If you don’t already know, let me explain exactly what dysbiosis is. Your digestive tract is host to billions and billions of bacteria, yeast, fungus, etc; both good and bad. For a healthy gut, it is all about balance. A healthy gut contains a balance of both good and bad bacteria, of bacteria to yeast, and so forth. When that balance exists, then each does its part to keep the others in check.

This healthy balance is somewhere on the order of 80% beneficial bacteria to 20% harmful bacteria. And typically there are the majority of bacteria to the minority of yeast and fungus.

But for many reasons, this balance can be thrown off. In our society, I can say with certainty that the two most common reasons are because of the Standard American Diet (SAD) full of processed food and sugar and the overuse of antibiotics.

SAD Diet

You see, the beneficial bacteria feed on many of the whole food fiber sources in your diet like inulin (plant or vegetable fiber). The harmful bacteria however feed on sugar. So with poor dietary choices, which is most often the case, consisting of few vegetables and an abundance of sugar it is easy to see how the harmful bacteria take charge. This results in a reversal of roles in the gut where the harmful bacteria make up the 80% and the beneficial bacteria a mere 20%. This is one way dysbiosis develops and can easily lead to Leaky Gut Syndrome.

Antibiotics

I think you would agree that antibiotics are very effective at killing bacteria that cause infection. But they are also just as effective at killing beneficial bacteria. When you use antibiotics you are literally wiping the slate clean in your gut. This leaves the re-growth of bacteria up to a rat race. Take into account the SAD diet and the lack of natural sources of beneficial bacteria in your diet and all odds are in favor of the harmful bacteria and yeast. This is why antibiotics are a major cause of leaky gut.

The Great Debate

There are many health practitioners who claim that correcting dysbiosis is as simple as adding a probiotic (beneficial bacteria) supplement to your daily regime. This would be true if the harmful bacteria and yeast were not overgrown. But that is rarely if ever the case, especially when leaky gut is present.

But still, many of the health practitioners do just that. They give you a bottle of probiotic pills and send you on your merry way. You jump with joy as you take them and begin to see signs of relief. You may even claim that your practitioner is a miracle worker. But what happens when you stop taking them? That’s right. Your problems come right back. So you might start another round of probiotics. This cycle continues and continues until you decide to either stick with probiotics permanently or you figure out that there is more going on inside your gut than you might realize.

The problem is that all of those harmful bacteria, yeast, and fungi are still there and still holding strong. The probiotic supplements are only providing you temporary relief but they still don’t have ability to take back control of your dysbiosis or leaky gut.

If you want true results, then you have to first correct the root of the problem. You have to do your part by following a proper leaky gut diet to help starve those harmful bacteria to give your probiotics a fighting chance at survival.

If you want to truly correct your dysbiosis, then you must first create an inhabitable environment for the beneficial bacteria to flourish.

In health and happiness,

Karen Brimeyer
Author of the Leaky Gut Cure

After I discovered my underlying gut problem I spent years being so afraid of food that I refused to eat out at any restaurant in fear of eating something that would trigger my symptoms. Living in fear of food is not living at all and I don’t want you to follow that same path.

You can still enjoy getting out of the house and eating at restaurants. You just have to be a little more careful about what you order. It isn’t that hard, it just takes a little getting used to.

Follow these simple rules and you won’t have worry about or wonder what you’re eating and whether or not it will impact your chronic symptoms.

Leaky Gut Diet Restaurant Tips

1. Stick to Meat and Vegetables

Meat and vegetables should make up the bulk of your leaky gut diet so it is best to stick with them when eating at a restaurant as well. Look for fish, chicken, turkey, beef, and lamb menu items. These menu items typically served with vegetables. Make sure you are getting an adequate amount of protein. Try to stick to less starchy vegetables like ordering a sweet potato instead of a white potato.

2. Get it Grilled, Poached, or Sautéed

When ordering your meat it is best to order it grilled, poached, or sautéed. Many restaurants fry their foods in trans-fats and/or vegetable oil which cause massive amounts of inflammation and should be avoided at all costs.

3. Forget the Bread and Pastas

Our culture has become very accustomed to bread and pasta with every meal. Restaurants love to give them to you because they are cheap filler foods with no real nutritional value. When avoiding gluten, these foods should be avoided. Don’t be afraid to ask the waiter/waitress to not bring the complimentary bread basket so it doesn’t become tempting.

4. Don’t be Afraid to Ask or Order Off Menu

If you aren’t sure how a particular dish is prepared, then ask the waiter/waitress. Food allergies are a big issue and liability for restaurants so if they don’t know, they should go to the kitchen and get the answers for you. Also, don’t be afraid to order something that isn’t on the menu. If you want something simple like a grilled chicken breast with vegetables, almost any restaurant will accommodate you.

5. Watch Out for Hidden Gluten

Hidden flours are in many menu items. They are typically used as a thickening agent for sauces and flavorings. Stay away from thick, creamy, and cheese sauces as much as possible.

6. Nicer Restaurants = Better Ingredients

Nicer restaurants know that better and fresher ingredients taste better. They typically use organic ingredients as much as possible. They also typically cook in healthier oils that don’t go rancid. Nice restaurants will never sacrifice quality for price.

7. Pass on the Alcohol

Alcohol is one of the driving factors behind intestinal permeability. Because of this, it should be avoided entirely on your leaky gut diet. You should love yourself enough to not give into the peer pressure. Odds are if you are out with others who are heavy drinkers, there is a good chance that they are suffering from chronic symptoms as well but they just aren’t ready or willing to deal with them yet.

Now that you have your leaky gut diet restaurant tips in hand you can enjoy a night out on the town without having to sacrifice your health or gut healing process.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these leaky gut diet tips to help you kick start the gut healing process.

In health and happiness,

Karen Brimeyer
Author of the Leaky Gut Cure

Before I go any further, I’ll tell you this great leaky gut diet tip.

If a food product has to use its packaging or other advertising to sell you then that alone should be a clue that you should not eat it!

Think about it… When is the last time you saw a marketing campaign or television commercial for apples? When you buy fresh meat at the store does it come in a box or does it have a bunch of bright colors and smiley faces all over it? When was the last time you had to read the print on a package of strawberries before deciding whether or not they are healthy?

It’s all about food psychology.

Your brain is pre-wired to know what foods are good for you and what you need. That is why when you see an apple by itself you eat it without question. It doesn’t need fancy advertising to sell you. All you need to see is that it looks and tastes like an apple. It is all natural instinct.

These other processed foods that come in all kinds of boxes and packages on the other hand have to spend millions of dollars in advertising and marketing to bypass your natural instinct and reprogram your brain to convince you to eat their processed foods. They play off the fact that your brain is programmed to interpret bright colors (naturally found in fruits & vegetables) as foods. So they mimic these colors and make them even brighter on their packaging to further confuse your instinct. Without the television commercials and bright colors you would probably walk right by them because your brain does not naturally interpret a cardboard box or plastic packaging as food.

So the next time you are strolling through the grocery store, keep this great leaky gut diet tip in the back of your mind. If the box jumps out at you then just keep walking until you are instinctually drawn to some natural and whole foods. I’d bet you would start seeing some improvement in your chronic symptoms.

In health and happiness,

Karen Brimeyer
Author of the Leaky Gut Cure