Gut Healing Broth Recipe

When I lost the weight, sure, I appreciated wearing whatever I wanted and feeling sexy naked, but I was also constantly bloated and constipated. I had no energy, my face was flushed, and I still had acne, unbearable PMS, and most importantly, I felt unhappy. I thought taking a few digestive enzyme pills would help me soothe and ease my gut from the painful yet minor digestive issues. My doctor couldn't figure out what was happening, so she diagnosed me with IBS. I thought this phase would only last a month or so, but two, three, four, six months later, I was still facing the same digestive issues and I always felt exhausted. It didn't feel like an emergency type of digestive issues, but it was mostly an annoying thing I had to deal with every day. Things like needing to carry digestive enzyme pills with me everywhere, things like not appreciating going to the restaurant because everything on the menu would either trigger bloating or cramps. But it went south when my partner and I went on a romantic getaway together. It was a warm, romantic summer night in June, and we had a fabulous time walking around the city. I was famished by all the walking we did that day, so we spotted a beautifully located pizza place where we could sit down and enjoy dinner together. I ordered a vegan pizza with a glass of ice-cold water for dinner, and the first few bites were delicious. Of course, I had my digestive enzyme pills with me in my purse because I knew I'd need them after such a meal. But something unusual was happening. Every bite I was taking was making the cramps worse and worse, until I couldn't eat at all. I immediately asked my partner to pay so we could leave. Standing up was painful. Every step was painful. Every breath was painful. I was sitting on the sidewalk, holding my stomach in pain and hoping all of this would end. My partner had to carry me in his arms to the metro station and then to our hotel room. I felt so ashamed. I thought, how could I possibly have all these issues? I was eating a quote-unquote very healthy diet of vegetables, no sugar, no oil, no salt, and I was exercising every day. I looked slim. To the eyes of society, I was incredibly healthy. Yet, I still didn't feel good inside. I was experiencing the most painful digestive issues ever, and my energy was low every day. So when I started using Ayurveda as a tool for my self-healing journey, the thing that helped me the most was to stick to warm, liquid, lightly spiced foods. So easy to digest foods. I like to make this broth once or twice a month and store it in the fridge so I always have some on hand for either homemade soups or to drink on its own. It's full of gut-friendly ingredients that are known to both stimulate the gut but also deeply nourish it. Broth is used in so many cultures to heal the body and soul, and it's no different in the Ayurvedic tradition.