One of the best ways to dial down IBS symptoms, especially SIBO is intermittent fasting. This is where you extend the gap between the last meal in the evening and the first meal the next day. Importantly, it gives your digestive system a break – has many beneficial effects beyond the gut.
Zenith Method – Element 1: RESTORE
Every day, after my 10am daily yoga practice, I have this nutrient-packed, gut-soothing smoothie [switching up the blueberries for strawbs or raspberries from time to time]. It’s hydrating, supplies a little carbohydrate to revive tired muscles and has lots of gut-friendly protein to build muscles leaner and stronger!
What makes this smoothie recipe so great for your gut. First of all, it has marine collagen and L-glutamine to soothe and feed the gut lining. Glutamine is an important fuel source for the cells of the small intestine, and marine collagen is ‘bone broth for wimps’ – those of us who can’t quite stomach the notion of a bunch of boiled bones!
Also, the almond butter plus water make a ‘milk’ so you dont need to add anything else to make it creamier. Because we’re only using 1 tbsp of almond butter here, it’s still low FODMAP.
[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]
- 2 cups filtered water
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- 1 small banana – very ripe
- 1/2 cup blueberries – fresh ideally but frozen ok
- 1 tbsp almond butter
- 1 scoop [around 1 tbsp] marine collagen powder
- 30g L-glutamine powder
- 1 scoop of Chocolate brown rice protein powder by Garden of Life [see why I recommend this for people with IBS here]
- Optional: 1 scoop chocolate greens by Amazing Grass
- Optional: 1 tsp moringa powder
[/ingredients]
All ingredients were sourced either from the local health food shop or Amazon/Ebay.
[directions title=”Directions”]
- I use a standard Nutribullet blender for this recipe because it’s quick and easy to rinse and clean – but any blender will do.
- Put the water in first – this stops the powder from sticking to the bottom of the blender cup.
- Then add in all the other ingredients except the collagen and L-Glutamine and blend for 20-30 seconds.
- Add in the glutamine powder and collage and blend very briefly – for literally a few seconds. Adding it earlier makes the smoothie very frothy and it can explode out of the nutribullet container!
- Pour into a glass and enjoy!
[/directions]
