How I Healed Postpartum Anxiety By Addressing My Gut Health
I know what you're thinking. How can you reduce anxiety by addressing your gut health?
What if you could reduce your bloating, constipation, AND anxiety at the same time?
Picture this...sleeping better, fewer heart palpitations, and no digestive issues.
Here's the thing...there's a connection between your gut and anxiety. Called the...
Gut-brain connection
and it turns out - when your body experiences inflammation it stimulates the HPA axis and releases cortisol - the stress hormone. source
But, wait up.
Don't worry, you can heal this.
So what can you do about it? You'll want to "heal your gut". Let me show you how.
But first, do you have any of these symptoms?
bloating
pain when eating gluten or dairy
skin eruptions
exhaustion
seasonal allergies
recurring yeast infections
achy joints and muscles
This may be due to your gut health.
===Take this FREE gut health questionnaire to see where you’re imbalanced::
In this post, I'll share how functional medicine doctors are teaching us to heal our gut with the 4R approach.
What is the 5R approach?
This method addresses the underlying causes of gut imbalances and restores harmony, helping to alleviate symptoms and maybe even disease.
The program suggests you: Remove> Replace> Reinoculate> Repair> Reintroduce
Gut health anxiety and diet
How do you heal your gut?
Remove all triggers: i.e. all allergens and cross reactors like gluten and dairy.
Get off medications (with Dr.'s approval and replace them with natural remedies ).
Reduce your stress with meditation, exercise, and botanicals.
Heal your gut lining with the 5R approach below.
“What supplements do you like?
Login to your Fullscript supplement store to receive 15% off these products: https://taragregorio.com/supplements/”
So, How do you "heal your gut"?
1. Step #1 Remove foods that bother you
Take out what inflames you. You can get tested for food allergies, but honestly, it may not help.
You probably already have an inkling of what foods bother you. The foods that create inflammation are:
wheat
corn
eggs
dairy {cow’s milk more than goat}
peanuts
soybeans
So, what do you eat?
Add in whole grains (like quinoa and rice), organic vegetables, fruit, and healthy fats.
Soaking the grains may help you digest the foods better as well.
Remove these foods for 4-6 weeks {or it may take up to a year to heal your gut if you have an auto-immune disease}
Encourage whole, organic foods every day
====Recently, I’ve been following the Blood Type Diet, but you can also try the Mediterranean diet or Ayurveda as well.
2. Step #2 Replace
After 2-4 weeks on an Elimination diet, introduce a good-quality digestive enzyme containing protease, lipase, amylase, and pepsin.
I like Enzymedica
This is safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women, too.
Next, add bitters to stimulate digestion.
I like Urban Moonshine Bitters
This will trigger the digestive system to produce digestive enzymes, secrete bile, and balance HCI levels in the stomach.
Take bitters 10-15 minutes before your meal.
If you have a lot of nausea with meals or when you take supplements, you might also need some additional stomach acid in the form of a supplement called Betaine HCl, or try 1 Tbs. of apple cider vinegar in water with your meals.
3. Step #3 Reinoculate
Wait 2 weeks on the elimination diet or up to 6 weeks before adding in a probiotic.
Adding in a probiotic can give you gas and bloating if you do not have enough digestive enzymes
Add a good quality probiotic to restore your gut flora. I like Klair probiotics.
You want it to have a minimum of 5 billion CFU in each dose, and a good range of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria species.
Fermented foods such as miso, sauerkraut, and kimchee can also be a helpful advantage to your gut, add it to your diet 3-4x a week.
Although very delicious, kombucha can be high in sugar so consider using it sparingly.
4. Step #4 Repair your gut
Include the following supplement for 6 weeks or more to repair your gut. The following supplements can be taken for up to 6 months to help to heal the intestinal lining:
Turmeric
Aloe vera
Marshmallow root powder
DGL licorice (aloe and licorice are not for internal use during pregnancy, and these are fine for children) are some of the most effective herbs for healing the gut lining.
Choosing a blended powdered form is the easiest way to repair your gut.
I like Thorne GI Relief for healing or GI Benefits Davinic Lab
5. Step #5 Reintroduce or Rebalance
After you’ve completed the steps for about 2 weeks to a year - if you have Autoimmune disease - you can explore adding back in some of these foods that once inflamed you.
You wan to repeat most of these steps after every round of antibiotics and/or surgeries or pregnancies.
After years of practicing this, I’ve added in goat’s milk and cheese and found some gluten/wheat products don’t bother me at all.
Do you get heartburn?
DGL or diglyceride licorice is a great alternative to Tums and does not raise your blood pressure or affect your gut health as Tums does.
DGL licorice is available as a chewable lozenge and thus may be the simplest one to give to kids.
Klair Labs has one or Pure encapsulation that combines aloe, slippery elm, and marshmallow root!
Additionally, add these supplements to heal your gut
Zinc:
Dosing suggestions: 5-10 mg/day for children 4-7 years
10-20 mg/day for children aged 12
25-40 mg/day for older children and adults.
An antioxidant supplement
Look for one containing vitamins A and carotenoids, C, E, and selenium. These are often found in a multivitamin.
Pregnant women should get these from their prenatal vitamins only.
Fish oil: I prefer Carlson's Lemon fish oil.
My kids like the Nordic Natural berries for kids.
Fish oil is important for general health in pregnancy and breastfeeding, too.
L-Glutamine Powder:5-10 gm of powder twice daily for one month. (Much less for kids but talk with your child’s doctor before using and don’t supplement during pregnancy).
This is found in the Davinci blend.
Gut Health Test
I also do love the Thorne gut test.
Take the at-home test here:https://www.thorne.com/products/dp/gut-health-kit
After you take the test, they suggest supplements for your body.
How to heal your gut while breastfeeding?
You can take some herbal remedies while breastfeeding to support your gut health. Of course, always check with your doctor before taking anything new and watch for adverse reactions in your child’s health.
Waiting until your child is 3 months or older, is a good practice and age guideline to follow for safety.
Step 1: Remove foods that bother you for 2 weeks and see how you feel
If your child or you are constipated or have eczema or reflux - this may be a true sign to remove cow’s milk dairy. You can try adding in goat’s milk instead.
Additionally, try soaking your grains to increase your vitamin levels and reduce phytic acid. Source
Wheat may bother you a bit now; especially if you had antibiotics during pregnancy or are experiencing leaky gut.
Step 2: Add in a digestive enzyme like Enzymedica with 1-2 meals a day, taking before or after you eat. I prefer before.
Step 3: Add in a probiotic like Klair probiotics.
Keep in mind..ordering from Fullscript, may ensure it arrives cold rather than ordering from Amazon.
Step #4: Adding in a gut-healing supplement
Let’s look at the ingredients
Slippery elm or Ulmus rubra is a Safety Class 1 and Interaction Class A-Safe by the Botanical Safety Handbook
Marshmallow root or Althaea officinalis is a Safety Class A and Interaction Class A- Safe
Aloe vera-Safety Class A and Interaction Class A
DGL or Deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) doesn’t raise blood pressure like regular licorice would.
The botanical name is: Glycyrrhiza glabra and is considered a Safety Class 2b, 2d, and Interaction Class B
“Doses of licorice over 3-15 g/daily may affect blood pressure.”
But keep in mind, this is deglycyrrhized licorice in this product, so this concern may not be accurate while breastfeeding or if you have high blood pressure.
The Safety Class 2b is not to be used during pregnancy and the 2D refers to the raise in blood pressure discussed above.
Alternatively, you could make a marshmallow tea or decoction and add in ground slippery elm and aloe vera after the tea or decoction is made to skip the DGL
Two Other reasons for digestive issues
Your doctor may not mention it, but mold toxicity can affect bloating and digestive issues. I had this experience.
And.. .parasites! No one wants to admit it, but when you clear parasites from your body your PMS will improve, and bloating and digestive issues vanish! It’s amazing. More on this coming soon.
Conclusion
Dysbiosis or digestive issues are common after pregnancy due to the stress of birth, antibiotic use, and poor diet most of us have postpartum. Plus, your little one is born with leaky gut syndrome - so they may have reflux or eczema due to their gut health.
Elimination diets alone will not work unless you add gut-healing herbal remedies to help soothe and support the digestive tract and close the tight junctions.
Do you think you'd try this? It's easier than it seems. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have, leave them in the comment area below.
xo Tara
Resources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5641835/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4325021/
American Herbal Products Associations Botanical Safety Handbook Second Edition
