Gut Fix By Heidi Moretti

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Gut Fix: Discover the Herbal Remedies, Diet Tips, and Supplements Clinically Shown to Heal Your Gut
By Heidi Moretti, MS, RD
The Healthy RD

Chances are, you or someone you know has suffered recently from a digestive complaint. As Heidi Moretti (TheHealthyRD.com) notes in her preface, 40 percent of people worldwide (and 66 percent of Americans) suffer from at least one digestive disease. Collectively, we spend over $136 billion per year trying to fix this—more than what we spend on heart or mental health, two other issues that plague the Western world. Something isn’t right with our bellies.

Thankfully, people like Moretti have done the research as well as the hands-on case stud­ies to test what works. An increasing body of scientific research, which Moretti takes care to cite in numerous footnotes, is proving that natural remedies—herbs, supplements and foods—often outperform the medications pre­scribed in doctor’s offices and hospitals. But until these nutritional protocols and so-called “folk remedies” make their way into traditional medical school curricula, it falls on each person to be their own advocate and healer.

Moretti’s book is a great layperson’s guide. Each easy-to-read chapter is succinct yet packed with ideas simple enough to implement. Moretti even lists where to find items online and how to order from reputable companies, as well as typical dosages.

After starting with “Digestion 101” and ex­plaining useful-to-know aspects of the digestive system (for example, people may not know that acid reflux is usually caused by too little stom­ach acid, not too much), Moretti suggests that most modern people should take supplements, even if they eat a healthy diet. Sadly, our soils are depleted of many essential vitamins and minerals, and even the most scrupulous among us may encounter chemicals such as glyphosate, which can alter our gut microbiome and the way we absorb nutrients. Prescription medications (for those who take them) can also deplete the body of vital nutrients.

The world of supplements can be over­whelming, so Moretti does her best to stick to a few tried-and-true items. She is a big fan of organ supplements (if one does not regularly consume organ meats) such as liver or intestine. These come packed with nutrients; just adding this one daily supplement can negate the need for many others. Moretti also points out our critical need for activated vitamin A, richly found in organ meats, noting that almost half the population cannot adequately convert plant-based sources of beta carotene into vitamin A. This is one reason why strictly adhering to plant-based diets can lead to nutrient deficiencies that show up as a variety of health ailments.

Moretti educates readers about vitamins essential for good digestion (which in turn can affect many other aspects of health, includ­ing mental health), outlining how each can be obtained, whether from foods or supplements. She dedicates a chapter to how to select the best-quality versions. Other detailed recommen­dations focus on digestive enzymes, prebiotics, probiotics, NAG (N-acetyl glucosamine, an amino acid plus sugar), ox bile and quercetin. She dedicates at least a paragraph or two to each of the minerals needed for healthy diges­tion, listing food options and when supplements might be indicated.

Moretti also mentions a variety of food-based supplements such as aloe vera, bone broth, beetroot, apple cider vinegar, cod liver oil, colostrum, medicinal mushrooms, chlorella and olive and coconut oils. Another chapter lists gut-healing (and taste-bud-pleasing) herbs and spices. Most fall under the “doesn’t hurt to try, and most likely will help at least a little” catego­ry, also adding more variety to our cooking. Try out lemon balm, tulsi or chamomile tea, or add oregano, coriander or cilantro to your evening meal. Other tried-and-true plant allies include peppermint, lavender, garlic, red raspberry leaf and turmeric. Less well-known gut-soothing options, which are amassing scientific evidence to validate their usage, include licorice, senna and marshmallow root.

The book’s second half provides helpful, intriguing and no-nonsense information about ailments such as heartburn, nausea, gallbladder issues, diarrhea, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and food intolerances. Each health issue gets its own chapter, with discussion of causes, symp­toms, potential solutions and real-world case studies from clients of Moretti’s who resolved daunting health challenges by adhering to her protocols. Several recommendations are repeated throughout the book, but this isn’t bothersome; hearing things several times allows the infor­mation to sink in. Some options that Moretti describes (such as butyrate and zinc carnosine) may be unfamiliar to most people but could turn out to be just the silver bullet needed. She points out that each person is gloriously unique; what works for one person may not work for another.

Moretti gives the average person a wonderful starting point for al­leviating issues that can cause daily discomfort and too often disrupt sufferers’ lives and peace. If you are fortunate enough not to suffer from a gut-related malady (perhaps you were raised on WAPF principles from birth, lucky you!), perhaps someone in your circle of family and friends could benefit from this book. Sadly, not many get this information from their family practitioner, at an urgent care visit or even from their gastro­enterologist. Let’s do our part to get this information more mainstream so we can address the root cause of digestive issues in ways that heal and nourish at the cellular level.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Spring 2024

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