Gut Health Cheat Sheet
Gut Health Cheat Sheet
Gut Health Cheat Sheet
BY MANDY HOPPER
Masters of Sport Science | Masters of Human Nutrition
Accredited and Insured Sport Nutritionist
Owner & CEO MH Performance Coaching
MH's Guide to Healing Your Gut & Shopping List
Disclaimer
The information in this book, at seminars, in consultations, or in coaching is not to be taken
as medical advice. It is for general information purposes and nothing in this book is to be
intended to be constructed as medical advice. All we have done is gone over a some of the
scientific research in the hope to increase your understanding. This book does not take into
account your individual health, medical, physical or emotional situation or needs. It is not a
substitute for medical attention, treatment, examination, advice, treatment of existing
conditions or diagnosis and is not intended to provide a clinical diagnosis nor take the
place of proper medical advice from a fully qualified medical practitioner. We are not
physicians. You should always seek out the care of a physician or health care practitioner
prior to altering your diet and for any matter relating to your health and well-being.
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MH's Guide to Healing Your Gut & Shopping List
You are not what you eat but what you absorb!
Issues with the gut can be widespread. It is important to make sure you get the right help to
get to the root cause of the problem. Unfortunately, for the gut it is not just a ‘pill’ or course
of supplementation or antibiotics that will correct the issue. It takes a lot of time to repair
and rebuild and may include semi-permanent alterations to your food choices.
To understand where your gut goes wrong, it's important to have a high-level
understanding of the digestive system. Try and think of the digestive system as a "road"
with many speed bumps along the way. To solve your gut health issues, it will be a journey,
but I promise it will be worth the ride.
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MH's Guide to Healing Your Gut & Shopping List
BRAIN
If you are eating in a stressed state (in flight or fight
mode) you will not be able to digest your food properly MOUTH
as blood will be taken away from the digestive tract and Not chewing your food properly or being
pushed to other systems to help you fight or run from the dehydrated means straight of the bat digestion
perceived stress and absorption of food is compromised due to
decreased enzyme secretion
STOMACH
The stomach secretes hydrochloric acid (HCL) to
breakdown protein and sterilize the food we eat. HCL
LIVER &
can be lowered by stress, inflammation, poor thyroid
function, and infections causing decreased protein
GALLBLADDER
These organs are involved in the formation of bile
breakdown and increased risk of pathogens entering
which is how we digest and absorb fats. If there is
the system
inadequate bile being secreted, we will not be able
to absorb fats, including fat soluble vitamins, and we
will have trouble eliminating toxins from the body
causing stress on the system
PANCREAS
The pancreas creates important enzymes for digestion
and for controlling blood sugar. If there are issues with
pancreatic enzyme secretion, carbohydrates, fats and
protein will not be absorbed properly
SMALL
INTESTINE
Where most nutrient absorption takes place. Issues
with low stomach acid, pancreatic enzyme secretion,
or poor bile flow will limit nutrient absorption and can
lead to issues such as SIBO or SIFO
LARGE
INTESTINE
Where water and electrolytes are reabsorbed, and
where the majority of your gut bacteria lives. this is
generally where infection can occur which will create
issues over the entire GI tract
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MH's Guide to Healing Your Gut & Shopping List
Remember, healing your gut is a journey and not something that can be accomplished in a
day. Take your time by incorporating a new strategy every day, and work on making these
practices a habit to help heal your gut.
Digestion starts in the mouth and your mouth has its own microbiome. Whatever bacteria is
in your mouth has an opportunity to be absorbed into your stomach whenever you eat or
drink. So firstly, making sure you are brushing, flossing and tongue scrapping. You can also
use coconut oil as a mouth rinse to help clean out bacteria. Coconut oil is a powerful
antimicrobial and will assist in reducing bad bacteria in the gut.
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MH's Guide to Healing Your Gut & Shopping List
As I just mentioned, digestion starts in the mouth and we produce enzyme in our cheek to
help us break down food, particularly carbohydrates. If you do not chew your food properly
it will not be broken down efficiently by the time it gets to your small intestine which is
where most of the nutrient absorption occurs. Lack of chewing can also cause bloating,
cramping and lead to dysbiosis and leaky gut later on. So, put your fork down between
bites, make sure you are chewing your food properly, do not eat in front of a TV, computer
or phone.
3) Breathe
This might sound really simple however most people are stuck in state of ‘fight or flight’ in
this state our body is not focused on digesting food as it is conserving energy to fight or run
(stress response) we need to be in a rest and digest state in order to digest our food. Before
you eat your meals take 3 deep breathes to activate the rest and digest state and give your
body the best opportunity to digest and assimilate your food. If you are constantly eating in
a stressed state this will lead to bloating, leaky gut, low stomach acid, dysbiosis and the list
goes on.
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MH's Guide to Healing Your Gut & Shopping List
Foods such as bitter vegetables and fruits, coconut oil, bone broth, organ meats, oysters,
ghee, apple cider vinegar, green tea, Celtic Sea salt, pomegranate, papaya, sardines, kefir,
eggs and avocado are all great foods for healing your gut. Along with prebiotic foods such
as asparagus, onions, garlic, apples, artichokes, and bananas.
Foods high in polyphenols have also been shown to improve the gut microbiome; tea, dark
chocolate and red wine are all examples of polyphenols.
Remember one woman’s food is another woman’s poison. So, although some of these
foods may be good in theory and in the scientific research depending on your unique
circumstance will depend on if they will work or not for you. If you are still having issues at
the end of the camp despite following our guide, please speak to us about looking at
further testing (see functional lab testing in this book)
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MH's Guide to Healing Your Gut & Shopping List
Foods such as gluten, cows’ milk, sugar alcohols, high fructose corn syrup, alcohol and
artificial sweeteners are known irritants of the gut. If you know something causes you a
problem, you know you need to eliminate it. If you feel like everything you eat causes you
problems, then that’s a sign that something more sinister is going on that we need to
address.
It's important to note that not all food culprits listed above need to be eliminated from the
diet unless they are causing symptoms. To know what foods could be causing symptoms,
keep a detailed food journal to see what foods trigger your symptoms.
It can be unhelpful to eliminate all these common food culprits as they are nutritious foods
with health benefits, and if eliminated from the diet can result in a restrictive eating pattern.
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MH's Guide to Healing Your Gut & Shopping List
SOLUBLE INSOLUBLE
PROTEIN FATS FIBER FIBER
Grass-fed beef & Avocado Blueberries Rice
lamb Grass-fed Oranges Broccoli
Free range butter Strawberries Carrots
Poultry Coconut oil Celery Celery
Wild-caught, Olive oil Carrots Nuts & seeds
cold-water fish Olives Cucumber Leafy greens
Wild game Whole Oats Green beans
meats eggs Flax Seeds Turnips
Organic pork Ghee Nuts Avocado
Duck eggs Lard Apples Passionfruit
Wild sardines Redpalm Sweet potato Radish
Goats whey oil Pears Coconut
Oysters Walnut oil Cruciferous Pomegranate
Kangaroo vegetables
Collagen
protein powder
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Is Your IBS Really IBS?
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Is Your IBS Really IBS?
If you need more help and assistance in this area, you can book a discovery call with one of
our MH coaches by scanning the QR code below!
Remember: You are not alone, and you can combat this.
- Mandy xx
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