Cori (00:00):
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks Podcast. This is a show where I share all my free work, workout, and nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a review or leave a five star rating or even better share with somebody you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone. So let’s jump right in. Our body is really all these systems that have to work together for us to see the best results as fast as possible. And too often we don’t pay attention to some of the internal things going on until it’s too late and we have problems and then we’re like, oh no, because of this thing, I can’t see results in this area. But what we have to recognize that is a lot of those things, our gut health, our hormone balance, are all due to how we’re fueling and even how we’re training in some of our lifestyle practices. So that’s why I’m super excited today to dive in with Rebecca into our gut health and what we can do to improve it through micronutrients. So welcome, Rebecca. Thanks for joining me for the first time today.

Rebecca (01:05):
Thank you so much. I’m so excited to talk to you today.

Cori (01:09):
Well, Rebecca is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to our gut microbiome and what we need to do to improve our health of it. Rebecca, I just want to jump right in. Can you talk to us a little bit about how we can improve our nutrition to really see improvements in our gut health and even why our gut health is so important to pay attention to?

Rebecca (01:28):
Love that. Yes. So we want this diverse range of nutrients to give our gut the very, very most fuel for that microbiome. And there are specific vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that have been shown to directly improve our digestion, our microbiome, and to really help rebuild and repair some of the systems that naturally get damaged as we eat and live and work out. And so we really want to stay cognizant of what we’re putting into our body.

Cori (02:06):
It’s basically like thinking of our body as this high performance sports car. And I don’t know why I go to this analogy. I don’t really know that much about cars, but you don’t want to put in that low grade fuel when you need that high quality fuel to be able to function. Otherwise you’re not going to see the best results as fast as possible. And I love that you touched on diversity. So jumping into the diversity, what would be that first micronutrient that you would have people focus on if they really want to improve their gut health?

Rebecca (02:32):
Oh, that’s a great question. So if I had to pick one, I would start with fiber because that is the direct food for the good bacteria in your gut. It regulates your digestive processes, it elimination, you get the most bang for your buck when you focus on fiber first.

Cori (02:55):
And so fiber, it’s one of those common ones that people bring up a lot. They’re like, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Rebecca, I know about fiber now diving in a little bit more because I think sometimes we don’t consider some of the other vitamins and minerals that might have an impact. And if we’re deficient in one or we have a nutritional gap that can have a greater far reaching impact even than just our gut health. So I noticed you mentioned zinc and vitamin B is two you wanted to touch on today. Can you go into why these are very important for our gut health?

Rebecca (03:27):
Absolutely. So zinc is a major player in the creation of DNA and the growth of cells, building proteins, healing damage tissue, and supporting an overall healthy immune system because your immune system really does start in your gut. And B, vitamins also help regulate digestion. And I feel like those are two that are really slept on because we hear about B vitamins for energy and mood. We don’t hear about them as much for digestion. And that broad range of all of the B vitamins is so key for that.

Cori (04:01):
And it’s key too, thinking about this, you bring up B vitamins for energy, and so someone might even be taking some of those or considering taking some of those because they’re seeing an impact in their energy. And if you’re also seeing something that’s going on with your gut, there’s sort of the double whammy, right? The more we can think about all the overlap between these different micronutrients that we’re including, the more we can fill our nutritional gaps to see better results. So if someone’s like, okay, great, this sounds really good. I want to increase these two micronutrients, what foods can they turn to be able to increase their intake of zinc and vitamin B?

Rebecca (04:34):
I would start with poultry and seafood. And then for our plant-based girlies, I would start with chickpeas. They’re really going to have the higher concentration so you don’t have to eat quite as much volume to get the baseline levels that we’re looking for. And I also like to make the distinction between you might be supplementing B vitamins already, but if you’re not digesting them, your body’s not using them. So it’s just another plug for focusing on our gut health because we can supplement with absolutely everything, but if it’s not being utilized by your body, then it’s just a waste product with everything else.

Cori (05:18):
It really is thinking about those micronutrients not just in isolation, but how they play in, and even the food forms that they do come in and the other things that those food sources might have. Just even like you often see magnesium complimenting zinc in different things, and I know magnesium is really important for our gut. Can you go into why that’s also a key micronutrient?

Rebecca (05:38):
Yes. So there’s at least seven different forms of magnesium. There might be more now, I don’t know, but specifically magnesium citrate for gut health and digestion, that is a vital role in maintaining gut motility, meaning how your food moves through your digestive system. It’s a process called peristalsis. So I don’t want to bore everyone by getting down into the nitty gritty of it, but it’s basically the wavelike contractions of your body that moves the food through your digestive tract. So we don’t want our food to hang in our body for any longer than necessary. We have this super intricate system that is already set up for us that we don’t have to think about, thank goodness. So to give that a boost, we want to focus on magnesium citrate, and it’s really found in leafy green vegetables, nuts, seeds, and again, the diversity of those not only having the same leafy greens every day, but having different forms and different types.

Cori (06:46):
Diversity really is so key because it keeps us wanting to hit our macros, it keeps our meals interesting, and then it really does help us make sure that we’re hitting micros in a way that benefits us fully. And I have to say, you missed an opportunity to be like, you don’t want to go over all the dirty details, but maybe that’s where my brain goes. But also with that, I think it’s really key to highlight how important magnesium is for the clearing of our gut and that motility just because we think so often of fiber only, and if you’re increasing your fiber intake and you’re not necessarily seeing the results that you want, that’s where you might want to dig in further to some of those other micros. Moving on from that vitamin A really key why.

Rebecca (07:29):
So I like to think of vitamin A as the mis congeniality of the vitamins. She is besties with all the others. She’s the friend of the party that’s like, hi, this is my friend. They do this. This is my other friend. She is putting things together in a way to influence our immune system function and regulating certain cell responses. So that is a great one. We hear about vitamin A for our eyes, we don’t hear about it as much for gut health, so I always like to make sure to mention that we do need that one as well.

Cori (08:11):
I have to admit, I’ve never heard it called the mis congeniality of micros or vitamins, but I love that analogy or that reference just because I do think it goes back to how much everything really does work as a system. And so often when we’re thinking about these different vitamins, we might pick out one or a mineral and we’ll use it in isolation. Then we wonder why we’re not seeing the benefit of it fully because we’re not filling some other nutritional gap or we’re not getting it to work in the way that it should because there’s a missing component. So it really is key that we step back and go back to that diversity of fruits and vegetables and foods that we’re including, which is what foods would be helpful in terms of boosting your vitamin A content.

Rebecca (08:54):
The easiest ones going to be carrots and broccoli, and I feel like those are the ones that the majority of people are already familiar with and try to include in their diet. So I would say just bump that up a notch and pair the carrots and broccoli with the other nutrients as well. We don’t want single ingredient plates, we want the whole rainbow.

Cori (09:15):
It’s thinking about all these different things that we’re going through, and I gave this challenge in a previous live stream. How can you build a recipe with them thinking about the leafy greens, thinking about the poultry, thinking about the carrots, it’s how can you combine these different things to make a delicious meal so that it doesn’t feel like you’re having to cram all these different things in a different points Because a lot of them can overlap, even if it’s not necessarily a ton of something in one meal, it can still be delicious. Exactly. So off of that, some other foods that work pretty well if we’re building out this recipe also include vitamin D. Vitamin D is very popular. We all hear get out of the sun more, but also supplement. Why is vitamin D so important for our gut health?

Rebecca (09:57):
So I feel like by this point, enough people have heard the buzzwords of leaky gut. We’re familiar with that term now, even if it’s not always recognized in certain communities, but so that leaky gut they’re talking about is the mucosal layer of the gut, and we really, really want to keep that intact. It is so important. That is what keeps the good stuff in and keeps the bad stuff from infiltrating throughout the rest of your body. And so to maintain that mucosal barrier, that’s where vitamin D comes in. It helps maintain the physical and functional integrity of it, and there’s a very specific type of cells that it corresponds directly to, and it helps to modulate those tight junctions because again, going back to that phrase of leaky gut, if that barrier is broken and things can slide through, we want to keep that nice and tight. We want our nutrients in our body and we want to keep the bad stuff out. So we really want to maintain that integrity of the gut mucosal barrier.

Cori (11:12):
I also really like that this is about adding something in to improve that, because I think a lot of times when we have IVS, leaky gut, different intolerances, GI disturbances in general, we go to cutting out, oh, I’ve got to look at all these different foods, see what I’m intolerant to, and cut things out instead of saying, Hey, what’s one thing I might even be able to add in as I’m investigating how foods really impact me to see better results? And vitamin D, especially if we’re seeing GI disturbances as we’re going through menopause, can be incredibly important. Now I wanted to circle back. Oh, sorry, did you have, okay, well, I wanted to circle back to you brought up immune function, starting with the gut, and vitamin C is really key to gut health. Can you talk more about that? Because I think it’s something that we don’t often consider vitamin C immune system. Yeah, we go to that, but the impact in the gut I think is very interesting.

Rebecca (12:06):
Yes, I love this as well because we do, we see all the vitamin C things for immune boost and stuff like that, or what’s the brand name on emergency? But vitamin C is actually an antioxidant and it helps protect your cells against the effects of free radicals. So free radicals are kind of the broken down state of certain things in your body and there’s a variety of things, but as things get broken down, they just kind of wreak a little havoc in there. And so the vitamin C just kind of ties them up into a neat little bow and says, exit stage left,

Cori (12:46):
You have the best. I don’t know if they’re technically analogies, I should probably look up the definition of that, but the best way of putting it so that you can really remember what each micronutrient does. So I love that, Rebecca, but even talking about that, if we’re building this recipe, what foods can we include to get more vitamin C?

Rebecca (13:04):
So these are going to be things like citrus, tomatoes, peppers, and again, in that rainbow. So our oranges, our yellows, our reds, all of that highly pigmented color foods

Cori (13:21):
And vitamin C truly is slightly magical and that it helps with I immune function that helps with the gut, that antioxidant, which can help us recover faster. So all these things too, when you’re thinking about trying to fix one problem, even looking at the other things they can impact, you might realize that you have some of those other symptoms. And if you don’t, you might be looking at this whole list and be like, well, Rebecca and Corey, I don’t want to have to worry about all these different things. Find the one vitamin mineral, focus on fiber, focus on one thing that you feel like is going to hit a number of other things you have going on, because a lot of times there is overlap. Now with all of this, one of the things we often go to when we’re trying to improve our gut health or we’ve been told we need besides fiber is fermented foods. Can you talk a little bit about why? But also what if someone doesn’t like fermented foods? I like them. So I’m not saying this from personal experience, but what if someone doesn’t like them because they’re a little bit funky and different?

Rebecca (14:15):
Yes, exactly. There’s a little bit of a wang to it. So fermented foods are a great way to introduce new good bacteria into your microbiome, and the more diverse your bacteria is, the healthier and happier all the systems of your body are, and the better your digestion and overall quality is going to be. So some examples of fermented foods, sauerkraut, kombucha, kimchi, yogurt is a really great one, but it has to specify active cultures on the label. Apple cider. I feel like that’s the one that most people are the most familiar with. And yes, there is a very particular flavor profile that goes with these foods that takes some getting used to. So I always tell people, start slow. One to two, tablespoons is plenty. And then slowly increase from there and note how you feel along the way. And I say that with all of these things.

(15:16):
Note how you feel along the way. Don’t do 10 different things at one time because then you’re going to be like, well, I don’t know which one actually worked. So again, start slow and let yourself adjust to that flavor a little bit. I also like to compare it to things like coffee or alcohol. No one loved those the first time they tried them. You had to acquire the taste, and I would say let your body acquire the taste. Especially with things like apple cider vinegar, you can mix that into a dressing and hide it, so it’s a little sneakier. You can put things in yogurt, especially if we’re talking about a whole milk yogurt or a Greek yogurt, something like that, that has the act of cultures. There’s so much you can do with that, especially thinking in terms of a recipe. Some of the others are a little stronger. Flavor. Kombucha is actually, hang on again, which I am here for. I love some kombucha. We want to look for the low sugar kind because when it’s high sugar, that can kind of undo some of the good benefits. But yes, I say starch slow and let your body adjust to it just like it did with coffee,

Cori (16:32):
And don’t add 10 different things at once because then you don’t really know what worked or what you actually need. And then you’re stuck sort of doing all of them, or at least reversing out of that, and you potentially overwhelmed yourself with a lot of changes all at once. And amazingly, you might have caused yourself more issues because when we do make dramatic changes to our diet, our gut is going to respond to it. I mean, right?

Rebecca (16:55):
Yes. And very, very quickly. The gut is highly responsive. You can change your entire gut microbiome in a week. That’s how fast the changes take place, especially when introducing new strains of bacteria. At first, your body might be like, hold on, what have you done? But we can convince our body that it was in fact a good thing. If you give it some time, be patient, start slow and include that diversity. And I feel like everyone’s familiar with eating dairy, fruits and veggies. That has been from, oh goodness, what was I going to say? So it’s like that has been, I don’t want to say touted, but that has been broadcasted for decades now, eat your fruits and veggies. Yes. But when we understand the why behind what we’re doing with those fruits and veggies, it has so much more impact.

Cori (17:54):
And going into the why, because as much as I’d like to say we all care about our health because we do, we often look to make changes to our diet, to our workouts because we want to reach an aesthetic. Can you talk a little bit about the importance of gut health for reaching aesthetic goals? Because I think the more we have that other purpose to something, the more motivated we are to make a change.

Rebecca (18:19):
Oh, absolutely. So when we think about gut health, we immediately think of elimination and how that feels in your body. So when we think about aesthetic goals, how much easier would your aesthetic goals be to hit if you didn’t have to worry about constant bloating and gas and all of these icky gut issues that pop up? When we make drastic changes, if we focus on our gut health and really go at it from a place of nourishment, it can have a direct impact on those aesthetic goals and on the health goals, I’m also a huge proponent of if we chase health, aesthetics will follow. A healthy body is a fit body. So if we come at it from that perspective of I’m giving my body what it wants and needs, and we also have a little bit of patience, and let your body adjust to it and listen to those cues from your body, a lot of times people will find that their body whispers what it needs at first and then shouts. So if we can catch it while it’s still whispering, then our outcome is going to be greater.

Cori (19:37):
I like that shift in mindset to focusing on health and the aesthetics will come. Then I think sometimes it can be hard because we come in with one ultimate outcome we want, but the more we do that, the more we celebrate some of the other wins. But it also just speaks to how all the systems are so connected. If you’re eating your fruits and vegetables, you’re improving the quality of your health, but those foods have a higher thermic effect. The whole natural foods over the processed foods, which is going to help you see better fat loss results, it’s going to help you be able to use the nutrients more efficiently and gain that muscle and recover faster. You’re going to be treating your body in a way that all the systems are more efficient because you’re getting your body the fuel it needs. And the more efficient our system, the more balanced our hormones, the more everything’s working together, the better our aesthetic results, the better our health. So it really is so interconnected in terms of closing thoughts for someone like, okay, I’m sold on this. I want to hit all the different things Rebecca told me to hit. What would you recommend the first step be that they take to really start to improve their gut health?

Rebecca (20:37):
Eat the rainbow every color as often as you can. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, and you want to introduce as many good bacteria into your gut as possible because it’s not you are what you eat, it’s you are what you digest. And so if something is going on with your digestion where it is less than optimal, then that is a key indicator that we’re not digesting our food properly. So definitely keep an eye on how your gut feels. Notice which foods have a direct impact on your gut. I just spoke with a lady earlier today who said she can’t eat popcorn because every time she’s immediately bloated and feels terrible. So take note of things like that and add in the full rainbow of fruits and veggies and keep your digestion on its toes a little bit. We don’t want to only eat carrots every day. We don’t want to only eat broccoli every day. Let’s find as many sources of those colors as we can.

Cori (21:48):
And just to give a big shout out to what you basically tell people to do, it’s just track, which I’m a huge advocate of, but what gets measured gets managed, and the more you’re tracking not just those macros, but that food diversity, the more we can see is a meal timing impacting us? Is a load at a meal timing impacting us? Are we getting in foods that maybe don’t make us feel so good versus feeling like something’s out of our control or we can’t make a change? So the more we track, the more we can hit that diversity, we can make sure that we’re fueling well and we can eliminate things that don’t make us feel good. Rebecca, thank you so much for joining me today. These tips were incredibly helpful. Thanks for listening to the Fitness Hack Podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m never going to run sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a rating, review or share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes, and it would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone.

*Please Note: this transcript is auto-generated and there may be some errors in the transcript