Eat more plants. It’s as simple as that.

There’s a long list of phytonutrients and other good stuff in vegetables, fruits and legumes that you can’t get any other way. Put plants at the center of your plate for as many meals and snacks as you can.

Day 24 of 101 days of blogging tells us to, “Eat More Plants.” This reminds me of Mark Hyman, MD who I believe states it like,

Eat real food, not too much and mostly plants.

When I was first healing my digestive system, I could not tolerate plants – almost at all. I distinctly remember being told, “You need to eat more fiber; eat a lot of cauliflower and broccoli. It will help move things through your system.” So I listened like a good student, but only in the beginning. I was eating all of those foods, yet I was feeling worse. I didn’t have movement, and my stomach was always upset.

Plants are amazing. They are super. They are powerful.

Eat More Plants Greens Nature Natural Products Expo West sarahkayhoffman.com

I am a huge greenie these days. But in the beginning, they were simply too rough on my digestive system.

Eat More Plants

Here are many of the vegetables I could not tolerate back then (and to this day cannot tolerate if I’m not 100%):

  1. broccoli
  2. cauliflower
  3. cabbage
  4. spinach
  5. sweet potatoes
  6. peppers
  7. Brussels sprouts
  8. lettuce
  9. onions

But a funny thing happened. Once I healed my gut, the plants and other “healthy” foods were not only tolerated, but they became a critical part to my daily bowel movements. They stopped fermenting in my stomach and instead helped move my system right along. (I would later learn this was due to SIBO.)

Plants are amazing! I’m a geek for food – for good food. Plants can and should be a part of your daily plan. But don’t feel bad if your body is currently rejecting them and you are a gutsy girl. There is probably a reason for it, and if you get your digestive system to a place that will be accepting of the green goddess, your body will be thriving in so many awesome ways! (Start HERE.)

Here are some more great articles about plants: Phyto Power, The Secret Lives of Fruits and Vegetables, How to Cook Kale and Garden-Variety Protein.
Tomorrow is day 25. Topic:

Don’t Fall for Fakery

And you? Does your body accept vegetables? If not, which ones are hard for you to digest?

{If you enjoy my posts on the gut and/or healing + true wellness with food and lifestyle click HERE to subscribe to my e-newsletter.If you enjoy my posts on life, inspiration, passion, entrepreneurship, adoption, love, thoughts, faith and living in a way that gives us purpose, daily click HERE to subscribe to my e-newsletter (a different one). To follow the blog in general, be sure to place it in your feed.}

Xox,
SKH

You will heal. I will help.

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6 Comments

  1. Hi Sarah! This was an interesting post for me to read, because for so long I felt like I just “couldn’t” eat certain foods. I’m also an IIN student and we haven’t covered much on this topic yet. I’m intrigued that you say once you healed your gut that you were able to bring those foods back into your diet. What’s the simplest way to start “healing your gut” so you can introduce some of those foods again? Is it just adding more of those foods in and crowding out the bad stuff? Or is it more than that?

    Thanks! I’ve really been enjoying reading your 101 days of blogging! 🙂

    1. Hey Rachael! Yeah, it’s crazy…now my stomach relies on greens most days to keep it all moving. And I love that because I’ve always been such a fan of veggies and greens in general. “Healing the gut,” while it only requires 3 words to say it, actually can be a beast. It’s easy for anyone to sit there and tell you, “add more in, crowd the bad out.” Unfortunately, with IBS/IBD it can be a beast to navigate. The smallest of things can trigger a reaction. And, as you know, so many times food is just another factor; primary food is a true factor (stress, career, etc). I’m about to launch all the services I will provide to people. You will see how I go about it all then. Should be up on my site within the next few days to a week!

  2. yep yep, same here. I could do steamed spinach with coconut oil and steamed carrots/potatoes. thats about it. I still cook my foods a tiny bit and use more green powders instead, but its getting better. Phew!

    1. Look at how different we all are, Lindsay….so many with digestive issues cannot do carrots/potatoes. I struggle with them still. You are lucky:)

  3. My body loves its veggies–that’s for sure! I love sweet potatoes. NOM. And don’t tell my mom but I eat whole bags of broccoli in one sitting… shhh. 😉

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