How to fix your gut in 90 days

Do you want to know the biggest breakthrough I’ve had in years when it comes to healing my gut? Keep on reading and you’ll find out the 90-day protocol which has improved my digestion 100%.

First a bit of background. 

I’ve struggled with digestion issues for a long time. To be honest, I believed digestion was the root cause of my illness, which caused a knock-on effect of leaky gut, autoimmune issues, and chronic fatigue. Back then, I didn’t pay attention to my digestion, and when I say digestion, what I really mean is — I didn’t pay attention to my poop.

 #sorrynotsorry – This post may be a little poop-heavy, but it’s important to understand your digestion system and how it works, all the way to the end result.

Maybe this sounds familiar to you, but my digestive experience consisted of…

• Loose stools with a daily occurrence of undigested food in the poop. 
• Clearing out public spaces due to bad (smelly) gas.
• Constant gut issues, even though I was practicing all the healthy eating advice I could find!

Does this sound like you? 

If so, I really recommend that you invest in your digestion. Learn why your stools are malformed and find a way to fix it. Because if you can’t digest your food well, then the optimal method of your body obtaining nutrients is broken.

Understanding what your poop (or stool) looks like is a cheap and easy way to assess the state of your digestion and the health of your gut. 

The best measure we have of a good stool is the Bristol Stool Chart. The comparison chart allows us to understand the health of our gut just by taking a glance in the toilet. 

For the most part, you want to be falling in that type 3,4 range, but there are still a few things to look out for.

Does your stool float or is it super stinky? 

Obviously, poop stinks. But the bathroom shouldn’t be unbearable to enter after you’ve been. Sure, a little smelly, but if the smell makes you want to pass out, something might be wrong. 

Usually, a bad smell comes in combination with type 5+ on the Bristol Stool Chart. You might even notice that your stool is floating. This is usually an indication that you’re not digesting fat properly. If this is a regular occurrence you want to do something about it.

Are there oil slicks in the toilet after you’ve done your business?

This sounds pretty weird if you haven’t experienced it before. Building on the previous point, if you’re failing to digest fat, you may well be seeing oily patches in the toilet water. It’s just another sign that you need to sort out your digestion. 

Is there undigested food in your stool?

Do you see sweetcorn in your poop? Well, that’s pretty normal, we don’t have the enzymes to break down the husk of the sweetcorn. That also applies to lots of seeds too. But do you notice other pieces of undigested food? And is it often?

If so then you’ve probably got an issue in your gut that’s blocking your ability to digest your food. 

If you are concerned with your digestion, seek your doctor’s advice. Poor digestion can lead to all sorts of problems, and some of the points we’ve discussed may be immediate issues, so go and seek medical advice. To add to that, I am not a licensed physician, and I’m not here to give you medical advice, I’m just a runner that’s interested in health.

After plenty of research and due diligence on digestive health, I took the plunge and invested in my digestion. I’m happy to say that months on from my intensive 90-day protocol I’m still reaping the benefits. All I needed was a special combination of digestive enzymes, probiotics, and HCL. And I’ll break down how those help digestion below.

* Please note, there will be completely shameless plugs for a specific digestive health brand below. I’m 100% happy with the result I’ve had and I’m confident with suggesting them. If you click through the links on this page, I will be earning some affiliate money. If you do buy through those links, I can’t thank you enough. You’re the reason why this blog is alive!

Digestive Enzymes

Digestive enzymes are necessary for digestion. They are the catalyst that helps break down the food you consume into absorbable molecules. That’s why your body naturally attempts to create all the enzymes you require to digest food adequately. 

The problem is, when you’re chronically ill, overeating, or on a heavy workout regime, your body’s enzyme supply can fall short. And when this happens, the food that entered your digestive system fails to get broken down. 

When a shortage of digestive enzymes occurs you will not be adequately digesting your food. This can lead to stool issues previously mentioned. In addition, you won’t be nourishing your body with all the essential nutrients to thrive! That’s how a disease state can begin.

If you want to learn more about digestive enzymes, I’ve written a whole blog post that dives deep into the topic.

Probiotics

Probiotics are big news today. You’ll find them everywhere and they’re used to fix so many problems in the gut – which is exactly why they are used for digestive health. 

In our gut, we have tons of different bacteria – some good, some bad. To keep our gut healthy we need to keep those bad guys in check. And that’s what we’re doing by taking probiotics. For a more in-depth technical explanation, you can check out the bulletproof blog.

The probiotics I suggest aim to starve out the bad bacteria and help the good guys in your gut to regain control. 

HCL (BETAINE HYDROCHLORIDE)

HCL supplements are used to increase the levels of stomach acid. In the US, studies have shown that over 22% of people suffer from low stomach acid. 

When we have low stomach acid, we start to suffer from issues like heartburn, poor digestion, and food intolerances. This can lead to poor results in our stool. 

So how do you know if you have low stomach acid? Well, luckily there’s a simple test we can do at home. 

Mix 1/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) in water (about 6 oz) and drink on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning, before eating or drinking.

If you have enough stomach acid, belching should occur within 2 – 3 minutes. Early and repeated belches might be due to excessive stomach acid, but they also could be due to swallowing air when drinking the solution (this sort of belching tends to be smaller belches). If ‘normal’ belching doesn’t occur until after 3 minutes, stomach acid is low. 

If you have determined that you have low stomach acid try some HCL, if not just skip the HCL. You don’t want to raise your stomach acid levels to high levels. 

If you get loose stools after using HCL your stomach acid levels are too high. Stop taking the HCL. 
More advice on HCL can be found at Ben Greenfield Fitness.

Now that we know how digestive enzymes, probiotics, and HCL can help our digestive health, what protocol should we follow? 

After hearing some knowledgeable discussions from the two founders of Bioptimizers on various podcasts, I decided to reach out to their team. I explained how I was trying to fix my gut and digestion, and the help I received from their team was amazing. 

They put together the plan that actually worked – and this coming from a pretty skeptical person (me), so I am not saying this lightly. But I am really excited to share my results with you.  

I will admit, it wasn’t cheap, but after 90 days my digestion has improved so much it was well worth the investment. Luckily, they’ve given a special discount to help.

FYI: I did pay for the 90-day protocol in full, and this post is not sponsored by Bioptimizers. I am only receiving affiliate revenue through your purchases.

I took these capsules over the course of 90 days. I will say that it wasn’t an overnight change, but I’m now sitting here writing this 4 months after the protocol and I’m confident that my digestive issues are behind me. 

No more embarrassments at gatherings where I stink the place out.
No more rushing to the toilet because my gut’s rejecting the food I am feeding it.
A ton more confidence that the food I put in my body is fully digested.

For even BIGGER savings on Bioptimzers products, check out my Bioptimizers Review.

If you have gut issues or digestion issues, I really suggest you consider the protocol from Bioptimizers. The great thing is that you can feel and see the difference in your stool, so you know things are changing. 

I now have a bottle of Masszymes and P3OM on standby when I’m going to eat a heavy meal or if I feel a little gut discomfort. I also regularly take Bioptimizers HCL because I found that my stomach acid levels tested low. This is why I’m super confident in suggesting their products, and soon I think you’ll be singing their praises.