How to heal leaky gut | gut healing smoothie

Gut Healing Collagen Smoothie for Weight Loss and Digestion

Paleo Weight Loss Meal Plans

Today, I’m sharing my gut healing smoothie recipe that contains two special ingredients to help heal your leaky gut and strengthen your digestive system.  And, believe me when I say, “I know ALLLL about digestive issues.” Just read my About Me page to learn about my health journey.

One of these “special” ingredients also has a side benefit of weight loss.  Keep reading to learn more about that…

If you have any of the following digestive issues, diseases, or symptoms, you could benefit from adding these two ingredients to your daily routine & into your smoothies:

  • Leaky Gut
  • IBS
  • an Autoimmune Disease
  • Digestive Issues
  • Fatigue
  • Brain Fog
  • Stomach Ulcers
  • Sluggish Metabolism
  • Cravings for Sugar and/or Alcohol

So, what are these two “special” ingredients?

1.) L-Glutamine

L-glutamine is an amino acid that plays many important roles in the body with one of those being its ability to decrease intestinal permeability; in other words, because L-Glutamine is a major fuel source for cells in the small intestine, including more of this amazing amino acid into your diet will help to rebuild and strengthen your intestinal lining and, as a result, heal your leaky gut (and many other digestive issues).

And, since 70% of your immune system is in your gut/digestive tract, making it stronger with L-Glutamine will not only benefit you with your digestive issues, but it’ll also benefit your overall health (including brain health, brain fog, fatigue, ulcers, etc.).

Does L-Glutamine Reduce Cravings & Help with Weight Loss?

Short Answer:  Maybe & Maybe.

It’s a widely known opinion among the health community that L-Glutamine helps to curb cravings for carbs, sugar, and alcohol; however, to say there’s hard science to back it up would be a lie.  As far as I know, there aren’t any studies showing proof.  The only proof I have is my personal experience and the testimonies from others.

Now, having said that, I will tell you that in my personal experience, it does stop cravings, especially for sugar & carbs.  Here’s my theory as to why it does…

  • Glutamine gets converted into glucose very quickly (fact).  Therefore, your body still gets the energy it needs but without eating ‘actual’ carbs and/or sugars.  Once it gets what it needs, the cravings go away leaving you with a slim waist and no sugar crash.
  • Protein, in general, helps to reduce cravings.  So, by taking a highly absorbable form of protein, your cravings are likely to go away

Personally, I think it’s a little bit of both.  But, ultimately, you’ll want to try it for yourself to come to your own conclusions.

What Type of Glutamine & How Much?

  • It’s best to use a High Quality Free Form Powder instead of a capsule. The powder easily absorbs in water and is pretty much tasteless.
  • I can’t prescribe any certain amount but most people find best results with 2-5 grams per day.  No more than 10 grams per day unless prescribed by a medical professional.

Other Benefits of L-Glutamine Besides Digestive Health & Reducing Cravings:

  • Great for Muscle Recovery & Muscle Growth
  • Boosts Metabolism
  • Detoxifies the Body of Ammonia
  • Can Improve Diabetes & Blood Sugar
  • Aids in Memory & Focus (many claim it’s great for ADHD)
  • Some even use it to help with the side effects of chemotherapy…

2.) 100% Grass-fed Collagen Protein

Collagen, also known as Hydrolyzed Collagen, is basically the ‘cooked’ form of gelatin.  The difference is that hydrolyzed collagen is brought to a higher temperature during processing in order to break down the molecular weight making it easier to digest (which is great for those with digestive issues).

Why You Should Eat More Collagen if You Have Digestive Issues…

As Dr. Axe explains very clearly:

quotation

Collagen will help break down proteins and soothe your gut’s lining, healing damaged cell walls and infusing it with healing amino acids. It will also help absorb water, keeping things moving freely in the digestive tract.

Other Reasons to Include Collagen in your Daily Diet…

  • Great for your skin!  As we age, our collagen production slows down drastically – wrinkles, less elasticity, saggy skin, etc. Instead of spending hundreds of $$$ on creams and lotions (even though a natural cream is a great addition), you should always focus on healing your skin from the inside first.  And, a high quality 100% grass-fed or pasture-raised collagen powder is great for that!
  • Promotes healthy joints! A clinical study performed on various populations for a period of 30-90 days demonstrated positive effects on knee joint comfort with a dose of only 10g of collagen per day.
  • Improves bone strength! Several studies show that a daily intake of 10g of collagen for 4 to 24 weeks may increase bone mass density.
  • Reduce cellulite & stretch marks! As your skin becomes thinner (due to a decrease in collagen), your cellulite and stretch marks become more visible. By eating more collagen, you’re improving your skin’s elasticity and, as a result, the visibility of cellulite and stretch will also be reduced.

A Smoothie Recipe That’ll Make You Feel & Look Your Best…

The smoothie recipe below combines healthy fats and greens with the two ingredients above to optimize absorption and their effectiveness.  Feel free to add extra water and/or ice to the recipe if the consistency is too thick for your liking. Otherwise, ENJOY!!

Gut Healing Collagen Smoothie for Weight Loss and Digestion

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Kayla Chandler Course: Breakfast, DrinksDifficulty: Easy
Servings

1

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

0

minutes

This smoothie recipe is great for healing a leaky gut and strengthening your digestive system.

Ingredients

  • 3-4 Romaine Leaves

  • 1/2 of a Medium Avocado

  • 1/4 Cup of Full Fat Canned Coconut Milk

  • 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

  • 1/2 – 1 Tbsp Raw Honey, Stevia, or a Low Carb Sweetener

  • 1 tsp L-Glutamine Powder

  • 1 Scoop of Collagen Protein Powder

  • Water and Ice, to taste

Directions

  • Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
  • ENJOY!

Recipe Video

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Gut Healing Collagen Smoothie | How to heal a leaky gut
 

16 Comments

  1. Very interesting, thank you

     
  2. Hi Kayla,

    I have always been scared to drink anything with both milk & lemon because I think it will upset my tummy. How often should you drink this smoothie & also regarding the 7 day detox diet plan with the green smoothies is that only for detox or weight loss as well?

     
    • Kayla Chandler

      Hi Shelly! Even if you have digestive issues, you shouldn’t have any issues with plant-based milks, such as almond and coconut milk. Trust me, my digestion is a testament to this 😉 It’s safe to drink this smoothie as often as once per day if you’d like. Yes, the 7-Day detox recipes are specifically designed for maximizing detox (and weight loss is usually a ‘side effect’ of doing the detox but not guaranteed).

       
  3. How many calories are in this smoothie and with the protein powder in there….is it a meal replacement?

     
    • Kayla Chandler

      It’s approximately 350 cals considering you’re using full-fat coconut milk with this recipe. You can have this as a meal replacement.

       
  4. I believe Bulletproof collagen is NOT grass fed. On the website it says the cows are “pasture raised” which is not the same, and means they are given other types of feed at times, which could include grains.

     
    • Kayla Chandler

      Hmmm.. interesting. Thx for bringing that up because last I checked (about a year ago), I believe they said it was. I’ll be sure to check again 🙂

       
  5. Justin jacobs

    I have been struggling a long time with my digestie system. I have seen the collagen before and glutamine but didnt think it would be a great benefit. My diet is very clean but simply usually meat and sweet potatoes or rice. I’m a bodybuilder but have been in regrese losing weight unable to digest food. IBS everything. I took the holistic doctor route and that was great for the first few weeks. He said i had created an allergy to a lot of foods. I have started doing green smoothies last 3 days and tea trying to detox. I have also tried to make sure im getting my digestive system a break, Not eating at all at night trying to keep any wholes food early in the day. Which has been oatmeal today and a green detox shake similar to one above. I ordered the glutamine I really doubt it but im in a lot of pain daily. My stomach has a pulse of its own, i figure that to be from inflammation in my stomach. I have been steadily improving getting worse for over a year now. Wanted to know if you have spoke to someone on this level if you had any drastic recommendations. ALso the lemon scares me with such a sensitive stomach.Thank you for taking the time to respond.

     
  6. Courtney Moran

    Hi Kayla,
    I know this post is older, but I just came across it looking for leaky gut smoothie recipes. I have a HORRIBLE leaky gut from IV chelation and some really bad stomach “bugs”…im under care of a well known integrative healer, however eating is almost painful right now. Could you drink 3 of these a day for a few days? Could you work with me to create a “gut healing smoothie protocol?” Food is just not appealing right now. At least for a few days I want to give my system a break, and bone broth fasting sounds horrible!

    Thank you SO much if you reply!

     
    • Kayla Chandler

      Hey Courtney! Yes, IV chelation is a horrible idea. I suggest looking into the Andy Cutler protocol for chelating heavy metals, such as mercury. In my opinion and experience, it’s a much safer chelation protocol. Regarding the smoothie, yes, you can drink 3 per day. The main items you’ll want to include in any smoothie to help speed up the healing of leaky gut is a high quality collagen protein powder and L-glutamine powder (if you can tolerate it). You’ll want to start slowly with the L-glutamine (i.e. 1/2 tsp per day). Homemade bone broth is also great! If you make it correctly, it actually tastes really good 😉 Also, don’t include a ton of leafy greens since they’re harder to digest. Stick to 1 small handful per smoothie.

       
  7. Christina

    Hi I know these are all old Post’s but I came across this web site for stomach healing smoothies I have had a bad stomach my whole life and I really want to change that for my health how long dose it take to heal the stomach with your recipe.

     
    • Kayla Chandler

      This smoothie recipe is a miracle pill. It should be used in conjunction with other things to help heal your stomach issues. I would first look into seeing if you have any food sensitivities that could be causing your stomach issues, such as gluten sensitivity, dairy, etc. Try cutting out all gluten and dairy for a week while incorporating this smoothie recipe and see how it makes you feel.

       
  8. thanks object of sharing

     
  9. I will be trying this, thanks for sharing! Do you have a bone broth recipe that’s easy to make?

     

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