Listen to the Podcast
From Healthy Gut to Great Butt, #77
Download the podcast on iTunes, you can rate and review it here! Download the podcast on Stitcher
Show Notes
Dr. Grace Liu, the Gut Goddess is on the podcast with us today. We’re exploring how having a healthy gut microbiome can lead to having a great butt.
Dr. Grace Liu was in conventional pharmacy with drugs and prescriptions. Like a lot of her patients, she was following the SAD (standard American diet), and was getting fatter and fatter every year.
She ended up having some very bad medical problems due to birth control, adrenal dysregulation, Hashimoto’s (but naturally reversed it), and became very overweight, fatigued and tired. She figured out that pharmaceuticals were not helping her health, and completely dived into bugs vs. drugs.
We have good and bad bacteria growing in our guts. Dr. Liu teaches a microbiome protocol and brings back what is missing to regrow our tissues, all these things we need to restore our health.
What do ladies need to know about the gut microbiome?
Dr. Liu works with a lot of female executives, multi-tasking moms and athletes, sharing how to have the perfect microbiome.
Our microbiome builds our health, and diversity is always better. She looks at what is a liability in the gut with testing. Technology is in its infancy, it can only tell us so much. At least the cost is coming down, but it’s still at around $5,000 for this testing.
She looks at what is dragging the gut down. Antibiotics can wipe out a lot of good things and we need to replenish with probiotics and foods that contain lots of probiotics.
Same with exercise. We need to go hiking, go to the gym, different things in nature where there’s different types of soils and bacteria.
Many executives now work from home and may never leave the house. So our immunity isn’t helped when we are not exposing our guts to these bacteria.
People used to care for ranches, and grow their own veggie gardens, weed their own yard, mow the lawn and not add stuff to water. Not anymore. Dandelions are a superfood and yet we have created a bunch of pesticides to kill them.
The Biggest Mistake We’re Making to our Microbiome in Modern Day
There is a strain that most of us don’t have. We can only get it from the legacy of our mother because we get it through vaginal birth. So many people today are missing this because of regularly scheduled c-sections. This same bacteria makes us happy and keeps us in a good mood.
This bacteria, if we have it can get lost over time, but we can resurrect it with the right probiotics.
Autoimmune conditions, cancer and diabetes are just a few diseases that start in our gut.
Top 3 Tips to Improve our Gut Health
- We need to move. Most of us are very sedentary, especially those of us who are working from home. We’re talking aerobic infusion, get to 60 to 80% of heart rate. It makes our microbiome happy.
- Take a probiotic. Doesn’t matter what time of day you take it, just take it. There are some that are better on an empty stomach. Our ancestors took probiotics too…it’s called DIRT!
- Fuel it. Bad flora likes sugar. Dr. Grace gives us a list of superfoods that make our gut happy.
Great Superfoods for Good Gut Health
Brown or red rice or quinoa, these become fibers for us.
Lentils or beans when they’re combined with rice.
Red potatoes, yams, root/tuber vegetables.
Lemon juice, or vinegars with green salad.
Berries, multicolored vegetables and greens.
Spirulina, chlorella and sea weed (algae) are also GREAT for the gut and awesome source for minerals.
Check out this interview with Catharine Arnston, all about algae and it’s benefits. In this article you can read all the nutrition you can find in spirulina algae tablets, ENERGYbits, helps eliminate fatigue and hunger instantly, improves energy, wellness and your waistline all at the same time.
What is SIBO and How do You Recognize it?
SIBO is an acronym for Small Intestinal Bowel Overgrowth. It means the small intestine has a lot of overgrowth in it. We can clean it very slowly over time.
We can tell we have it with cravings because we’re not absorbing our nutrients when we eat.
How to Cure SIBO – Dr. Grace’s 7-Steps
- Step One – Eat Fermented Foods
- Step Two – Eat Resistant-Starch-Rich Tubers, Grains, Legumes and Pulses
- Step Three – Eat Soil-Based Probiotics
- Step Four – Eat BIONIC FIBER and Burn Body Fat
- Step Five – Exercise low-moderate intensity one hour daily continuously (10,000 steps)
- Step Six – Avoid allergenic foods (corn, soy, gluten/wheat, dairy, nuts, egg whites, etc). Avoid GMO products and livestock/poultry fed GMO crops (corn, soy, etc)
- Step Seven – Heal hormones and immunity — take adrenal support, liver support, antioxidants etc
SIFO- Small Intestinal Fungal Overgrowth. No one is talking about it yet, but this is far worse.
People who have had antibiotics have a lot more overgrowth than other people. They don’t necessarily have symptoms. It comes up as mental fog, PMS, cystic ovarian disease, fibroids, acne, schizophrenia, etc.
Does Wine and Alcohol affect our Gut Health?
Studies show that even a little bit of alcohol can hurt the gut if it’s already unhealthy. If gut health is good, then it’s no problem.
Alcohol can cause brain fog. Dr. Grace offers some ideas of what you can take to protect yourself before you drink so you don’t feel the effects in your stomach and head. Same tips can be applied when eating gluten and dairy, especially when traveling.
Check out this interview for more information on organic, non-toxic wines, and this article to find out what the toxins in wine does to our bodies.
Dr. Grace’s take on Vaccinations
Babies don’t have an immune system. Babies immune system is mom’s milk. So there’s no sense in giving babies vaccines from day one.
Studies show that flu vaccines are not effective to do what they say they’re doing, compared to the placebo. When we inject all the mercury and aluminum that is in the vaccination, it’s really bad for our bodies. Sometimes they even contain allergens that some of us are sensitive to like dairy and gluten.
To protect from flu, have a great microbiome. There’s a lot we can do to fix it. We can even do it on our own.
Dr. Grace uses a lot of mushrooms, it’s good fungus and are super anti-candida and anti-fungal.
Dr. Grace’s Ebook, Magic in Your Microbiome offers some great insight.
3 Habits the Gut Goddess has Developed to Ensure Healthy Gut Microbiome
- Lots of fiber
- Probiotics- Control is a great one that helps control weight as well
- Workout daily- tries for one hour a day, even if it’s just walking the dog, gym, lifting, running, kickboxing, dance to music and meditation.
Grace Liu, PharmD, AFMCP, Functional Medicine Practitioner:
Links and Resources
-
- Find Dr. Grace on her educational platform at thegutinstitute.com
- There you will find classes for women on fibroid cysts, PMS, blasting body fat, fatigue and brain fog.
- If you’re a practitioner, she also has conferences to teach her protocols.
- Recommended digital resource: Headsuphealth.com, connects all your wearables and health apps so you can analyze all your data in one place. You can even share it with your doctor.
- Did you catch our last podcast episode? Supercharge Your Life with Algae…Seriously!
Hi! I was wondering if you were able to post Dr. Grace’s smoothie recipe?
Thank you…..LOVED this podcast. SUPER helpful.
Hi CK,
No yet. We have sent a message, but have not heard back. I know she’s been super busy! As soon as I hear back from her, I will be sure to post on here for you!
Grace Liu is brilliant and I love how she practices functional medicine like traditional medicine.
Hi there!
Also interested in the smoothie recipe(s) that were mentioned about being linked, thank you!