler: one of them is dark chocolate)
Mind Body Green: 18 Foods To Add To Your Diet When You Start Feeling BloatedÂ
Flavanoids
ScienceDirect: Flavanoids and gut health
Dark Chocolate (yes, it deserves it's own category)
Hyperbiotics: Why Your Microbes Want You to Eat Dark Chocolate
Adrenal Fatigue
Is "Adrenal Fatigue" real? from Harvard Medical School
SUPPLEMENTS
Probiotics
Healthline: 8 Health Benefits of Probiotics
Magnesium
Wellness Mama blog: Magnesium Oil Benefits & How to Use It (gives an awesome overview of what magnesium is at the beginning, don't worry about the oil part)
Glutamine
Healthline: Glutamine Benefits, Uses and Side Effects
Medical News Today: Does L-glutamine work for IBS?
Chicory
RASA: Poop Better With Chicory 💩 (for reals)
Digestive enzymes
PODCASTS
These are just a bunch of random episodes that I actually found helpful and would recommend to a friend (not everything I've listened to).
Note: they will all link to Apple Podcasts but you can find the same episodes on whatever platform you like to listen on.
The Goop: Why Bloating and Brain Fog Aren’t Normal (the BEST -> was the biggest wake-up call for me to stop accepting "fine" and start fighting for "great")
The Gut Loving Podcast: Meeting the experts behind the low FODMAP diet (for anyone that is considering, has heard about, is on, or has been on the low FODMAP diet, this is a must listen)
Homeopathy for Mommies: Digestion & Gut Health
Nutrition Diva: Bloating: The Causes and the Cures
The Goop: The Skin-Gut Connection
I hope you find this little library helpful!
These resources gave me my power back and helped me stop making excuses for my gut health, so I hope they do the same for you. If you know anyone that struggles with gut issues, please send this to them!
This could most helpful thing you can do for them, aside from giving them your love and support... because, Knowledge is power.
As I mentioned above, I will keep updating this post periodically with resources so just know, you can always come back HERE to find info. I won't make new articles/updates/etc because that would be super confusing.
I am also going to post another update soon with the products I am taking that are helping me right now, along with the other things I do to manage my gut.
Xoxo,
Jess
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