Supplements

Pyramid For
Leaky Gut
With 100s of supplements purporting to help with gut
health, let’s sort the heroes from the rest - on one page!

This guide is for information purposes only. Please consult your doctor
before undertaking any health protocol.

COPYRIGHT - GOODBYE LEAKY GUT

 Level 4
Take If Specific Borderliners
Issue
eg anti parasite (eg wormwood) etc

Colostrum Curcumin
1-3 g away from 500-1,000 mg of
Level 3 meals (start small) curcuminoids (see label)

Someday,
Maybe

N-Acetyl-Glucosamine Quercetin
200-500 mg NAG (derived 100-200 mg, preferrably in
from shellfish) dihydrate form

Demulcent plants
My favorites - 500 mg DGL licorice, 200 mg slippery elm, 100 mg
marshmallow root, 100 mg aloe vera

Level 2
If Budget
Zinc & magnesium Omega 3 fatty acids Vitamin D with K
Allows
10-20 mg of zinc and 1,000-2,000 mg of omega 2,000-5,000 iu vitamin
200-400 mg of 3s, eg 2 capsules of triple D3 with 50-100 mcg
magnesium strength fish oil vitamin K2 (MK7)

Betaine HCl with pepsin Collagen protein Prebiotic powder

500-1,000 mg of HCl with 10-30 g of hydrolyzed 5-25 g low FODMAP prebiotics,
10-20 mg pepsin, with a collagen peptides (most inc resistant starch, eg green
protein-based meal bioavailable version) banana flour (start small)

Level 1
Must
Haves L-Glutamine powder Digestive enzymes Probiotics
5 g with 8 oz (240 ml) water, 1 capsule of a powerful, plant- 30-50 billion CFUs with 10-12
taken 1-3 times a day away based, broad spectrum enzyme quality strains, and delayed
from meals complex with each main meal release capsule, per day

1
The Action Plan
Here’s how to finally get some clarity on your digestive
health supplements routine.

1) Print off the pyramid poster (page 1)

This is the 3rd pyramid! And just like with the food and drinks pyramids, it is
worth printing out and sticking up somewhere visible. It’ll serve as the perfect
reminder and clarifier.

2) Shop your ‘favorites’ from Levels 1 & 2

Unlike food and drinks, it can be a bit hard to say which are your ‘favorites’.

For example, no one is running around like a collagen-crazed cookie monster

screaming “Ooooh, I love the taste of hydrolyzed collagen, me want peptides!”.

So to help you narrow in on the best supplements to shop for, I’ve made a quick
guide on the next 2 pages. Some notes about the guide:

o ‘Must Haves’- I’ve focused on the supplements from the pyramid that have the
most direct impact on our gut health (especially intestinal lining), are hard to
get from our food, give the best bang for buck, and of course, are backed by the
most studies. These are my personal must haves.

o ‘If Budget Allows’ - There are some fantastic supplements here. But since no
one has the time or money to take all of them, I've specified criteria and
questions to ask yourself to determine what makes sense for you. This is super
important for making your supplement protocol realistic.

o Where to buy - I’ve included Amazon links for all products, because there is no
easier way to buy multiple products from different brands. Plus many brands
are also available on Amazon internationally (CA, UK, EU, AU).

o ZERO affiliate links - every product I link to is simply the one I use each day,
and some of them I was also a part of the formulation team for. So not only do
I love these supplements, but some of them are even my babies.

3) If desired, experiment with Levels 3 & 4

There are some interesting supplements at the top of the pyramid. And they can
be worth experimenting with if your doctor or healthcare professional thinks they
could help with a specific issue. But I personally would focus on Levels 1 and 2
before devoting money and effort to trying Levels 3 and 4.

2
Must Haves
With 15 supplements making the pyramid, it can be
hard to know which to buy. Here are my 3 favorites.
Unlike most of the other supplements, these three can help from day one and
really support our intestinal tract from all angles. They are my superheroes.

1) L-Glutamine
Just like protein powder feeds your muscles so they can repair and grow stronger,
L-Glutamine fuels your gut lining so it too can repair damaged cells and come
back healthier. In fact, the cells lining your gut love L-Glutamine so much that
they’re able to absorb it directly, making supplementation very effective.

I’m proud to recommend my company Essential Stacks’ Clean L-Glutamine,

because it has 5 g of free form L-Glutamine per serve, plus no fillers, no sugar &
no nasty stuff. I love it! And so must you lovely readers, as it is now our #1 most
popular supplement. Thank you for showing the love!

2) Digestive Enzymes
These hard working little guys take the food we eat and break it down into
individual nutrients so our body can actually absorb the amino acids, vitamins,
minerals etc from our food. This is super important for those of us with leaky gut,
because our damaged gut lining is likely to not be absorbing nutrients properly,
and yet needs the nutrients to repair itself. So enzymes can help get us out of the
vicious cycle. Plus, by digesting food better, enzymes also reduce the number of
large undigested food molecules from making their way down to our small
intestine and bombarding our GI tract. Making them a fantastic double win!

Check out Pure Enzymes - it is a broad spectrum blend of 18 different digestive

enzymes, making it great for all types of meals. This can be a true game changer.

3) Probiotics
One of the most interesting roles probiotics can play is their ability to fight leaky
gut by enhancing the production of tight junction proteins, i.e. helping to
strengthen our intestinal barrier. In addition, they can help to fight off two of the
main culprits of leaky gut, being bad bacteria and yeast overgrowth. Love them!

If you’re looking for a professional-grade probiotic, try Smart Probiotic. It is

made with 12 of the best strains on the market and packs a whopping 50 billion
CFUs of good bacteria per capsule.

3
If Budget Allows
These are the next best supplements in the pyramid.
Very helpful, but only if you have the time & money.
With several options here, please talk to your doctor to determine what makes
the most sense for you personally. Here are some quick thoughts.

1) Betaine HCl
Experiencing the occasional food baby, aka bloating? Consider Thorne’s
Betaine HCl with Pepsin. A beautiful way to support digestion where it starts
(in the stomach). Best for meals with protein. Experiment with dose titration.

2) Collagen Peptides
Sick of drinking bone broth? Try Sports Research Hydrolyzed Collagen
Peptides. It is a bovine-based bioavailable source of collagen that is easy to mix
in water and drink any time. Great way to further feed & repair our GI tract.

3) Prebiotics
Struggling to eat enough prebiotic foods, especially resistant starches? Try
Natural Stacks Prebiotic+. Unlike most prebiotic powder supplements, ~95%
is from low FODMAP green banana & potato starch. Start with small servings!

4) Zinc & Magnesium

Low on zinc and magnesium? Most people are when their digestive system is
suboptimal, so a 2-1 supplement like Rootcha’s Mag-Zinc combo can be helpful.

5) Fish Oil
Not eating omega-3 rich fish every day? Try my company Essential Stacks
Triple Strength Fish Oil. With a no-reflux formula, this is an easy way to get
your omega 3s, which can support optimal intestinal permeability via better
tight junction function, increased bacterial diversity and reduced inflammation.

6) Vitamin D
Finding it hard to get some daily sun? Consider our Vitamin D3 with Vitamin
K2. It has a smartly balanced amount of D3 for daily use and the K2 helps with
absorption & distribution of the Vitamin D. With similar inflammation fighting
and tight junction function support as fish oil, your gut will love this lil guy.

4
Being Realistic
I know supplements can be expensive and time
consuming to take. And I don't want you to waste
either your money or your time.

So the team and I were extremely diligent in our

research and in reaching consensus.

We based our recommendations on efficacy data

from 100s of studies, as well as my personal
experience and the reports of 1000s of readers.

And as you saw, we whittled a list of 73 contenders

down to just 15 and then whittled it even further to
a top 3 - the must haves.

That means you can now see what to prioritize and

what you can simply put on your 'someday, maybe'
list.

So pick the best and forget the rest!

And most of all, speak to your doctor or healthcare

professional to ensure each supplement makes
sense for you personally.

Richard