Gut Bacteria Rebalance - Step 1
Step 1
Step 1 - DO SOME WEEDING
Follow for 2 – 4 weeks
Things you’ll need for this part:
Anti-microbial
Binding fibre
Lemons (for your liver)
Yummy healthy sweet foods on hand to quash your sugar cravings
Instructions
Sometimes you’ve gotta kick out the bad critters so there’s room for the helpful ones to thrive. Fungal infections, parasites, and SIBO are signs that a certain strain of bacteria, yeast, or parasite has grown unfettered for too long.
Think about your microbiome as a beautiful green lawn. It’s impossible to grow a nice lawn if your field is full of weeds. First, we’ve got to pull them out!
You do this by taking an antimicrobial, which will kill off the bad guys (and, warning, some good guys) and create the space for your new, balanced ecosystem.
This is a temporary addition to your life. Don’t take any of these for longer than 1 month before taking a break, unless your practitioner (or me) has told you otherwise. If you have a stubborn overgrowth (like candida) you can take an antimicrobial two weeks on/two weeks off until you can get it under control.
Use an Anti-Microbial
Just choose one (and if one doesn’t work, try a different one):
Oregano Oil (regular strength, no higher than 80% carvacrol) – take 2 – 4 drops under your tongue 2x per day.
Colloidal Silver – take 3 tsp per day or follow the instructions on the bottle.
Raw Garlic (do not take if you suspect SIBO*) – chop 1 – 2 cloves a day, let it sit for 5 minutes, then consume.
Goldenseal – follow the instructions on the bottle
Note: There are many more anti-microbials, these are just the main guys.
*Common SIBO symptoms – MEGA visible bloating, a.k.a. “I look very pregnant” bloat. Or, you bloat a lot when you eat onions, garlic, or use sugar alcohols like xylitol. There are more symptoms, but these are the most common ones. We’ll be diving into SIBO in May ❤️
When to stop:
Stop taking your gut bacterial weeder as soon as your body tells you no. How this feels is unique to each person. You may feel a twinge of nausea when you pick up a bottle. Or, you might find your digestive system feels very sensitive or painful. Or, you just feel a big ‘NO’ from your body. Your body knows best so always listen.
If you don’t get any feedback and your body continues to like it, take a break after 4 weeks and start again in 2 weeks. Continue 2 weeks on/off until you feel you’re done.
Extra Help: Detox Support
It’s easy to stress out your body’s detox pathways when you’re doing a big gut bacteria kill off. Common symptoms are; feeling sick or under the weather, headaches, bad-smelling sweat, and foggy brain.
If you feel these symptoms, cut back on your antimicrobial for a few days or until you’re feeling better. And, increase your binding/detox support (how to do that is below :).
Liver & Gallbladder Support
Your liver can easily get overwhelmed during this process. You’ll want to support your liver’s natural process, but don’t push a liver detox (meaning, no milk thistle or strong liver detox herbs).
- Lemon and water when you first wake up in the morning is very effective at helping the liver finish its overnight detox cycle and pushes toxic bile out of the gallbladder.
- Consider Digestive Bitters – taken before you eat, they help support the liver-to-gallbladder detox pathway.
- Cruciferous veggies (broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage) are very liver supportive. Enjoy lots! (they’re best steamed, cooked, or roasted).
Bind the toxins in your digestive system to move them out!
These are mostly types of gooey fibre that hold onto dead bacteria, old hormones, and toxins and move them swiftly out of your colon. You only need one type of fibre taken about once a day (more if you’re craving it). You can take more types if you feel called to them.
Chia seeds – 2 tbsp per day, added to food, tea, or made into a pudding. The gooey fibre binds to toxins.
Slippery Elm – 1 tbsp per day. It’s also a gooey fibre and is a great gut healer, perfect if your gut is irritated or you’re reacting to many new foods.
Chlorella – 1 – 2 tbsp per day. Chlorella binds to heavy metals, pesticides, and mycotoxins (from mold).
Horsetail tea (high in silica) – drink 1 cup a day, binds to aluminum.
Drink lots of water!!
Your cells need to be hydrated to do this work. Add a splash of lemon or sea salt to your water if you’re feeling dehydrated. The binding fibre also sucks up water, so be sure to be hydrated.
Food Guidelines
IMPT POINT #1
Dietary guidelines for this part can be followed gently while still being effective. This can speed up the process and help your gut find balance faster. And, one refined sugary cookie won’t cause a problem, but a few each day might slow things down.
IMPT POINT #2
Start the food part of this step at least 3 days after starting your anti-microbial. Starting them both at the same time can overwhelm your detox pathways and trigger MASSIVE cravings.
Be gentle. Restriction/Deprivation is not necessary.
Remove/Eat Less –
These foods feed the bad bacteria and yeast in your gut.
Refined sugar - keep as low as possible in the diet.
Gluten - except for sourdough (no yeast sourdough, made in a bakery)
Dairy - except yogurt if you digest dairy well
Refined grains – corn starch, all types of white flour, etc
Vinegar - white, balsamic, etc (apple cider vinegar is okay)
Moldy foods – peanuts/peanut butter, cashews, fruit juice, citrus, alcohol, dried fruit, blue cheese
Alcohol – especially beer and wine. Some vodka or gin is okay, but too much will strain the liver.
Enjoy lots –
Fruit
Veggies
Legumes (unless they cause gas)
Rice, Quinoa, and other gluten-free grains that do not cause a reaction
Yeast-free & gluten-free breads (sourdough)
Healthy fats and oils – butter, coconut butter, olive oil, etc
Chicken, turkey, fish – preferably organic
Nuts and seeds – preferably raw
Sweeters – honey is a-okay and monk fruit is probably okay. Maple syrup, coconut sugar, and other unrefined sugar, use sparingly
Follow this section for 2 - 4 weeks and be gentle. You can stop anytime and your diet doesn’t need to be “perfect” for this to work well. Listen to your body and follow it as a guide (but, if it’s not saying anything to you, move onto Step 2 after 4 weeks or when you’re tired of doing this part :)
Got any questions or comments? Comment below, jump to our private Facebook Group, or the Ask Lisa page :).