Foods that help heal leaky gut

If you’re trying to heal your kid’s gut, a great place to start is with gut-healing foods. 

Here are some to add to your kiddo’s diet if they’re not in already:

Protein (chicken, beef, fish, beans, dairy, nuts, seeds, soy) - amino acids from protein are building blocks for all structures in the body down to the cellular level, including cells in the gut lining, improve the integrity of the gut barrier, and important for mucin synthesis

FODMAPs (garlic, onions, cauliflower, celery, cassava, beans) - increase stool volume improve calcium absorption, increase production of short-chain fatty acids, and of good flora like bifidobacterium and others

Probiotic foods (yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, fermented veggies) - anti-inflammatory, strengthen the gut mucosal barrier, lower hyperpermeability, and produce short-chain fatty acids

Vitamins A and D (orange and red veggies and fruits, cod liver oil, egg yolk, mushrooms) - positively impact mucosal barrier integrity, the immune system, and gut flora 

Fiber and short-chain fatty acids (starchy and nonstarchy veggies, whole grains, nuts, and seeds, butter, and ghee) - anti-inflammatory and regulate intestinal barrier function

Polyphenols (rainbow assortment of veggies and fruit) - antioxidant, lower intestinal permeability, and oxidative stress, and increase mucus secretion

What gut-healing foods are in your kid’s diet? LMK!

PMID: 36677677

Can food allergies be reversed or prevented?

When there are food allergies, the fear of reactions can cause major stress, tons of anxiety, even depression, and food fear leading to an ever shrinking diet and under nourishment for so many kids.

If your child has chronic skin rashes, they’re at greater risk for developing food allergies because they can more easily get sensitized to allergens through their leaky skin.

In fact, leaky skin associated with eczema is a known risk factor for developing food allergies.

Food allergies affect the entire family. The statistics are alarming. There’s been a 300% increase in food allergies in children over the past 20 years!

If your kid has food allergies, you might be wondering if they can be reversed. If you’re thinking about having more kids, you also might what to know if they can be prevented.

Here are some good places to start.

If your child already has food allergies:

👉follow your doctor’s guidance about what to keep out and what is safe to keep in

Whether or not your child has food allergies, and for you if pregnant or nursing:

👉Avoid eating processed junk food

👉Increase gut microbiome diversity by eating pre and probiotic foods, and taking a probiotic supplement (kids with food allergies have lower levels of certain healthy gut bacteria)

👉Eat the broadest diet possible including common allergens that are tolerated (the broader the diet = greater gut microbiome diversity)

👉Supplement with Omega 3s (EPA and DHA)

👉Get vitamin D levels optimal and supplement if needed

👉Minimize exposure to air pollutants

👉Support skin and gut barriers. Two primary ways food allergies develop are through leaky skin and leaky gut.

What Qs do you have about your kid’s food allergies? LMK!

https://doi.org/10.3390/ nu16060838

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2024.03.010

Olive oil for dry, rashy skin? Hard pass.

Have you used olive oil on your skin?

Hi, I'm Jennifer and I USED to use olive oil on my skin.

It's a healthy fat, right? Yep!

It's in a ton of products we use on our skin, right? Yep!

So, olive oil is made up mostly of oleic acid, which is a fatty acid. And, topical use of olive oil does have some beneficial effects on wound healing.

But long-term use of oleic acid has negative effects on the integrity of the skin’s outermost layer (the stratum corneum), and on skin barrier function.

It also increased moisture loss from the skin in people with and without eczema.

If you’re struggling with rashes, you may want to steer clear of olive oil and products that contain it.

PS. this is not the same as eating it, it’s a healthy fat and absolutely can be included in a whole, real foods diet for people with rashes.

And now you know!

This was mindblowing for me when I learned it.

What do you think?

Resources

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22995032/ 

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12113324/ 

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5796020/