Ever gone through a phase where your stomach (or digestion) feels a bit… off? Have you overindulged in the holiday festivities or had one too many birthday celebrations? Perhaps you’ve gone through a particularly stressful time and feel out of sorts? If your digestion just hasn’t been up to par, then you may want to consider giving it a reset. A reset can be just a weekend, or up to a month, of giving your digestive tract some TLC. Here’s how you can do one quite simply at the comfort of your own home:

Simplify Your Meals
There’s a perfection to be found in the simple things. If you look on Instagram, many people like to post pictures of beautiful bowls filled with colorful, vibrant veggies, proteins, and additional ingredients. While these bowls certainly are healthy (and I definitely encourage people to take pride in nourishing themselves!), they can be overwhelming for your gut. If it’s particularly sensitive, then bombarding it with a ton of ingredients may not be such a good idea.
Scale things back a bit by sticking to minimal ingredients. While you’re on a reset, commit to very simple meals. You’ll be surprised at how delicious a whole ingredient tastes without the fixings. Again, you won’t be eating this way forever. It’s just for a short while to give your digestion a rest.

Puree or Liquefy Food
The process of blending your feeds functions as a pre-cursor to digesting. With vegetables, you’re already breaking down the fiber they contain, and with animal proteins, you’re breaking through the muscle. Pureed or liquid meals tend to be very easy on the stomach. It’s why a warm bowl of soup when you’re sick feels so nourishing. Consuming food in this state pre-digests them so that digesting them goes a lot smoother. Feel free to have smoothies or soups for several meals throughout the day, and maybe one or two solid meals. One approach is to consume a smoothie for breakfast, soup for lunch, and a solid meal for dinner. You’ll definitely be giving your stomach a break!

Mini-Break from Certain Foods
During your reset, it might be helpful to take a break from certain foods that can be problematic for your gut. This includes gluten, soy, and dairy, along with any other food sensitivities you suspect. It’s not forever; just for a short break. You’re more than welcome to return to them after your reset. Keep a food journal and notice how your digestion feels while you’re off of those “trigger” ingredients! Who knows, maybe you’ll find that upon returning to them your old symptoms resurface. Therefore, there’s a good chance you’ve found either a food allergy or intolerance that’s been affecting you for years!

Avoid Exotic Spices and Superfoods
Similar to my earlier suggestion of simplifying your meals, don’t spend the reset experimenting with different ingredients. As tempting as it may be to try an exotic spice or superfood, stick to just the basics. Now is not the time to test something out like spirulina or burdock root. Consuming any of those things might do more harm than good! Anything from headaches to an upset stomach can happen when trying any of these out. As the saying goes, simplicity is key.

Restore with Bone Broth & Collagen
What I do recommend you include more of while on a reset is bone broth and/or collagen powder. Both of these function similarly, helping to repair and nourish digestion. The bone broth can be sipped on throughout the day, and the collagen powder can be added to any beverage, hot or cold (you can even add it to soups!). Have multiple servings throughout the day during your reset.

Sip Some Herbal Tea
Something else to include during your reset is an herbal tea. There are many to choose from, and the ones that are particularly good for your gut are those that contain herbs like peppermint, ginger, fennel, caraway, slippery elm, chamomile, and marshmallow root. You can cocktail different teas together, too. For instance, combine a sachet of hibiscus with peppermint for a nice, cooling tea, or cinnamon with ginger for a sweet and spicy kick. Herbal teas can help reduce gas and bloating, so feel free to sip on them between meals during your reset. (As an added bonus, add some collagen powder to your tea for an extra gut-healing boost!)

Go for a Fast
Did you know that fasting could help your gut? Variations of fasting- such as time-restricted feeding or intermittent fasting- enables your digestive system to focus on repairing itself. That’s because instead of spending energy on breaking down food, your gut cells will be focusing on resolving the damage, inflammation, and oxidative stress that may have been inflicted by the habits and trigger foods you may have endured.
There are many ways to fast. With intermittent fasting, you could simply skip lunch or dinner. Use fasting as a tool during your reset, so feel free to experiment around and see how it works out for you.

Consider Supplementing (If Necessary)
With your doctor’s permission, you can include a supplement or two during your reset. These supplements include probiotics, digestive enzymes, and L-Glutamine, which are all very beneficial for your gut. The probiotics provide some beneficial bacteria that can help to crowd out any potential overgrowths of bad bacteria in your gut. And the digestive enzymes give your gut a chance to rest while they do the majority of the heavy lifting during meals (i.e., breaking down/digesting your food). As for the L-Glutamine, this amino acid helps to repair and strengthen the intestinal lining of the gut, making it very useful for conditions like intestinal permeability and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). Just be sure to consume it on an empty stomach!

I hope these reset tips help to keep you and your tummy happy! Sometimes, even our gut needs a vacation. What do you do to give your digestion a break?