How to heal without antimicrobials

Function medicine focuses on identifying the root cause of symptoms for the most effective intervention. It helps people who have been abandoned by the mainstream medical system.

It loosely follows the mainstream medical model of testing and medication, using more sensitive tests and swapping herbs for pharmaceuticals. Functional medicine practitioners are trained to investigate the root cause and and offer interventions that don’t do too as much harm to the biome.

Pharmaceuticals kill many people each year. Functional medicine offers a gentler approach with more client education. Though functional medicine is a good alternative to those who have gotten nowhere with traditional medicine, it can still be too harsh for those who can’t tolerate herbal protocols.

The good news is that the body can heal without supplements if you know how to properly support it.

Lately, in my health coaching practice, I’ve seen a few clients heal without any physical interventions. Six total having notable result without much physical intervention.

But rewiring your brain and retraining your perception is not the only way to heal, just one to choose from in the list below.

The body was built to heal without much intervention. We just need to remove the block that keeps it from doing its job. Sometimes that block can mental/emotional and sometimes it’s physical. Often it’s a combination of the two.

We don’t need to do it all and to do it perfectly to heal. We were designed to do it. We just need to get better at recognizing and removing obstacles to healing.

The more you believe in and trust your body’s ability to heal, the faster it heals. This is easier said than done of course.

But being highly reactive or sensitive to supplements may be a blessing in disguise. It could be an invitation to heal at a much deeper level. Healing that provides much bigger lessons than what supplements are best.

Here are some ways to fix your gut issues without antimicrobials.

Brain rewiring

I have benefited from brain rewiring personally and so have my clients. There are many ways to rewire the brain and reset the nervous system response that results.

My favorite way is through subconscious rewiring (also called hypnosis) or limbic retraining (calming the fear center of the brain). There’s also tapping or emotional freedom technique.

Brain rewiring is incredibly effective. When you change the way you think or perceive a situation you change everything both physically and emotionally. And your body can finally calm down enough to heal. I offer private hypnosis sessions to clients. Hypnosis (subconscious rewiring) isa great compliment to a natural protocol or can address digestive complaints by itself.

Lifestyle medicine – 4 quadrant model

I discovered this 4 quadrant model for health interventions that prioritizes lifestyle changes to support the body’s ability to heal. Some of these things are common sense, some may be new, but before you shell out money on complicated interventions it’s crucial to make sure you have the foundation in place.

This is a great model for first line healing interventions. Sometimes working on the basics can make a huge difference.

Liver detox

This is my personal story, but I have heard of others solving their gut health issues by addressing the liver alone. I did a year-long, very gentle liver detox. I used zero anti-microbials just vitamins, minerals and nutrients that I was likely lacking due to poor digestion. I also reorganized my biome with diet alone. I ate a diet that was much like the Whole 30, zero sugar, mostly whole foods and no grains, beans or dairy.

The liver produces bile which has a crucial effect on digestion, energy and hormone balance. When the liver is struggling many of the other organs can’t work well and digestive issues can result. Supporting your liver and opening up your detox channels gently (nothing extreme needed) can make a big difference in digestive symptoms AND ability to tolerate foods and supplements.

Trauma and nervous system work

Your nervous system runs your digestive system. So if it is out of whack so is your digestion. The number one thing that disrupts the nervous system is trauma. It could be development trauma from care givers that did not attune to your needs or an event that was clearly traumatic. The effects of chronic stress (especially stress triggered by past trauma) can also be put in this category.

If you recognise trauma as a root cause then all the food and supplements in the world won’t address the root issue. My preferred way to address trauma is through a body focused (somatic) therapy. EMDR and Somatic experiencing come to mind but there are others.

If you are trying to solve a nervous system problem without addressing the nervous system and the past trauma it holds, progress will be limited.

Immune support

Targeted immune support can be the key to helping the body heal itself. There are many different immune systems in the body. The immune system in the gut is measured by a marker called Secretory IGA of SigA and can be found on the GI Map.

If SigA is low then the immune system does not have reserves to fight and must be supported by probiotics (I like saccharomyces boullardii and Megasporbiotic and immunoglobulins).

Also incorporating some mind work and lifestyle interventions from the 4 quadrant model will support immune health. Supplements that support immunity are vitamin C, zinc, vit. D and magnesium. But everyone has different deficiencies and doing a micronutrient test panel is a good way to find yours.

Adrenal support & balancing blood sugar

When the adrenals fall they take the gut with them.

Taking care of your adrenals is key to recovery because they produce cortisol, which is an anti-inflammatory agent and also helps regulate blood sugar. What helped me most when I was healing was a diet that stabilised my blood sugar.

If your blood sugar is stable your adrenals don’t have to produce cortisol to stabilise it. This allows the adrenals to rest. A diet that balances protein, fat and carbs in each meal is best for planing blood sugar. No refined sugars or alcohol. Eating every 3 to 4 hours is an important part of balancing blood sugar.

You can even monitor your blood sugar with a continuous glucose monitor to see how it responds to certain foods. There are two companies that sell CGMs to consumers. There is Supersapiens in Europe and Nutrisense in the U.S.

Besides blood sugar stability, prioritizing sleep, rest and managing stress is vital for the adrenals. Making sure there is plenty of sodium in your diet and taking adaptoagenic herbs also supports the adrenals and stress response. I really like the Daily Stress Formula from Pure Encapsulations.

Anti-inflammatory and/or elimination diet with gentle fasting

Cutting inflammatory foods from your diet also gives your immune system a rest and allows your body to focus on repair. You can figure out your trigger foods from food allergy testing, or an elimination diet or just obvious symptoms after eating certain foods.

Adding gentle fasting to your eating routine in the form of intermittent fasting can also be helpful by lowering inflammation. Intermittent fasting is also called time restricted eating because it restricts the hours that you eat, not the foods.

It is most common to fast for 16 hours per day and have an eating window of 8 hours. But a 12 hour eating window and 12 hour fasting window may be a good place to start as you slowly work up to the 16 hour fasting window.

This give the body the opportunity to heal without massively restricting calories. People who should not fast as those with a history of disordered eating, severely unstable blood sugar, those who are extremely underweight or nutrient deficient. Those with adrenal fatigue should stay at a 1 2 hour eating window.

So that’s about 7 ways to support your body and rid yourself of digestive issues without touching an antimicrobial.

If you don’t think it’s possible to heal with supplements or medications, you are wrong. Changing your mind about that will influence your approach and help you find the right support to help your body heal itself.

No fancy supplements or super restrictive diets needed.