Have you ever been afraid to eat because what goes in comes out too slow? I’ve suffered with slow Gut Transit Time for years. Gut Transit Time is the time it takes food to flow through your digestive system- from your mouth through your anus.
After an abdominal surgery years ago, I developed abdominal scar tissue and immediately I noticed pain associated with my bowel, as well as, severe constipation.
Much later, I began to associate monthly migraines with my digestive woes. Over time, I thought the migraines were hormonal because they occurred once a month. I realized, however, if my bowels were clear, the migraines were nonexistent.
By paying attention to my body, trying various natural remedies and extensive research about the gut, I’ve improved my GGT.
Food Combinations and Portion Control
First, I eat mostly fish and vegetables- noticing that light foods travel through my system better.
I prefer small salads with fish the size of my palm. When I’m not eating a salad, I eat cook vegetables because it’s documented that the colon does not stress as much processing cooked vegetables which are referred to as low residual foods.
When I ate starches and breads, blockages typically occurred. Think of the consistency of dough prior to the baking process; it’s much like glue! Likewise, many starches are heavy too.
Small amounts of starch are necessary though because low blood sugar may become a problem. Once, I had an issue with dizziness and saw my doctor because my blood sugar was low, she insisted that I eat a few teaspoons of starch with every meal.
Second, small portion sizes work for me; my gut performs better when it’s not overloaded. Furthermore, since I have a compromised gut, I eat “Green,” keeping in mind that every bite needs to be nutrient dense. Particularly, I favor green smoothies and juicing vegetables because the sugar content is lower.
Bottle Water Intake
I can’t overstate the importance drinking an adequate amount of water to increase GGT. I drink at least 64 ounces per day to keep my bowel/body hydrated.
Likewise, another benefit of drinking a lot of water is it flushes the body of increased toxins. It’s no secret that drinking water improves bowel function but the kidneys function better as well.
According to Kaiser Permanente nephrologist Steven Guest, MD, “Body fluids transport waste products in and out of cells. The main toxin in the body is blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste that is able to pass through the kidneys to be excreted in the urine, explains Guest. “Your kidneys do an amazing job of cleansing and ridding your body of toxins as long as your intake of fluids is adequate,” he says.
All water, however, is Not created equal so there are a few things you should watch out for.
Consider this water story:
Years ago, I got consistent head aches, which prompted me to see my doctor who noticed I had high blood pressure. In turn, she asked me to go to the fire station for over a week to get my blood pressure checked regularly because she contemplated putting me on a high blood pressure medication.
Taking pharmaceutical medications is a last result for me. Ideally, I try to resolve issues by attacking the root of problems or by natural means, rather than covering symptoms with medications. Have you heard of the adage “Know Thy Self?” I believe in this wholeheartedly; in turn, I began to consider recent changes I’d made. Sure enough, I realized I’d started to drink tons of water because I knew drinking water is a good thing.
Fortunately for me, around the same time, I scanned the water section at a local convenient store, one brand bragged that it did not contain salt. Putting two and two together, I considered if this product doesn’t have salt, the other water brands may.
I’d had spring water delivered to my house so I called the company to check on the additives in their water. Sure enough, the representative explained that spring water has natural minerals, including salt. When I stopped drinking spring water, my headaches stopped.
Due to this experience, I learned there is a difference between spring, distilled and purified water. I now drink Nestle brand purified water because for me, it doesn’t render any side affects and it is more alkaline that other brands.
I’d like to add that there is a particular purified water brand I can’t drink because it causes me to get headaches. Ladies and gentlemen, all water is not made equally.
Consider the bottle water you drink. Be in sync with and aware of your body. Sometimes illnesses you suffer may be primarily due to something you’re eating or drinking or something you’redoing or not doing that is the main root to your problem.
Abdominal Messages
Abdominal messages improve GTT by helping to gently push food through the large intestine and it can break up mild scar tissue.
As a result of living with scar tissue for years, I realize a compromised area in my gut is where the small intestine meets the large intestine. When food gets stuck in this region, I move it along with gentle message manipulations starting in that problematic area.
Sometimes I realize other areas of concern in my bowel due to mild pain/ lump in a particular region. Many times the pain and the lump exist simultaneously. Again, I strategically apply message manipulations to move the food along.
Check out the following link. The author of the “Listen to Your Gut BLOG” demonstrates how to self administer a abdominal message.
** For more information on vitamins and dietary products to use when experiencing a blockage, please check out the next entry entitled Gut Transit Time Session II