Heal Your Leaky Gut and Start Feeling Better

Last Updated on December 4, 2023 by Cathy

If you have multiple sclerosis (MS) it’s more than likely you also have a leaky gut. We are a society addicted to sugar, stressed, and sleep deprived, and we’re killing off the good bacteria in our guts. Below are easy steps to help you heal your leaky gut and start feeling better.

Probiotic Killers:

• Antibiotics
• Birth control pills
• Drinking unfiltered tap water
• Fluoride
• Gluten
• Lack of sleep
• Processed foods
• Refined sugar and carbohydrates
• Stress

Get a FREE Gut Health Tracker at the bottom of this post.

Everyone’s gut problems are different so each solution will be different. For me, I am predisposed thanks to my genetics. Then as a toddler and child, I had many rounds of different antibiotics.

Like every other kid in my neighborhood. I ate processed foods, very little vegetables, and zero probiotics. The good bacteria in my gut had no chance of surviving. It allowed yeast overgrowth (Candida) to grow out of control. By the time I was fifteen years old, I had my first MS exacerbation, optic neuritis. Which means I was probably ten years old when MS started to develop.

Yes, genetics can play a role in triggering MS. Researchers believe it is our lifestyle habits that trigger the onset of MS:

• Diet (processed foods, refined sugar, refined carbs, food allergies, etc.)
• Infections (Candida, viruses, bacteria, and parasites)
• Environmental Toxins (heavy metals, mold, pesticides, plastics, etc.)
• Chronic Stress
• Genetics

Stopping the Triggers

After I started eating a nutrient-dense diet my MS flares stopped. Unfortunately, several years later I went through years of daily chronic stress. Stress is a toxin, it is what set me back by causing my walking to get worse.

Once I started addressing my triggers and not just my diet. My symptoms started to reverse including:

• Cold intolerance
• Cottonmouth
• Heat intolerance
• Numbness in the back of my mouth
• Red blotches on my legs when I got heated up
• Redness in my hands and feet
• The sensation of a hand on my head
• The sensation of heavy boots
• Walking on the outside of the foot sensation

Other symptoms I’ve been able to reverse:

• Pins and needles in both feet
• Raynaud’s syndrome
• Weakness in my left leg
• and my eyesight is getting better thanks to eye exercises

Today there is so much information and so many diets for MS. It’s almost too much information. Eat this, avoid that. It gets confusing, the most important factor is you need to pay attention to how your body reacts. Adjust whatever diet you are on to fit your individual needs.

Here are some simple steps to get you started in healing your gut:

Cut Out All Processed Foods

There are many different diets for MS to choose from. But they all have something in common – remove foods causing inflammation. I have been on many different diets hoping to find that “one perfect diet” that works. That didn’t happen to me.

Eventually, I started to pay attention to my body and I tweaked the diet I was following. I ended up doing a combination of The Wahls Protocol (level 2.5) and the Candida diet. I was following the book Healing Multiple Sclerosis by Ann Boroch.

Start by removing the most common foods that damage your gut:

• Dairy
• Gluten
• Processed foods
• Refined sugar and carbohydrates
• Unhealthy fats (trans fat, vegetable oils, etc.)

Yes, there is a lot of debate about grains being problematic. If you are starting out only remove gluten. You can remove non-gluten grains later if you’re not seeing any improvements.

Eat Less Often

When you are suffering from a leaky gut. Every time you eat something it triggers inflammation in your gut lining. Granted, some foods are worse than others. But even one bite of food no matter what it is will contribute to some amount of inflammation.

Since you are trying to reduce inflammation don’t graze on food all day. Only eat during mealtimes and no snacking between meals. When you are eating make sure you chew your food thoroughly and don’t eat while you’re stressed out.

Add Bone Broth

Bone broth is very beneficial for many different ailments. My functional medical provider told me beef bone broth is the most healing. You can make beef, chicken, lamb, or fish bone broth. It’s rich in minerals and is a great source of L-glutamine which is necessary for gut health.

Bone broth benefits:

• Heals a leaky gut
• Heightens collagen in the skin and other connective tissues
• Helps heal digestive problems
• Improves joint health
• Includes nutrients that support brain health
• Supports the immune system

Unfortunately, most store-bought broth (or stock) includes ingredients that aren’t healing. Always read the labels before purchasing any store-bought brand.

You can even go on a bone broth fast for one to three days. This helps your gut heal quicker since there’s no food irritating the gut lining. I’ve done this quite a few times, I always know it’s working because my complexion looks really good.

The GAPS diet recommends drinking a cup of bone broth with every meal to heal your gut. The introduction phase consists of consuming up to a quart per day. If you aren’t a fan of bone broth include it in your food to hide the taste such as:

• Casseroles
• Cauliflower rice
• Marinade, on meats
• Mashed sweet potatoes
• Soups
• Stews

How to Prepare Your Vegetables

There is controversy as to whether cooked or fresh vegetables are better. However, fresh vegetables have more fiber which is important for gut health and helps you feel better in the long run.

When you’re suffering from digestive issues certain vegetables can irritate your gut. There are two different kinds of vegetables, soluble fiber, and insoluble fiber, and both are important. Soluble fiber dissolves easily and is soothing to your gut. Insoluble fiber is rougher and it can be damaging to an inflamed gut.

If you find yourself having digestive problems, such as bloating. You may need to back off on the number of vegetables you’re eating. It helps if you eat insoluble fiber foods one at a time and with other soluble fiber foods.

Remove the stems from the broccoli. Make sure the insoluble vegetables are finely chopped. Then cook, steam, or boil the vegetables so they are tender and easy to digest.

Insoluble fiber –

• Bell peppers
• Bok choy
• Broccoli
• Brussel sprouts
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Dark leafy greens
• Eggplant
• Garlic, leeks, onions, scallions, shallots
• Garlic

Soluble fiber –

• Beets
• Carrots
• Parsnips
• Plantains
• Rutabagas
• Summer squash
• Sweet potatoes
• Taro
• Turnips
• Winter squash
• Yams
• Yuca

Your goal is to eat as many vegetables as possible especially dark leafy greens. It’s okay to start out slow when you’re having digestive problems. If you start feeling any discomfort back off a bit. Instead, slowly begin to increase your vegetable intake.

Herbal Tea

Some herbal teas are great to help you start feeling better such as soothing your gut. Ginger, peppermint, and chamomile are good choices. You can even make your own by adding sliced ginger and sliced lemon to water, steeped in a small pot. One of my favorites is Lemon Ginger by Yogi.

Fermented Foods

Researchers discovered people with MS have more bad bacteria. They also have lower amounts of good bacteria compared to healthy people. Many people are eating more fermented foods to get good bacteria levels.

Fermented fruits and vegetables are beneficial when it comes to healthy gut bacteria. However, Ann Boroch recommends avoiding fermented foods. She says “they often create an allergic or sensitivity response, so it is beneficial to avoid them in the beginning of your treatment program.”

If you are not used to eating fermented foods you may need to start slowly. The GAPS diet starts people out with only a teaspoon of juice from sauerkraut each day. Then they slowly increase the amount.

 Some people drink a tablespoon in an eight-ounce glass of water. But that’s a little hard to swallow (literally), so I don’t recommend it.

Fermented foods:

• Apple cider vinegar
• Fermented vegetables (carrots, pickles, etc.)
• Kimchi
• Kombucha*
• Misco
• Sauerkraut
• Yogurt (non-dairy)

*Kombucha is a wild yeast and can cause a histamine reaction. Histamine is an allergic reaction. Avoid kombucha for a month then reintroduce it back into your diet. If your body reacts such as burping you should avoid it together until you are feeling better.

Probiotic Supplement

If you aren’t used to taking a probiotic supplement. Start with one that has lower amounts of live bacteria strains. I started out with one that only had 15 billion live bacteria cultures. And just like fermented foods you need to increase your probiotic strains slowly.

Eventually, you want to be taking a supplement with more live bacteria strains. You could even take two capsules per day and switch brands each time. This way you’re getting a different variety of bacteria.

In the end, make sure you are drinking enough water, eating lots of fiber, including omega-3’s, exercising, and don’t stress out.

Start Feeling Better

The best way to heal your gut is by eating lots of fruits and vegetables. People have become afraid of eating fruit, I was one of them, but all fruits are healing. Studies found fruit does not spike blood sugar and now recommend people with type 2 diabetes increase their fruit intake.

Fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants, fiber, minerals, and vitamins which help your body to heal. Many people with MS suffer from constipation by eating more fruits and vegetables helps relieve constipation.

To heal your leaky gut fast and start feeling better eat more fruits and vegetables. Plus, it will lower your risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. As the saying goes “an apple a day will keep the doctor away.”

Get Access to My Free Library!

Subscribe for free and I’ll send you the password to my secret library filled with many printables including the Gut Health Tracker for your wellness journey.

Want to remember this? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board!

Heal Your Leaky Gut Fast and Start Feeling Better