Herbal Gut Health Natural Therapies to Promote Healthy Digestion, Boost Your Microbiome, and Support Gut Repair

From the bestselling author of Body into Balance, clinical herbalist Maria Noël Groves​ offers a comprehensive guide to the best herbs and natural practices to boost your gut microbiome, decrease your risk of chronic disease, and alleviate conditions like SIBO, leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome, and GERD.

A healthy gut is the key to good overall health—both physical and mental—and researchers are beginning to uncover the links between an unbalanced gut microbiome and chronic conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and cancer.

As a clinical herbalist with decades of experience, Maria Noël Groves has helped patients of all ages resolve their digestive complaints and related health issues by teaching them how to adopt healthier dietary habits, employ herbs to alleviate digestive issues and improve digestion, and incorporate balanced lifestyle practices—resolving their diseases and dramatically improving their quality of life.

Maria Noël Groves is the author of Herbal Remedies for Sleep, Grow Your Own Herbal Remedies and Body into Balance. She is a clinical herbalist and herbal medicine teacher with more than two decades of experience, and a registered professional member of the American Herbalists Guild. She writes for numerous publications including Herbal Academy’s The Herbarium, Taste for Life, Remedies, Herb Quarterly, and Mother Earth News. Her business, Wintergreen Botanicals, is based in Allenstown, New Hampshire.
 

Chapter 1: Why GI Function and Gut Repair Matters The State of the Nation: GI Health
Basic Tips for Healthy Digestion
Common Root Patterns of GI Distress Stress and Digestion
Inadequate and Deficient Digestive Function
Nutrient Deficiencies and Poor Assimilation
Dysbiosis and Microbiome Imbalances
SIBO
Food Allergies and Sensitivities
GI Lining Inflammation, Damage, or Leakiness Potential Downstream Effects of Poor Gut Health Why Enhancing Digestive Function Matters
Why Supporting Gut Integrity and Repair Matters
Why Microbiome Support Matters Common Patterns of Digestive Distress and Energetics
Chapter 2: Herbs to Help Break Down Food The Upper GI Tract
Predigestion
It’s True: Chew Your Food
Multitasking in your Gut
Bitter Herbs to Facilitate Good Digestion Artichoke leaf, dandelion
Recipe: Dandelion Pesto w/variations
Recipe: Bitters Spray
Recipe: Bitter Brew Coffee Substitute Relaxing Bitters Chamomile, catnip, lemon balm, wood betony,  Recipe: Chamomile Mint Tea Recipe: Lemon Balm - Catnip Glycerite Sour Herbs Remedy: Vinegar
Herb: Schizandra
Food: Sour Citrus Sphincter Issues - Fire in the Hole! (GERD/Reflux/Heartburn)
           Herb for Tone: Crabapple/Apple Bark
Ulcers and Gut Wounds Demulcent and Mucilaginous Herbs Licorice, marshmallow, aloe, 
Recipe: Marshmallow Root Overnight Infusion w/Variations
Small Chart: Demulcent & Mucilaginous Continuum Vulnerary Herbs for Gut Healing Plantain, gotu kola, calendula, yarrow Remedy: Glutamine
Comfrey: Friend or Foe? Common Food Allergens and Sensitivities Gluten/Wheat, Dairy, Soy, Eggs, Sugar & High Glycemic Foods, FODMAPs, Nightshades
Other potential reactions - meat/alpha gal, nickel, copper, MCAS…
Chapter 3: Herbs to Facilitate Nutrient Absorption The Lower GI Tract Good Bugs, Bad Bugs, and Probiotics - expanded Recipe: DIY Fermented Vegetables
Kombucha Protocol Points: Gas, Pain, and Bloating Carminative Herbs Box/chart: Spices
Recipe: Maria’s Chai Base with Variation Recipe Examples
Fennel, dill, mints, giner, anise hyssop and Korean licorice mint, holy basil
Recipe: Fennel and Korean Licorice Mint Seltzer
Recipe: Quick Dill Pickles (w/“Pickle Juice” Vinegar Variation) Antimicrobial Herbs Oregano, bee balm, bitter berberines, pau d’arco
Other GI Antimicrobials to Consider
Recipe: Killer Chai
Chapter 4: Herbs for Elimination Moving Right Along: Smooth Elimination What’s a normal BM?
What can BMs tell you 
Fiber - what, why, when, how, soluble vs insoluble, tips, etc
Tips for healthy BMs Protocol Points: Dysbiosis (including candida, h pylori, SIBO, SIFO mentions)
Protocol Points: SIBO (in greater depth)
Box: Hiatal Hernia
Protocol Points: Diarrhea Astringent Herbs Cinnamon, roses Protocol Points: Constipation 
Laxative Herbs Protocol Points: IBS (separate out from IBD)
Protocol Points: IBD (separate out from IBS)
  Chapter 5: Anti-Inflammatories, Nutritive Support, and Immune Modulation Anti-inflammatory Herbs Meadowsweet, boswellia Nutritive Support in GI States Nutritive Herbs Nettle, oat straw, violet Recipe: Marshmallow Nettle Violet Mint Tea
Nutritive Recipe Ideas
Supplement & Diet Support Deep Immuno-Regulatory Support Immune Modulation Medicinal Mushrooms
Reishi, lion’s mane Astragalus, Baikal skullcap  Adaptogens and Immune Amphoterics
Tie in to probiotics, etc. Nervous System, Calming & Stress Support
Chapter 6: Strategies for Gut Repair  When We Might Support Gut Repair
The 4-5 Rs of Gut Repair
How Long Does It Take? Craft Your Own Gut Healing Tea Recipe: Gut Healing Tummy Tea, Take One
Recipe: Gut Healing Tummy Tea, Take Two
Variations for Special Situations 
Cheat Sheet for Creating a Gut Healing Tea (2 page spread) Recipe: Gut-Healing Broth Protocol Points: Leaky Gut Tips for PPI (proton-pump inhibitor) Cessation Diets & Digestion - different approaches for different situations Overview, pros, cons, tips for each Specific Diet or Simply Emphasize Vital Foods?
Temporary or Long-Term?
General Healthy Diet Tips for Digestion
Specialized diets, including: Mediteranean, asian & flexitarian, vegan/vegetarian, paleo, GAPS and specific carbohydrate diets, allergy elimination/avoidance, low FODMAP, low acid, low histamine
Appendix: Herbs at a Glance Chart