Gut Problems?

​Ever had gut issues?  I recently had an awful time with menopausal belly problems and immediately took matters into my own hands. I researched this topic extensively.  I’ve scoured the medical journals, listened to healthy podcasts, researched products, spoken to a doctor friend and experimented on myself to find a system that helps.  Gut problems are extremely common in the US.  Even the healthiest individuals do not get enough fiber in their daily diet.  Our food supply is not as nutritious as we think, even when we are eating whole natural foods.  Unfortunately, most American diet’s consist of highly processed and packaged foods which only exacerbate the gut problem due to chemical composition, harmful ingredients, tons of sugar and sodium as well as detrimental plastic packaging.  Another huge problem for the gut, as I recently learned, is shifting hormones, aka menopause or mid life shifts.  


I was experiencing some bloating for a few months.  I believed my diet was extremely healthy:  tons of protein, fiber in the form of vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds, and healthy fats.  In a typical day I was consuming things like: pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, chia seeds, apples, yogurt, collagen, berries, pomegranate, chicken and fish, quinoa, salads, broccoli, bokchoy, cabbage, spinach, carrots and tons of other vegetables, a rotation of plant and cow milks, as well as the occasional high quality protein bar. I aim for a variety of 30 plus fruits and vegetables every week and mix animal and vegetable proteins. I drink my 8 glasses (usually more) of water every day. I include electrolytes and healthy, no sugar added juices too. I sometimes suffer with gut issues when traveling or eating out too much and that is exactly what happened recently. We were eating out and entertaining quite a bit for 2 weeks.  However, unlike usual; I believe that hormonal shifts played a role as well.  I have never experienced gut issues like this.  I feared something was going on like diverticulitis or worse. I had been consuming a lot of nuts and seeds. I was miserable, bloated and beginning to notice skin issues too. Before rushing to the doctor I tried a few things to seek natural help and it worked. Keep reading for what I changed to alleviate the issues and hopefully, prevent this from happening again.  I should note that I am now 6 months into my changes and I feel better than ever.  I am not offering medical or nutrition advice.  I am simply sharing what worked for me.  I definitely encourage you to speak with your own healthcare provider before incorporating anything new in your health regimen.         


Here’s some of the thing I’ve changed

There’s tons of information out there about eating a diet to balance hormones and support the gut. After experimenting a lot - I incorporated a new, high quality probiotic from OmniBiotic. This specific line of probiotics was originally available in Europe; and it was medical grade - offered to patients after antibiotic use. I love this system.  There are custom probiotic blends for your individual needs.  There’s a stress blend, balance blend, post antibiotic blend and even a sports blend. You can check out the company at   

I will link products below 

Next, I started consuming small quantities of Aloe.  Aloe is great for healing and soothing the stomach. It works as a mild, almost, laxative that may help with regularity.  Aloe is believed to cool the body and may help with hormonal issues like sweating and night sweats. Aloe contains vitamin C, magnesium and calcium and may boost immune health. Consuming Aloe Latex (from the skin of the leaf) can be harmful to the kidneys. I found this flavorless, distilled aloe drink that is working for me.  Discuss with your doctor if you plan to drink aloe juice. Linked below. 

For a healthier biome I am keeping a list and rotating fruits and vegetables, trying to consume 30+ different varieties - all colors- a week.  This is a tough one for most of us eating a traditional American diet. That’s why I find writing it down helps. I keep the freezer stocked with frozen fruit and vegetables to make this more doable without wasting. I am consuming more probiotic foods too. I have always eaten yogurt but I have added a lot more natural pickles, sauerkraut, and kimchi. 

The biggest improvement came from upping my fiber tremendously. I was using an app to track macros and meeting the daily fiber requirement. However,  most of us do not get adequate fiber either. I was getting about 25 grams a day. Which turns out to be not enough for me now at this age.  I am consuming closer to 50 grams these days. This works for me - 50 grams of fiber may not work for everyone.  Increasing fiber has to be done slowly too. I gradually upped my fiber by incorporating a prebiotic from OmniBiotic to feed the probiotics that I am taking. I also incorporated psyllium husk a little at a time.  This can be mixed in a drink, cereals, hot and cold foods.  I like to mix it in my yogurt. MAKE SURE to follow instructions and consume with a full glass of water.  Fibers like psyllium husk work by getting into the colon and absorbing water and then helping to move toxins out of the body in the form of bulked stool.  Another recent discover that is fabulous for my fiber consumption is Carbonaut Bread.  My family eats he gluten free version. There are so many options, like sandwich bread, seeded bread and even cinnamon raisin. These are all extremely low calorie, low card and high in fiber. For example the cinnamon raisin bread is 45 calories per slice, with 1 gram of carbs, .5 grams protein, 2 grams of fat, 2 grams of sugar and a whopping 14 GRAMS OF FIBER!  It tastes fabulous, toasts well and my whole family loves this stuff. I have found this bread at stores like Sprouts and Target.

LINK TO SHOP

I have also, drastically cut back on processed foods in our house. We are consuming less packaged items. Due to food allergies, my family carries some sort of shelf stable food, most of the time when out. We still use prepackaged, single serve, bars and shakes, jerky sticks, nuts and dried fruit in this case.  But I do look for organic, few ingredient, no added sugar in this case.  My favorite bars, jerky and shakes are here 
Finally I am stretching every morning to get my body moving. I do a cat/cow yoga stretch.  I lay on my back, fold my knees to my chest with my arms wrapped on the outside of my shins and twist from waist down to the left side slowly and then to the right slowly.  I am trying to get outside and do at least a 20 minute brisk walk every morning to get my blood circulating, aid in my circadian rhythm and start my digestive tract moving. At night I am eating at least 2 hours before bed. Those few weeks I had so many issues. We were not eating our usual diet, but we were also eating very late and i was going to bed before my food was digested. I am really careful about this now. 
So, this is what’s working for me now. I’ll come back with any updates. Thanks for taking the time to read my post today.  I truly appreciate you being here!  I’m Sheryl of SheDo50Too, a lifestyle blog about being over 50, having fun, staying fit, healthy, and fashionable.  Please SUBSCRIBE, LIKE & FOLLOW me if you like this type of content.  I am an Amazon Associate and I do earn commissions off of purchases through my links.  This has no affect on the cost to you.   Purchases through my links support my efforts to share on this blog.  

I only share information and items that I ACTUALLY use regularly and truly believe in and love.  My health, beauty and fitness results may not be the same for everyone.  I always recommend that you speak with your own healthcare provider prior to incorporating my routines into your own.  I am not a fitness or healthcare expert - I simply share what works for me. 

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