Hippocrates said, “All disease begins in the gut.” And while this may not be 100% true for every disease in every person, more and more research shows that our gut (digestive system) has a bigger role in many diseases than we used to think. And we're not just talking about heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, IBS, IBD, etc. We're talking about all kinds of issues like allergies, pain, mood disorders, and nutrient deficiencies. There are a lot of reasons for this. Our gut is the portal to the outside world. It's here where we take in disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and parasites. We also take in nutrients (and toxins) through our gut. The nutrients we ingest and absorb are the building blocks of every single part of our body. We're just learning the connections between our gut and other areas of our body, like our brain (have you heard of "the gut-brain axis"). Not just our gut per se; but, its friendly resident microbes too. These guys also have newly discovered roles in our gut health and overall health. Putting it in the positive, I'll say, "All health begins in the gut." So, let's talk about the roles that our gut and our gut microbes play in our overall health and then I'll give you tips to improve your gut health naturally. Our Gut's Role in Our Overall Health Our gut’s main role is as a barrier: to let things in that should get in, and to keep things out that should stay out. Think of “absorption” of nutrients as things we want to let in; and “elimination” of waste as things we want to pass right through and out. This seemingly simple role is super-complex! And it can break down in so many places. For one thing, our guts can "leak." Yes, like a long tube with holes in it, it can allow things to get into our bloodstream/bodies that can wreak havoc (bacteria, undigested food, and toxins). You name it, whatever you put into your mouth can be absorbed by your gut and get into your bloodstream, even if it's not supposed to and when your gut wall gets irritated, it can "leak." When this happens, you get inflammation, which is a starting point for many diseases that don't seem linked to the gut but have a sneaky connection there. Importantly, about 70% of our immune system lives in and around our gut. A healthy gut is not a leaky gut. It maintains its barrier and shuttles things through to be eliminated. Maintaining a healthy gut barrier is the first pillar of gut health. The second main part of your gut are the billions of friendly health-promoting microbes. Gut microbes help us digest and absorb nutrients. They fight off disease-causing microbes, make some vitamins for us, and have all kinds of other health benefits, like mental health benefits, reducing inflammation, and stabilizing blood sugar. Keeping your gut microbes happy is the second pillar of gut health! There are a lot of natural ways to improve gut health. Let’s start with what to stop. It’s always best to eliminate the cause, so let’s stop giving our guts junk to deal with. Try eliminating added sugars, processed foods, and alcohol for a few weeks, and you may be amazed at how much better your body (and gut) feels. Next week's blog post, That Gut Feeling Part Two, will explore how your gut feels is related to your feelings in general. Consider eliminating other gut irritants like dairy and grains which contain common compounds known to irritate some people’s guts. Sometimes you only need to eliminate them for a few weeks to see if it makes a difference for your health. Try a unsweetened coconut or almond yogurt instead of dairy yogurt. Rice, quinoa and oats are all grains. Eat nutrient-dense foods which allow ample macro- and micro-nutrients into our gut to maximize the chance for absorption. These nutrients help our bodies build and repair our gut, and every other body part as well. Some of the most nutrient-dense foods include dark leafy greens, colorful fruits and veggies, nuts and seeds and sea vegetables. Nourish your microbes by ingesting probiotic (friendly bacteria) foods and drinks to help to replenish our gut microbes. These are found in fermented foods like kombucha, coconut kefir, miso, sauerkraut, and kimchi. Make these a part of your daily diet. Check out the easy recipe at the end of this post for Cultured Carrots. Choose whole foods full of gut-friendly fiber. Fiber plays lots of roles in our gut, including whisking away some of those pesky bad bacteria and toxins so they can be eliminated. Fiber also helps to feed our friendly resident microbes that help us absorb and digest our food better. Not eating enough fiber increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity. What foods have a lot of fiber? Fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and even cacao. Foods that are high in fiber are usually high in pre-biotics. Feed the friendlies. Pro-biotics need love, too. Pre-biotic foods like bananas, raw asparagus, raw and cooked onions, raw garlic, and raw dandelion greens all are high in fiber and are usually high in the good pre-biotics that feed the healthy bacteria (probiotics) in your gut. Chew, chew, chew your food! As silly as it sounds, this is the simplest act to help you digest and absorb food. The saliva in your mouth contains enzymes that helps break down food. This begins the digestion process. It's also a way to slow down and de-stress, savor and enjoy. Pay attention to lifestyle factors. Getting enough sleep, stressing less, and getting the right amount (and intensity) of exercise for you are all important factors in maintaining gut health . It’s easy to forget some of the simple, but key links there are between what we do with our bodies and how well they function. Here it is in a nutshell: 1. The function of your gut is key to your overall health. 2. There are two pillars of gut health: maintaining a good barrier and maintaining healthy gut microbes. 3. The main ways to improve both of these naturally is by eating nutrient-dense whole foods: foods filled with nutrition, pre-biotics and probiotics, and fiber. 4. Eliminate common gut irritants like added sugar, processed foods, and alcohol. And here's a quick and easy recipe to get you started with making your microbiome happy with probiotic-rich, homemade Cultured Carrots.
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Sometimes food is just so…….tasty.
And it's not just the abundance of delicious food but also the people, the ambiance. It is way too easy (and common) to indulge when you’re feeling the ‘food love.’ Sometimes this is at holidays or celebrations. But it doesn't always stop there. Sometimes we overeat. All.The.Time. Here are some suggestions to help overeating at meals and turn these habits into healthy behaviors. Start with some lemon water, bitters or apple cider vinegar. When your stomach is growling and you smell amazingly delicious food it's all too easy to mound a plate and dive into a "see" of food. (I love puns, sorry!) But did you know that it's possible to sometimes confuse the feeling of thirst with that of hunger? You may actually be craving a big glass of water. Some studies have shown that drinking a glass or two of water before a meal can help reduce the amount of food eaten. And this super-simple act of hydration may even help with weight loss (...just sayin'). But here’s the catch: too much water before a meal can dilute the all important stomach acid needed to digest your meal. A couple of tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice, raw apple cider vinegar (ACV) or tasty herbal bitters combination like this one from Urban Moonshine mixed into 4 ounces of pure water will help prime your digestive system so that you can properly digest that delicious food. Not only will the lemon, ACV or bitters 'mocktail' start to fill up your stomach before you get to down to your meal and leave less room for your feast, but being properly hydrated has been shown to slightly increase your metabolism. If the concoction is a little too sharp on your tongue you can add about a tablespoon of immune-boosting raw, local honey to make the drink more palatable. Win-win! Whoop-whoop! Eat mindfully. You've heard of mindfulness but have you applied it to your eating habits? I talked a little about this in my last blog post. Intention. Mindfulness. Same thing, different post. Mindfulness can help you avoid overeating as well as having the added bonus of helping your digestion. Just as being mindful when you meditate helps to focus your attention on your breathing and the present moment, being mindful when you eat helps to focus your attention on your meal. Remember: intention is an “inside job.” It’s up to you, not the food. Eat smaller bites. Eat more slowly. Chew more thoroughly. Savour every mouthful. Notice and appreciate the smell, taste and texture. Eat off a small plate, not out of a pan. Turn off your phone and the TV. Eat with a friend, put your fork down, listen and chat. Breathe. Laugh. All these behaviors can help prevent overeating because eating slower often means eating less. When you eat quickly you can easily overeat because it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to know that your stomach is full. So take your time, pay attention to your food and enjoy every bite. Start with a salad. You may be yearning for that rich, creamy main dish but don’t start there. A salad primes your digestion, especially if it has some arugula, mustard greens, celery tops or other bitter greens in it. Veggies are a great way to start any meal because they're full of not only vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and health-promoting phytochemicals (all these equal nutrient density) but they also have some key satiety elements: fiber and water. Fiber and water are known to help fill you up and make you feel fuller. These are great assets not only for nutrition and digestion, but also when you're about to indulge in a large meal. And a note on feeling fuller: Your stomach has 2 ways of sensing fullness: one is by sensing nutrient density, “thanks for giving me the fuel I needed to help your body move and groove efficiently ” or by volume, “you just filled me up like a water balloon and there is no more space.” Nutrient dense foods (raw fruits and veggies, especially) fuel the body. Nutrient deficient foods (junk or other processed foods) leave the body wanting more, even though you feel stuffed, because your body craves optimal functioning. So: Have your glass of lemon water, apple cider vinegar or bitter ‘mocktail.’ Eat mindfully. Start with your salad to stimulate digestion and create fiber and water nutrient dense bulk in your stomach. Recipes Here are some tasty (and beautiful) pre-meal water ideas: If you're not much of a plain water drinker or need your water to be more appealing to your senses here are five delicious (and beautiful looking) fruit combos to add to your large glass of water:
You can buy a bag (or several bags) of frozen chopped fruit and throw those into your cup, thermos, or uber-cool mason jar in the morning. They're already washed and cut and will help keep your water colder longer. I've been editing this blog for about 3 hours. Yikes! Whatever significant thought or sentence I have lost due to my ineptness with computer editing is of no importance. In the words of Michael Pollan, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Shine on, hydrate, breathe and eat your salad first. That European idea of eating a salad after your meal is not what it’s cracked up to be. Happy Valentine's Day from my heart to yours. Beth This is not the post I intended to write today. I think there is a quote that goes something like, "Life is something that happens while you are busy making other plans." More about that later in the post. If you are a client of mine or have attended one of my talks you have probably heard me say, "It's all about the food but it's not about the food." What do I mean by this? Whether your goal is to lose weight or to have more energy or to eat "cleaner," your success in reaching your goal is really predicated on your intention, not on the calories or nutrients or their bioavailability. Yes, nutrient-density, activity, water, absorption, organically grown or conventional--all this and other sh*t matters--to a degree. You can learn to about why these aspects of food and nourishment are essential through seminars, books, videos, shopping lists, meal plans and all the services I offer or whichever 'health guru' that you are resonating with offers. You can buy every time-saving gadget that your local kitchen supply center tempts your crow-eye with or that Amazon can deliver to your door before you can blink. You can assemble every convenient, "healthy" shipped-to-your-cutting-board meal box (what's up with those?) that crosses your Facebook feed. Ask yourself: Are you really reaching your health goals or are these quick fixes and "feel-goods?" Do you reach your goal and maintain it? Are you creating new sustainable habits that become beautiful, life-long behaviors that keep you feeling well inside and out, month after month, year after year? What is the real craving you are trying to satisfy? It's not entirely about the food, the gadgets, the recipes, the cookbooks, the coaching. None of it. Your wellness with food is determined by the intention you bring to it and the actions you consistently--I will repeat for emphasis: consistently--apply to. your wellness. Some real questions: What is your relationship with food? Is it positive? Benevolent? Peaceful? Kind to your body and the planet? Is it stressful? Shrouded with shame? Self-sabotaging? Out-of-control, leaving you feeling unwell? Are you cycling in and out of feelin' good-feeling' bad? Why do your intentions and consistency become sidetracked? What I really do when I work with people is help them reprogram and rewire the old habits, patterns and thoughts that keep sabotaging their best efforts to stay on track with healthy eating. Emotional eating, stress eating, mindless eating, and night-time snacking are just a few of the habits that undermine wellness goals. It's very easy to "eat our feelings" and ignore the imbedded reasons behind disordered eating. Food can be used like a drug to self-sedate, provide distraction, or create false comfort. Food can nourish or food can diminish. The key is to go deep and look inside where these habits and behaviors started and got their foothold. This is very, very hard work, indeed. Here is where one-on-one coaching and the fellowship of peer support helps: to know you are guided and not alone in your challenges with food. I write this with no judgement. The relationship with food is a very personal path. Mine was and is. If I could come up with one ultimate recipe it would be the recipe to love oneself. This is where we begin to make peace with our food choices and habits. The method might be something like this: Look in the mirror and inside your heart and no matter what you see or feel, say out loud, "I'm okay. I am enough. I am loved." Heck, write it on your mirror. The intention of this dream ultimate-lifeforce-sustaining recipe would be to have all the soul-supporting ingredients for perfect nourishment. What would be the ingredients in your own personal soul-supporting recipe? What is it that your soul and spirit is hungry for? What non-food ingredients are in your soul-satisfying recipe? I can guarantee the soul-food ingredients are not coming from a store, a Facebook post, in an Amazon box or even from this blog post. My original post was going to be about fullness and satiety or whatever we think over-eating is but I will post that for the next Wellness Wednesday. My thoughts today had to shift because yesterday morning I got word another friend took his life. That's two friends in 2 f***ing years! Like my friend Kris, Eric struggled with alcohol and self-love. Eric and I were estranged friends for the last 18 years or so, but that does not matter. I will always know Eric as kind, loving, giving, funny and supportive. Eric taught this diehard skier to snowboard when I was 30 and I was a snowboarder ever-after. He helped many, many people of all ages ride the slopes and feel the magic of snowboarding, including my son. He was a good and kind teacher. Eric also helped me with childcare for my son when I needed it and he thoroughly enjoyed being a care-giver. He saved me from mommy-madness more than once. He helped me garden and landscape, transforming our NH property. He was really, really good at it and was an invaluable assistant to his long-time partner and her landscaping and property maintenance business. Eric was a good friend to both my husband and me. We shared meals and a lot of laughs. He was a very patient dog-sitter for our goofball-compost pile-raiding-boy-dog, Porter. It is the light within Eric that we will cherish, remember and be thankful for, estrangement and tender acknowledgement of his challenges with alcohol, aside. I am sharing this because I feel it is important to acknowledge that we all have struggles. Like alcohol, food addiction and/or eating disorders can present real and life-threatening consequences. The affects on loved ones may present differently with food issues than they do with alcohol but the devastating results can be the same. Self-destruction is self-destruction. Self-love, then, may be the greatest challenge of all. The behaviors we exhibit outwardly are not the complete expression of who we are inwardly. It's okay to look inside and not judge oneself. Find help to take the action you need to address your challenges and then begin the baby steps of recovery. There is always someone appreciating you for who you are and can offer fellowship and support. Most importantly, may you find your own Self-appreciation. No food-for-the-body recipe this week. Just this: Just for today, be kind to yourself as you would be kind to others. Know that you are a shining light even in your darkness. Reach out when your darkness gets too heavy. Serve this to yourself this day and every day afterward. Here's a tune to remind all of us that we are eternal light, beautiful beings without boundaries. Blessings of Spirit fro Eric and his loved ones. And to all of you. Shine on always, in all ways. xo Beth Sometimes food is just so…….tasty. And it's not just the abundance of delicious food but also the people, the ambiance.....All the right "stuff." (Yep, pun intended.) It is way too easy--and common--to indulge when you’re feeling the ‘food love.’ Sometimes this is at holidays or celebrations. But it doesn't always stop there. Sometimes we overeat. All.The.Time. Here are some suggestions to help overeating at meals and turn these habits into healthy behaviors. Start with some lemon water, bitters or apple cider vinegar. When your stomach is growling and you smell amazingly delicious food it's all too easy to mound a plate and high-dive into that sea of food. But did you know that it's possible to sometimes confuse the feeling of thirst with that of hunger? You may actually be craving a big glass of water. Some studies have shown that drinking a glass or two of water before a meal can help reduce the amount of food eaten. This super-simple act of hydration may even help with weight loss (...just sayin'). But here’s the catch: Too much water before a meal can dilute the all important stomach acid needed to digest your meal. A couple of tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice, raw apple cider vinegar (ACV) or tasty herbal bitters combination like this one of these from Urban Moonshine will help prime your digestive system so that you can properly digest that delicious food. Not only will the lemon water, ACV or bitters start to fill up your stomach before you get to down to your meal and leave less room for your feast, the real gem is that being properly hydrated has been shown to slightly increase your metabolism because all systems are grooving and moving. Water helps conduct the electricity within your body that helps maintain your life-force. Win-win! Whoop-whoop! Eat mindfully. You've heard of mindfulness but have you applied it to your eating habits? I talked a little about this in my last blog post. Intention. Mindfulness. Same thing, different post. Mindfulness can help you avoid overeating as well as having the added bonus of helping your digestion. Just as being mindful when you meditate helps to focus your attention on your breathing and the present moment, being mindful when you eat helps to focus your attention on your meal. Remember: intention is an “inside job.” It’s up to you, not the food. Eat smaller bites. Eat more slowly. Chew more thoroughly. Savour every mouthful. Notice and appreciate the smell, taste and texture. Eat off a small plate, not out of a pan. Turn off your phone and the TV. Eat with a friend, put your fork down, listen and chat. Breathe. Laugh. Repeat. All these behaviors can help prevent overeating because eating slower often means eating less. When you eat quickly you can easily overeat because it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to know that your stomach is full. So take your time, pay attention to your food and enjoy every bite. Start with a salad. You may be yearning for that rich, creamy main dish but don’t start there. A salad primes your digestion, especially if it has some arugula, mustard greens, celery tops or other bitter greens in it. Bitter greens are a whole food form of liquid bitters and the chewing required begins the digestive process. The saliva in your mouth contains enzymes that begin to break down the food to prepare it for digestion and the bitter greens stimulate the stomach acid needed to break down the food even more. Also, veggies are a great way to start any meal because they're full of not only vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and health-promoting phytochemicals (all these equal nutrient density) but they also have some key satiety elements: fiber and water. Fiber and water are known to help fill you up and make you feel fuller. These are great assets not only for nutrition and digestion, but also when you're about to indulge in a large meal. And a note on feeling fuller: Your stomach has 2 ways of sensing fullness: one is by sensing nutrient density, “thanks for giving me the fuel I needed to help your body efficiently ” or by volume, “you just filled me up like a water balloon and there is no more space.” Nutrient dense foods (raw fruits and veggies, especially) fuel the body. Nutrient deficient foods (junk or other processed foods) leave the body wanting more, even though you feel stuffed, because your body craves nutrient density for optimal functioning. So: Have your glass of lemon water, apple cider vinegar or bitter ‘mocktail.’ Eat mindfully. Start with a mixed green salad to stimulate digestion and fill your stomach with nutrient dense bulk (fiber and water). Recipes Here are some tasty (and beautiful) pre-meal water ideas: If you're not much of a plain water drinker or need your water to be more appealing to your senses here are five delicious (and beautiful looking) fruit combos to add to your large glass of water:
You can buy a bag (or several bags) of frozen chopped fruit and throw those into your cup, thermos, or uber-cool mason jar in the morning. They're already washed and cut and will help keep your water colder longer. Shine on, hydrate, breathe and eat your salad first. That European idea of eating a salad after your meal is not what it’s cracked up to be. Xoxo Beth |
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