What I Would Focus On First for Gut Healing (Before Restricting More Foods)

When someone tells me their gut is struggling, one of the first things I want to know is:

How many foods have you already removed?

Because somewhere along the way, gut healing became almost synonymous with restriction.

• No gluten.

• No dairy.

• No grains.

• No sugar.

• No nightshades.

• Low FODMAP.

• Low histamine.

And sometimes removing a particular food is absolutely appropriate.

But I don’t want someone’s food list getting smaller and smaller without asking a much bigger question:

Why is your digestive system having difficulty in the first place?

If I were trying to support my own gut, I wouldn’t start by automatically eliminating another food.

I’d start by understanding what my digestive system needs.

First, I Want to Know What Is Actually Happening

“Gut issues” can mean a lot of different things.

So before doing anything, I’d get specific.

• Am I bloated?

• When does the bloating happen?

• Do I have reflux or heartburn?

• Am I constipated?

• Do I have loose stools?

• Am I alternating between the two?

• Do I have abdominal discomfort?

• Do I feel overly full after eating?

• Am I burping frequently?

• Do certain foods consistently bother me?

• Has my appetite changed?

• Do I see undigested food in my stool?

• How often am I having a bowel movement?

• Did something happen before these symptoms began?

• Illness?

• Antibiotics?

• Travel?

• A particularly stressful season?

• A major life change?

• A change in medications or supplements?

Those details matter.

I want to understand the pattern before deciding what the solution should be.

Then I Look at Whether I’m Actually Nourishing My Body

Before restricting more, I want to make sure I’m getting enough.

• Am I eating enough food?

• Enough protein?

• Enough carbohydrates?

• Enough healthy fats?

• Enough vitamins and minerals?

• Am I hydrated?

• Am I eating consistently?

• Have I become afraid of so many foods that eating itself has become stressful?

This is something I think gets missed in gut-healing conversations.

Sometimes we’re asking an under-nourished body to heal while continuing to take more away from it.

I don’t want to create a beautiful supplement protocol while overlooking whether the body has enough basic resources.

How I Think About Food Matters Too

I also pay attention to the relationship I have with the food I’m eating.

Because I can be eating something incredibly nourishing while simultaneously telling myself:

• This is going to make me bloated.

• This food is inflammatory.

• My body can’t handle this.

• This is going to hurt my stomach.

• I’m going to regret eating this.

• That creates a very different experience around a meal than sitting down believing:

• This food is nourishing me.

• My body knows how to receive and use these nutrients.

• My body is designed to heal.

I can listen to my body without being afraid of food.

I’m not saying that positive thoughts make a true food allergy, intolerance, gastrointestinal disease, or other medical condition disappear.

But I do think the beliefs, fear, and stress we bring to eating are worth paying attention to.

So I ask:

• Do I believe this food is nourishing me?

• Am I choosing this food from intention or fear?

• Do I trust my body to communicate with me?

• Do I believe my body is capable of healing?

• Have I become afraid of eating because of what I think might happen afterward?

I also think about where my food is coming from.

• How was it grown or raised?

• How processed is it?

• How does my body respond to it?

• Do I feel good about what I’m putting into my body?

And something else I personally value is taking a moment to pray over or bless my food.

For me, that might simply mean pausing before I eat and expressing gratitude for the nourishment in front of me and for everything my body is about to do with it.

It changes the way I enter the meal.

Instead of fear, rushing, or analyzing every bite, I can approach food with gratitude and intention.

Is This a Diet or the Way I Choose to Live?

I think the language we use matters too.

Am I constantly telling myself:

I’m on a diet.

Or have I made choices about how I want to nourish myself because they’re part of the lifestyle I want to live?

Those feel very different to me.

A diet can feel temporary, restrictive, and focused on what I can’t have.

A lifestyle asks:

How do I want to nourish and support my body consistently?

That doesn’t mean I have rigid rules or that every meal looks the same.

It means my choices are coming from how I want to live rather than constantly feeling like I’m depriving myself until I finally reach some finish line.

How Am I Eating?

This is just as important to me as what I’m eating.

• Am I sitting down?

• Am I eating while answering emails?

• Am I scrolling?

• Am I working?

• Am I eating in the car?

• Am I rushing through the meal because I have somewhere else to be?

• Am I barely chewing?

• Am I thinking about everything I need to accomplish while I’m eating?

• Or does my body actually have an opportunity to experience the meal?

Digestion is regulated in part by the autonomic nervous system. Stress doesn’t mean your body suddenly stops digesting, but nervous-system state can influence gastrointestinal function, including motility and digestive sensations.

So I pay attention to the environment I’m creating around meals.

• Sometimes gut support looks like taking a few slower breaths before eating.

• Putting the phone down.

• Sitting at the table.

• Chewing my food.

• Giving myself enough time to eat.

• And allowing nourishment to be the thing I’m doing instead of something I’m squeezing between everything else.

Then I Think About the Stomach

Before blaming the intestines for everything, I want to look upstream.

The stomach plays an important role in breaking down food before it ever reaches the small intestine.

I’m thinking about stomach acid and digestive function.

• How do I feel after protein?

• Do I feel excessively full after meals?

• Am I burping?

• Do I have reflux?

• Does food feel like it sits heavily?

• How well am I chewing?

• Am I eating incredibly quickly?

• Are medications or other factors potentially affecting digestion?

I don’t automatically assume that reflux means “too much stomach acid” or “too little stomach acid.” Reflux has multiple potential causes, and persistent symptoms deserve appropriate evaluation.

But I absolutely want to understand what’s happening earlier in digestion before focusing exclusively on the microbiome.

Motility Matters

Then I want to know whether things are actually moving.

• How often am I having a bowel movement?

• Do I feel completely emptied afterward?

• Am I constipated?

• Am I straining?

• Am I having loose or urgent stools?

• Does my bowel pattern change depending on stress, travel, my menstrual cycle, or what I’m eating?

• Do I know how to let go?

• Do I know how to receive and absorb what nourishes me?

Digestion isn’t only about breaking food down.

The gastrointestinal tract also needs coordinated movement to move its contents through the digestive system.

If motility isn’t functioning well, that’s something I want to understand.

Elimination Is Part of Gut Healing Too

I also don’t separate digestion from elimination.

If I’m talking about detoxification, hormones, bile, the microbiome, or gut health, I want to know what’s happening on the other end.

• Am I eliminating regularly?

• Am I hydrated?

• Am I getting adequate fiber for my individual needs?

• Am I moving my body?

• Am I ignoring the urge to have a bowel movement because I’m busy?

• Does constipation seem to be part of the bigger pattern?

I don’t want to continually add products intended to “move things out” without asking whether the body’s normal routes of elimination are functioning appropriately.

I Look at the Liver + Gallbladder

This is another reason I don’t think gut health begins and ends in the intestines.

The liver produces bile, and the gallbladder stores and concentrates it before releasing it into the small intestine.

Bile plays an important role in fat digestion and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.

So I might ask:

• How do I feel after eating fats?

• Do heavier meals bother me?

• Do I experience nausea or discomfort after eating?

• Is there a history of gallbladder issues?

• Is there anything else happening with digestion that makes me want to investigate further?

Again, I’m not diagnosing a bile or gallbladder problem based on symptoms alone.

I’m deciding whether another part of the digestive process deserves attention.

Then I Think About the Microbiome

The microbiome matters.

But I don’t think every person with bloating needs to immediately begin taking probiotics.

The gastrointestinal microbiome is incredibly complex, and more isn’t necessarily better.

I want to know the bigger picture.

• What has this person’s diet looked like?

• Have there been antibiotics?

• Travel?

• Illness?

• Significant dietary restriction?

• How is motility?

• How is digestion?

• What symptoms are actually occurring?

Depending on the situation, targeted testing may provide useful information.

And sometimes symptoms warrant evaluation for conditions that can’t be solved by simply adding probiotics or eliminating another food.

Before Removing Another Food, I Want Evidence

This is probably the biggest thing I want people to take away from this blog.

If a food consistently causes a clear reaction, I’m paying attention.

But I don’t want to remove foods simply because they’re on somebody else’s “inflammatory foods” list.

I’d rather ask:

• What happens when I eat this?

• Is the response consistent?

• How quickly does it happen?

• What symptoms occur?

• Does preparation make a difference?

• Does quantity matter?

• Does the same thing happen every time?

• Is there another explanation that needs to be investigated?

And if we’re intentionally using a therapeutic elimination diet, I want there to be a reason, a plan, and ideally a thoughtful reintroduction process when appropriate.

The goal shouldn’t automatically be to tolerate fewer and fewer foods forever.

I Pay Attention to the Nervous System

The gut and nervous system communicate continuously.

So if digestion is struggling, I’m also asking what the nervous system is navigating.

• How much stress am I under?

• How much chaos exists in my everyday life?

• Am I constantly rushing?

• Do I ever slow down?

• Am I eating while stressed?

• Do I feel safe enough to actually rest?

• Am I sleeping?

• Am I always anticipating the next thing that needs my attention?

• Is my body continually adapting to other people’s needs?

Sometimes we become so focused on finding the perfect gut supplement that we overlook the environment the gut is functioning within every single day.

Then There Is the Emotional + Energetic Layer

Because of the way I practice, I also leave room for what may be happening emotionally.

I might ask:

• What am I having difficulty digesting emotionally?

• Is there something happening in my life that I can’t seem to process?

• What feels hard to stomach?

• Am I carrying worry or anxiety in my gut?

• Am I holding onto something I’m ready to eliminate?

• Am I absorbing other people’s emotions or energy?

Those aren’t medical explanations for gastrointestinal symptoms.

They’re questions I use within my energetic framework to explore whether another layer wants attention.

Sometimes something comes forward.

Sometimes it doesn’t.

I don’t force an emotional meaning onto a physical symptom.

And if intestinal permeability, often referred to as “leaky gut,” is part of the physical conversation, I may explore another layer within my energetic framework:

• Do I believe my gut can heal?

• Do I believe my body is capable of repairing and restoring itself?

• Have I acknowledged and processed past experiences of abandonment?

• Is there an abandonment pattern that still feels active in my emotional body?

Abandonment is one of the emotional patterns I may personally explore in connection with the digestive system and energetic healing. It is not an established medical cause of intestinal permeability, and acknowledging abandonment isn’t a treatment for a gastrointestinal condition.

But if that pattern comes forward for me, I want to give it attention alongside whatever physical support my body needs.

I don’t think we have to choose between the two.

I can support digestion, nourishment, motility, elimination, and the microbiome while also becoming curious about what my emotional body may still be holding.

Learning to Choose What’s Right for You

If you’re reading all of this and thinking, How do I actually know what’s right for my body?, that’s part of why I created The EA Method: From Emotional Eating to Self-Trust.

It’s a 7-week guided process designed to help you recognize your body’s signals, understand what they may be connected to, and respond in a way that actually supports you.

This isn’t about giving you another diet, protocol, or set of food rules to follow.

It’s about helping you stop second-guessing your choices and begin developing the awareness and self-trust to determine what feels highest and best for your body.

You can move through the course as a live experience, which will be offered next year, or reach out to me about the self-guided option, which includes two private calls with me for additional support and integration.

Because ultimately, I don’t want you to leave this blog with another list telling you what you should or shouldn’t eat.

I want you to become better at understanding your body, recognizing its patterns, and trusting yourself enough to respond to what it’s communicating.

I May Look at Different Organs Within the Digestive System

Rather than simply saying “the gut,” I may muscle test different areas individually.

• The stomach.

• Small intestine.

• Large intestine.

• Liver.

• Gallbladder.

• Pancreas.

And I may look at the nervous system and other systems outside the digestive tract too.

• Where is the priority?

• What seems to need support first?

• Is there something upstream affecting what’s happening downstream?

That’s one of the reasons sequencing matters so much to me.

I don’t necessarily want to support everything at once.

I want to understand what the body is asking me to address first.

Want to Go Deeper Into the Nervous System + Food Connection?

If the connection between your nervous system, digestion, and your experience with food resonated with you, I created two resources to help you explore this further.

If you want a simple daily practice:
The EA Method | Daily Food + Body Check-In Guide is a $27 downloadable guide designed to help you pause, notice what your body is communicating, and make food and lifestyle decisions from awareness rather than reaction.

If you want to understand the deeper connection:
The Energy You Eat In | A Nervous System Approach to Food and Nourishment is a $97 downloadable module that explores how your nervous system, environment, and internal state may influence your experience with food.

Neither is a diet plan or another set of food rules.

They’re designed to help you become more curious about your body, notice your patterns, and build greater awareness around what actually supports you.

[Explore the Daily Food + Body Check-In Guide]

[Explore The Energy You Eat In]

Testing Can Be More Useful Than Guessing

If symptoms are persistent, significant, or changing, I also think there’s value in getting appropriate information.

Depending on the symptoms and clinical situation, that may involve bloodwork, stool testing, breath testing, imaging, or evaluation for gastrointestinal conditions.

Not everyone needs every test.

But I don’t want to spend years continually removing foods and buying supplements while ignoring something that could have been appropriately evaluated.

Muscle testing is something I personally use for body awareness and energetic assessment.

It isn’t a substitute for medical diagnostic testing.

There is a place for both within the way I think about the body.

What I Would Focus On First

If my gut suddenly wasn’t doing well, I wouldn’t start with a giant protocol.

I’d come back to the basics.

• Am I eating enough?

• Am I adequately nourished?

• Am I hydrated?

• Am I chewing my food?

• Am I giving myself enough time to eat?

• How is my nervous system around meals?

• How is my stomach functioning?

• How is my motility?

• Am I eliminating regularly?

• How am I tolerating fats?

• Does my liver or gallbladder need further consideration?

• Are there obvious patterns with particular foods?

• Is there something that needs testing or medical evaluation?

And then I’d decide what comes next.

• Maybe a particular food genuinely needs to come out for a period of time.

• Maybe I need digestive support.

• Maybe I need to support motility.

• Maybe I need more nourishment, not less.

• Maybe the microbiome needs attention.

• Maybe my nervous system needs support.

• Maybe something completely different comes forward.

But I want the intervention to follow the information.

Not the other way around.

I Keep Communicating With My Body

There’s another piece of gut healing that matters to me just as much as what I’m eating or what support I’m using.

I pay attention to how I’m communicating with my body.

I talk to my cells.

I remind my body that it is supported, that it is capable of healing, repairing, and restoring and that I’m listening rather than fighting against it.

And if emotions are coming forward, I allow myself to acknowledge, process, and release what feels ready rather than assuming gut healing is only a physical process.

I may ask:

• What am I holding onto?

• Is there an emotion my body is ready to release?

• Has fear become attached to a particular food?

• Do I need to change the way I’m viewing food?

• Am I making this choice because it genuinely supports me, or because I’m afraid of what will happen if I don’t?

• Do I believe my body can receive and use the nourishment I’m giving it?

And when I’m deciding what to eat, what remedy to use, or what support to focus on next, I personally use muscle testing to ask what is in my highest and best interest at this time.

• Not what was right for me six months ago.

• Not what someone on the internet says everyone should be doing.

• Not what I think I should need.

• What does my body need right now?

Our bodies are incredibly intelligent.

They are communicating with us all day long.

For me, gut healing is partly about becoming quiet enough to listen, trusting what I’m noticing, and being willing to change course when my body gives me new information.

• That might mean changing what I eat.

• It might mean adding something back.

• It might mean releasing an emotion.

• It might mean changing a belief I’ve been carrying about food or my body.

And sometimes it means recognizing that I need testing, medical evaluation, or support beyond what I can determine for myself.

The goal isn’t to control my body into healing.

It’s to create a relationship with my body where I can listen, respond, and support it.

Gut Healing Doesn’t Have to Begin With Taking More Away

I understand why restriction becomes appealing.

When your stomach hurts, you’re bloated, you’re uncomfortable after eating, or you don’t know what your body will tolerate from one day to the next, removing foods can feel like something you can control.

And sometimes removing a food provides important relief.

But I don’t want fear to become the foundation of someone’s relationship with food.

Food is nourishment.

Your digestive system is designed to receive food, break it down, absorb nutrients, and move waste toward elimination.

So when something isn’t working well, I want to understand where that process may need support.

Sometimes gut healing requires removing something.

But sometimes it requires adding something back.

• More nourishment.

• More minerals.

• More hydration.

• More consistency.

• More time to eat.

• More support for digestion.

• More movement.

• More rest.

• More information.

And maybe even more trust in your body’s ability to communicate what it needs.

Before I ask the body to tolerate less, I want to understand what it might need more of.

XOXO,

Dr. Elizabeth + Luna

Gentle Disclaimer

The products and practices shared here are examples from my personal wellness approach and are provided for educational purposes only.

They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent illness.

Seek appropriate medical care for severe, concerning, persistent, or worsening symptoms, and consult an appropriate healthcare professional before using products for children, during pregnancy or breastfeeding, with medications, or with existing health conditions.

Where to Find Additional Support

If you’re looking for remedies to support digestion, gut health, or the emotional and energetic patterns you may be exploring alongside them, you can explore the flower essences I use through my LotusWei affiliate link.  I receive a small commission when you purchase through this link, at no additional cost to you.

You can also create an account through my Fullscript or Doctor Supplement Store (Registration Code: EA4258) dispensaries to explore the other remedies and nutritional support I use in my practice.

As always, what is appropriate for one person may not be appropriate for another. I personally use body awareness and muscle testing to help determine what support may be appropriate for me rather than assuming everyone needs the same gut-healing protocol.