Episode Two -The Best Diet For Bloat & IBS Relief

The podcast episode discusses the idea that there is no perfect diet for bloat and IBS relief. The host shares her own experience of following numerous restricted diet plans without finding true relief for her symptoms. She emphasizes that gut health goes beyond just food and shares the importance of incorporating gut-loving habits and addressing deeper gut imbalances. The host introduces her Wholeness Diet, which focuses on nourishing gut-loving foods and habits to support digestion and overall gut health. She provides examples of gut-loving foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, coconut, sprouted seeds, healthy fats, high-quality meat, and spices/herbs. She also mentions the benefits of collagen, dark chocolate, bone broth, and meal prepping for making the journey towards bloat and IBS relief more enjoyable and sustainable. Welcome to the Wholeness and Health Podcast, where gut health, mental wellness, and entrepreneurship take center stage. I'm your host, Rachel Montero, a nurse practitioner who is dedicated to helping you confidently pursue your passions without digestive issues holding you back. In each episode, we'll dive into practical advice, expert insights, and inspiring stories to empower you. Join me as we explore how to become the best version of yourself. Let's dive in. The best diet for bloat and IBS relief. This episode, I'll be chatting about whether there is a perfect diet plan to avoid bloat and IBS, and which foods are actually best for your bloat and IBS relief. And when chatting about IBS, or irritable bowel syndrome, IBS is often a broad diagnosis given for symptoms such as constipation, diarrhea, gas, nausea, stomach cramping, where there's no other cause identified correlating with these symptoms. In addition to bloat as well, that falls under this blanket diagnosis. And then many times, once given this diagnosis, the doctor will say, okay, follow the low FODMAP diet plan, or try an elimination diet plan, or cut calories, cut carbs. And this is something that I did myself as well. I followed so many restricted diet plans trying to get rid of my bloat and IBS, but that never led to true relief for my symptoms. And I was so frustrated because I was eating clean, I was trying to eat healthy, following these diet plans, and still kept dealing with belly bloat, stomach discomfort, gas, crazy bowels, and I know so many other women are also experiencing this frustration as well, trying to eat healthy, trying different diet plans, but that's not leading them to where they ultimately want to go when it comes to really getting rid of bloat and IBS. And one big component of this is because there is no perfect diet when it comes to getting rid of your bloat and IBS. It goes deeper than food alone. There's a reason why your body is feeling uncomfortable, your stomach is feeling tight, there's a lot of pressure after eating. If you're experiencing belly bloat, gas, nausea, palpitation, diarrhea, there's a reason why and it's not exactly the food. While food does play a role in your gut health, it's not just the food alone. And also, restricting more and more foods is causing more stress on your guts, leading to more symptoms like bloat and stomach discomfort. So, how do you navigate this? This is why I created my Wholeness Diet. And this isn't just another diet, this is a life-changing approach to experiencing freedom from your bloat and IBS. Because my Wholeness Diet hones in on nourishing gut-loving foods, I'll be sharing more examples here, alongside gut-loving habits that support digestion, that support your gut motility, that support your nervous system as well, which plays a big role in gut health. These all tie together and a huge puzzle piece is missing when you're so focused on following the perfect diet plan, eating the healthiest foods, avoiding foods that were claimed as bad. The puzzle piece that needs to be filled is adding in gut-loving habits. And also, identifying and addressing deeper gut imbalances too. And I'll be diving into that more as well today. So, when it comes to gut-loving foods, there are a variety of foods to choose from. This is the beauty of it, is choosing foods that you enjoy, making it enjoyable, rather than feeling like, oh my gosh, I can't eat anything, or I can never go out to dinner, or I can never enjoy food at my friend's house. That is exhausting. I've been there. And that, I am so grateful to never go back to that life because that, man oh man, is that exhausting and stressful. Gut-loving foods, there are so many, so, so, so many gut-loving foods. And alongside gut-loving foods is optimizing how these foods are cooked and prepped to further support digestion and further address bloat and IBS. So cool. There are so many factors at play, and all of these need to be incorporated on your bloat and IBS release journey. So, what are some gut-loving foods that you can add into your day? This could include a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. It's great to eat the fruits and vegetables that are in season as best as possible. Definitely not mandatory, but that's also a great way to incorporate foods locally too, eating fresh local foods. Say you go to a farmer's market, that's a great way to get some local and fresh fruits and vegetables. And also, when it comes to fruits and vegetables, encompassing a variety of them rather than eating the same broccoli every single day or just eating an apple or maybe some fresh berries every single day, it's also encompassing a nice variety as well. Your gut loves variety. It craves variety. So, this could be in addition to fresh berries, the broccoli that I just mentioned. Those are gut-loving foods, but it's also encompassing these other hacks that we need to implement too. For example, steaming your broccoli as well so that it's nice and soft and easier to digest or having some nice steamed carrots. Or sautéing some spinach, having some cucumbers, sweet potatoes. I love sweet potatoes with cinnamon. That's a good combo. You can roast them. You can air fry them. So many ways to go about it. Really good for your gut as well. Nice and nourishing. Adding in some kiwi. Kiwi also contains a natural vitamin C. Which vitamin C supports your adrenal health immensely. Your adrenal glands also play a big role in not only the production of your hormones, but also your immune system. So, if you have a lot of energy, you're going to want to make sure that you're eating a lot of fruits and vegetables. You're going to want to make sure that you're eating a lot of fruits and vegetables. You're going to want to make sure that you're eating a lot of fruits and vegetables. So, it's good for the production of your hormones, but also supporting your gut health. All ties together. Also, for example, with a fruit, if you peel off the skin of, say, an apple, that is also beneficial too because the skins of the fruit can be a little bit more aggravating on digestion. So, that can help ease it. Or having some nice steamed apples too with some cinnamon. It's like a dessert. You got our baked apples. Some other fun-loving foods include coconut, whether it's coconut yogurt, shredded coconut, coconut oil, adding in some sprouted seeds like chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds. These are great sources of fiber. You can mix into a smoothie or a yogurt bowl. Adding in some nice fats like avocado, ghee, or grass-fed butter. Pasture-raised eggs are also wonderful and rich in omega-3 fatty acids, as well as vitamins A, D, and E, which are very nourishing for your gut. Adding in a variety of meat, whether that's grass-fed beef, organic chicken, organic ground turkey, lamb, wild-caught fish. Ideally, high-quality meat as best as possible to avoid exposure to harmful pesticides and toxins, which further aggravate gut issues and can further contribute to deeper gut imbalances like beefy gut, for example, which I'll be diving into. Also, adding in some delicious spices and herbs. These are a great way to sneak in gut-loving nutrients into your day. This could be turmeric, oregano, parsley, cinnamon, fennel, cumin, garlic, ginger, mint. These are all so nourishing for your gut and help support the gut healing process. Also, sipping on some tea. That's a great way that I love to sneak in some extra gut-loving herbs. It's very soothing on your gut, too, in between meals. So a nice peppermint tea, for example. Fennel is really great. Chamomile at night. Or a nice blended tea. I love to just look at the teas at the store. I spend so long in the tea aisle just looking at all the options, and I love to try different ones. It's so fun. Some other gut-loving foods, before we dive into some gut-loving habits, include rest of collagen. This is great to sneak in to, say, a yogurt bowl, as well to get a little bit of a protein boost or a smoothie. Dark chocolate. This is one of my favorites. Have that with some almond butter or cashew butter or sunflower seed butter. That is a great, great snack. That also helps to curb those sugar cravings, too, or dates. And nut butter, I love that combo as well. And then, lastly, bone broth is another wonderful gut-loving food that also helps supporting the integrity of your gut lining and also helps with healing leaky gut, if that's at play, too. And you can consume bone broth straight up, or you can cook it in white rice, for example, or add it into a stove top dish. Or bone broth protein powder is another great way to incorporate that as well. And then, making it enjoyable when it comes to these meals, making it simple and enjoyable. For example, meal prep and batch prepping some meals. Say, batch prepping your lunches or at least a few lunches on Sunday and then again on Wednesday, for example. Having some simple sheet pan dishes and maybe a crock pot dish going at the same time. And meal prepping meals also helps to make life easier when it comes to saving time in the kitchen and also optimizing access to gut-loving foods. If you have the food already prepped and ready to go, it's way easier to grab that, especially when you are running around, your day is busy, you're on the go, and if you don't have any food prepped, then it's much more likely that you may grab something more convenient that has more processed ingredients as well. And ideally, ideally, minimizing exposure to processed foods is ideal, but of course, all in balance, all about balance. It's way better to consume processed foods than it is to skip a meal altogether, for example. But more so honing in on controlling what you can control and optimizing the quality of your foods and adding in nourishing gut-loving foods as best as possible. That is a key component to supporting low IBS relief. And this is a gradual process too, especially if you're someone who has been on a restrictive diet for a long time. It will take time for your body to adapt and adjust to adding in more foods. This is also where having expert guidance in this process is really beneficial. This is something that I guide my clients through specifically because many of my clients who now work with me previously were on very strict diets and avoided a lot of foods, and I'm helping them to add back in gut-loving foods more intentionally while also avoiding low IBS symptoms. So that is a gradual process too to keep in mind. Okay. So tying that back to some gut-loving habits to further support digestion, a few that I'll dive into, one being to really slow down during your meal and chew your food more thoroughly. This is such a simple and often overlooked habit, yet it plays a big role in optimizing digestion and helping to prevent low IBS symptoms after eating. And more often than not, we are eating pretty quickly. And this can definitely wreak havoc on our gut. If we're just scarfing down our meal, if we're rushed, if we're not even aware of what we're eating and just distracted by all the things around us or all the things that we need to do, then this negatively impacts digestion. So that is one wonderful gut-loving habit to hone in on. Taking a nice deep breath before your meal, that's a nice cue to help slow yourself down during your meal as best as possible. One meal at a time. Focus on one meal at a time with this. Another gut-loving habit ties back to supporting your vagus nerve. Your vagus nerve is essentially the highway between your brain and your gut. This nerve plays a big role in your gut's health, in supporting digestion and reducing stress, supporting that rest and digest state that is ideal. So I'll dive into a few ways to support your vagus nerve here. This could be singing or humming. I love to blast some music and hum or sing in the car or while cooking. Laughter. I love laughing. That's a great one that also directly supports your vagus nerve. Also, deep diaphragmatic breathing as well. And exposure to cold water. But not needing to necessarily do a full-on ice bath. This can sometimes cause more stress as well, depending on the health of your nervous system. But even just splashing your water or splashing your face with cool water can help to activate your vagus nerve as well. And it's nice and refreshing, especially in the morning. It can help to wake you up a little bit too. Okay, and then lastly, tying this all back to the final key component to this in regards to having freedom from bloat and IBS is to address deeper gut imbalances as well. This will also optimize how your body responds to the food that you're consuming. So say you are eating really healthy, but there's deeper gut imbalances going on, such as leaky gut, which are gaps or holes in your gut lining. And as a result of these holes, your body isn't properly digesting its food or not fully digesting its food, so undigested food particles are entering your bloodstream and your body can perceive that as an enemy, leading to more inflammation, leading to more bloat and stomach discomfort. So leaky gut is a big one that must be addressed. The best way to identify if you have leaky gut, as well as these other deeper gut imbalances, is the GI map test. And I run the GI map test on my clients as well. It is the most comprehensive school test ever. It eliminates the guessing games, but you know exactly what's going on in your gut. And it can be done right in the comfort of your own home, which I love about that as well. If you're curious about the GI map test, feel free to send me a direct message on Instagram or Facebook too, and we can chat more about it. Some other deeper gut imbalances, there could be bacterial imbalances, such as an excess of harmful bacteria taking over or a lack of beneficial bacteria as well. And it's wild how your gut bacteria, there are so many gut bacteria within your digestive tract. And each one of them play their own little role. It's really cool. Really, really cool. And it's also great when going through my GI map test results with my clients and I can tie back specific gut bacteria to, for example, constipation, if they're really constipated. Or the opposite, if they're having a lot of diarrhea or loose stools or lack of energy as well. These gut bacteria are profound. And it's really empowering to also see how what's going on in your gut is tying into your symptoms. And you're no longer feeling crazy for the symptoms that you've been experiencing with too. And you have answers. Which is just, that's a relief in itself, to finally have answers for what's going on in your gut specifically, especially if you're someone who's gone to the doctor, you've had lab testing done and you haven't gotten answers, it's definitely time to do the GI map test. That is life changing. There are other gut imbalances that could be at play, such as H. pylori, there could be some Canxida slash yeast going on, there could be a parasite, as well as poor immune function, which increases the risk for pathogens. So many deeper gut imbalances that could be at play. And often there's multiple going on when it comes to bloat and IBS symptoms. So, when we tie all of this together, the gut loving foods, the gut loving habits, and really identifying and addressing the deeper gut imbalances at play, that is a life changing journey towards freedom from bloat and IBS. Rather than continuing to be in this endless cycle of strict dieting, cutting out foods, only to feel more frustrated and more stressed, and it also really negatively impacts quality of life, because as a result of these diet plans, you may feel stressed about going to your friend's house, or going out to dinner, or going out for a date. That was definitely me, I was so stressed out doing those things. Sometimes I would just say no altogether to try to avoid the stress and eat my chicken and rice at home. Right? So it's really looking at all of these factors, and giving yourself the freedom to add in more gut loving, nourishing foods as well. So good. Okay. I hope this was an encouragement to you. If you have any questions on anything that I have chatted about here, please send me a message on Instagram or Facebook. If you are interested in the GI map test, please send me a message, or I will have a form linked in the show notes below to express interest in getting more info. We'll chat more about that. Now is your time to experience freedom from bloat and IBS, and I would love to guide you and support you in that process.