April 2026 – Choosing Health Now

Your gut is at the ROOT of your health. Inside your gut, there’s a molecule hiding that most people have never heard of — and it might be silently fueling some of the most common health problems. It’s called LPS (lipopolysaccharide). What you’re going to learn about your gut and LPS today will give you a whole new appreciation for your gut.

First: What Is LPS?

LPS is a byproduct of the bacteria that naturally live in your gut. LPS, also known as endotoxin, is a byproduct of the bacteria that naturally live in your gut. It forms the outermost layer of certain bacteria (gram-negative bacteria) and helps protect them. LPS is released both during the normal day to day metabolic processes of bacteria and when they die. Okay so technically LPS isn’t your gut bug’s poop…but it is waste material and I stand by my analogy.

In a nutshell, LPS is a completely normal part of your gut ecosystem. The problem isn’t that it exists: The problem is what happens when too much of it gets out.

LPS belongs inside your gut, not in your bloodstream. When LPS repeatedly escapes into your bloodstream, even at low levels, it is like flicking the domino on inflammation throughout your entire body.

Chronically elevated LPS in the blood has been linked to:
Type 2 diabetes · Atherosclerosis · Hypertension · Obesity · NAFLD (fatty liver disease) · Autoimmune conditions · IBS and SIBO · Cognitive decline and brain fog · Depression and anxiety

And here’s a fun fact, your diet and lifestyle play a HUGE role in LPS-induced inflammation. In one study, healthy people placed on a Western-style diet for just one month saw a 71% increase in blood LPS levels — while those eating a whole-food diet saw levels drop by 31%.

The Gut Barrier: Your First Line of Defense

Your gut lining is not just a passive tube. It’s an active, brilliantly designed barrier with multiple layers that work together to protect you. Here are 3 noteworthy lines of defense your gut has for keeping LPS in check.

Defense Layer 1: An Enzyme Called IAP
Your gut lining produces an enzyme called intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP). IAP is like a bouncer at your gut’s door. It detoxifies LPS right there in your gut and prevents it from entering your bloodstream and triggering inflammation. IAP also helps keep your gut lining sealed tight (helps regulate tight junction protein levels). IAP works best when you have good microbial diversity, healthy bile flow, and a fiber-rich diet.

Defense Layer 2: The mucus layer
This is a thick physical barrier that acts as a buffer and prevents bacteria (and their byproducts like LPS) from making direct contact with your intestinal cells.

Defense Layer 3: Tight junctions
The “seals” between your intestinal cells. When these are intact, they keep LPS from slipping through into the bloodstream. When they break down, LPS and all sorts of other toxins, gets through.

The Liver: Your Second Line of Defense

Defense Layer 1: HDL3
You’ve probably heard HDL called “good cholesterol.” But there’s a specific subtype — HDL3 — that plays a fascinating and newly discovered role in LPS defense. Your intestinal cells produce HDL3 particles that travel directly to the liver through the portal vein. On its way to the liver, HDL3 binds to a protein called LPS-binding protein (LBP), which in turn binds to LPS. Such a good example of the teamwork between your gut and your liver!

What supports healthy HDL3? Zone 2 cardio (easy pace exercise), omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenol-rich foods, and dietary fiber all help keep this system working well.

Defense Layer 2: Your Liver
Any LPS that makes it past your gut and past your HDL3 gets filtered by your liver. When your liver is healthy and not overburdened, it clears LPS efficiently. When it’s stressed — by poor diet, gut dysbiosis, or metabolic dysfunction — clearance of LPS suffers and more LPS spills into circulation. Supporting your liver with a clean diet, filtered water, daily movement, curcumin (well-documented anti-inflammatory effects on the liver and has been shown to modulate the TLR4 signaling pathway that LPS uses to trigger inflammation), milk thistle (supports liver cell regeneration and protects hepatocytes from inflammatory damage), and dandelion root (supports bile production and flow, which matters both for liver detoxification and for keeping IAP active in the gut) can help keep this final filter running smoothly.

The Most Powerful Takeaways

The good news: the same lifestyle habits that support your overall health are the very ones that keep your LPS defense system strong.

Eat plenty of fiber, especially with your fats. Fiber reduces LPS-producing bacteria, supports IAP, and helps buffer the LPS absorption that naturally accompanies fat digestion.
Choose polyphenol-rich foods daily. Berries, olive oil, green tea, colorful vegetables, dark chocolate — these support both a healthier gut microbiome and better HDL function.
Get your omega-3s. EPA and DHA (from fatty fish or quality fish oil) improve HDL particle quality and have direct anti-inflammatory effects throughout the gut-liver axis.
Do Zone 2 cardio consistently. 3–5 sessions per week of moderate-intensity movement is one of the most reliable ways to improve your HDL profile and reduce systemic inflammation over time.
Support your liver. Curcumin, milk thistle, and dandelion root all support the liver’s ability to clear LPS efficiently.
Build your microbiome. A diverse gut microbiome means fewer LPS-producing bacteria, stronger IAP activity, and a more resilient gut barrier. Prioritize prebiotic fiber, fermented foods, and a spore-based probiotic (Spore-based probiotics such as Bacillus indicus, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus coagulans have been associated with a meaningful reduction in endotoxin levels in the blood).
Protect your gut barrier. Sure there are supplements (like Zinc, L-glutamine, collagen, butyrate-producing foods) that you can take to support your gut barrier, but one of the most powerful tools for your gut is nervous system regulation (aka emotional self-regulation)!

The Big Picture

LPS is a normal part of life — you can’t eliminate it, and you don’t need to. Your body has a brilliant, layered system for keeping it in check. The best thing you can do is to support that system with: a diverse, fiber-forward diet, healthy fats, quality sleep, daily movement, emotional self-regulation, hydration, and targeted gut support when needed.

When your gut and liver are getting what they need to be strong and functional, the chronic inflammatory burden that drives so much modern disease becomes far less of a threat.

If you’re ready to discover where your best health has been hiding, I’d love to connect with you!

As a functional nutritionist, I don’t just help you to eat healthier: I help you create a healthier lifestyle.

Apply for a complimentary Unstoppable Health Discovery Session. http://bit.ly/schedulinghealth (subject to availability).

Wishing you unstoppable health,

~Rebecca

P.S. If you know someone who is ready to feel great & create health habits that stick, I would love to connect with them!

Please share my scheduling link with them so that they can schedule a complimentary Unstoppable Health Discovery Session with me.

There are a lot of ads out this time of year for detoxifying your body: juice cleanses, detox teas, 7-day “reset” programs promising to flush toxins and fix everything. Here’s the thing: your body already has its own sophisticated detoxification system built right in. And the real secret to supporting it? It starts in your gut.

Your gut is at the ROOT of your health. Your gut is where you take all the good stuff you eat and drink and transform it into the many building blocks your body needs to make energy, think clearly, sleep well, maintain a healthy weight, build muscle, fight infections, and yes, clear out toxins that need clearing out daily so you can thrive.

Today we will look at the gut-detox connection and 5 simple yet effective ways to support your gut’s natural detoxification capabilities.

The Gut–Detox Connection

Your liver gets most of the detox glory, and it’s honestly well deserved— it processes hundreds of toxins every day. But your gut is your liver’s partner in health!

A 2022 review published in Nutrients found that your gut microbiome directly influences your liver’s ability to metabolize toxins and regulate inflammation — confirming that the gut-liver axis is one of the most important detox pathways in the body.

The lining of your intestines acts as a critical filter, deciding what gets absorbed into your bloodstream and what gets escorted out. When your gut microbiome is balanced and your intestinal lining is healthy, that filtration process works beautifully…

However, when your microbiome isn’t balanced and your gut is struggling, then toxins, undigested food particles, and harmful bacteria byproducts can slip through — something called increased intestinal permeability, aka “leaky gut.” This puts extra burden on your liver and immune system, and can contribute to all sorts of unpleasant symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, skin issues, weight gain, and inflammation.

5 Practical Ways to Support Your Gut’s Natural Detox

1. Load up on fiber — especially prebiotic fiber
Fiber is your gut’s best friend. It feeds the beneficial bacteria in your microbiome and adds bulk that literally sweeps waste through your digestive tract. Aim for a variety: onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, and slightly underripe bananas are especially rich in prebiotic fiber that feeds your good bacteria directly (see my previous newsletter on resistant starch).

2. Eat fermented foods daily
Yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, and miso introduce live beneficial bacteria into your gut. Research from Stanford found that a diet high in fermented foods increased microbiome diversity and reduced inflammatory markers — two things that directly support your body’s detox capacity.

3. Prioritize cruciferous vegetables
Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage contain compounds called glucosinolates, which your gut bacteria convert into sulforaphane — a powerful activator of the liver’s Phase 2 detox enzymes.

4. Stay hydrated (more than you think)
Water is how your kidneys flush water-soluble toxins out of your body. It also works with fiber to keep things moving in your digestive tract. Aim for at least 8 cups a day, more if you’re active or live in a warm climate. I also love herbal teas like dandelion root, ginger, turmeric, milk thistle, and nettle leaf to provide additional detoxification support.

5. Give your gut an earlier bedtime
A 12+ hour overnight fast (for example, finishing dinner by 7pm and eating breakfast at 7am) activates the migrating motor complex — your gut’s built-in cleaning wave that works when you aren’t eating/digesting. You probably don’t need a 3-day juice cleanse; consistent overnight fasting (I recommend 12-16hrs) is one of the most research-backed gut reset strategies available.

What to Skip: The “Detox” Products That Make Your Gut Cringe

Some detox products can actually disrupt the very gut ecosystem you’re trying to support. Laxatives and aggressive colon flushes can strip away the mucus lining of your intestines and reduce microbial diversity — the opposite of what you want. I understand the appeal of fast results, but you will save yourself a lot of time, stress, and yo-yo’ing by giving your body what it needs to support your natural processes: consistent fiber, hydration, and taking care of your beneficial bacteria.

Key Takeaways

Your body is remarkably good at detoxifying itself — it does it every single day. The most powerful thing you can do is stop overwhelming your system with ultra-processed foods, alcohol, stress, and body care products loaded with chemicals and start consistently feeding your gut bacteria and gut terrain that make the whole process work. Real detox isn’t a 3-day cleanse or even a 30-day program. It’s the fiber you build your meals around, the fermented foods you learn to love, and the 12-16 hour overnight rest you give your gut every night: it’s the habits you do consistently!

As a functional nutritionist, I don’t just help you to eat healthier: I help you create healthy diet and lifestyle habits.