The Most Bang For Your Buck…
Improving gut function is the cornerstone to rebuilding health, maintaining already good health and/or preventing disease.
One could arguably say that your gut is the most critical part of your body.
The gut continuously provides updates on the constant state of affairs in the body.
The gut is known as the “second brain” because, just like the brain, it actually has its own nervous system (the Enteric Nervous System) that acts as an information superhighway between itself and the brain (known as the brain-gut axis).
Research continues to show how instrumental the gut is in all aspects of your body. If I could, I would place my bets on the fact that the gut will soon be called the first brain, because as we are learning, the health of your gut is actually what determines the capacity and function of your brain.
As you might know, your gut is where nutrients are absorbed to fuel other functions of the body but it’s also where 80% of the immune system lives.
Your gut acts also your “second skin”, internally protecting you from toxic substances, bacteria and viruses. And it’s where the majority of mood stabilizing hormones such as serotonin and dopamine are created.
Functional medicine practitioners estimate that 80% of the population is walking around with a “leaky” or damaged gut, which likely includes you too.
So my question for you this week is…
Are you getting the most bang for your buck with what you’re putting in your mouth?
If your gut is operating suboptimally, that means your digestion is impaired. When digestion is impaired, that means you can’t properly break down food into nutrients or adequately absorb them to fuel the rest of your body.
It’s very common for new clients to come to me frustrated, with a laundry list of supplements, medications, and diets that they’ve tried with little to no results. When we sit down to evaluate their health, it becomes very clear that the it wasn’t the supplements, medications or diets that failed them – it was their poor gut health.
You could literally be flushing money you spend on supplements, food and medications down the toilet.
When your digestion and gut health are in disarray you’re literally flushing money you spend on high quality food, supplements and medications down the toilet, because you can’t adequately absorb all of that good stuff.
This leaves your body deficient, tired and susceptible to disease and sickness.
In this week’s video and blog I help you assess if you’re getting the most bang for your buck with what you’re putting in your mouth and how to improve your digestive power.
Before I dive into how improve your gut health and digestive power, let me give you some background about how leaky gut happens in the first place…
Leaky gut does not happen overnight, it’s something that has been evolving for quite some time. With some of my clients we can trace it all the way back to their birth. If you were a c-section baby and/or didn’t receive breast milk as a child, then your gut didn’t get the essential healthy bacteria it needed in the first place to be set up for success.
But even those of us who were not c-section babies and who did receive breast milk can still run into gut health issues down the road.
Some of the most common contributors to an unhealthy and leaky gut include:
- Inflammatory foods such as gluten, dairy, soy and sugar
- Over the counter or prescription medication use
- Constant low grade emotional stress or traumatic events
- Parasites, bacteria and yeast overgrowth
- Toxic household cleaning products, tap water and non-organic foods
Over time with continued exposures to these contributing factors, the delicate lining of your gut begins to wear down. The more worn down the gut lining becomes, the more susceptible your are to the most common contributors of leaky gut and eventually the whole systems starts to shut down.
Some of the most common signs of an unhealthy and leaky gut include:
- GERD/Acid Reflux
- Constipation and/or diarrhea
- Chronic inflammation and pain
- Psoriasis, eczema, rashes and/or acne
- Anxiety, depression and/or mood swings
- Sudden weight gain or weight loss, or stubborn weight
- Trouble falling asleep or sleeping through the night
- Hormone imbalances – estrogen, testosterone, thyroid etc.
If you’re suffering from any of the of signs and symptoms above then I can almost guarantee that you have a leaky gut to some degree, and you’re not getting the most bang for your buck with whatever remedies you’re trying.
Healing your gut is how you can really begin to heal your health and your life.
When you restore the health of your gut, you increase your digestive power, adequately absorb nutrients and can then fully reap all of the benefits from nutritious foods and supplements to further support your health.
Here are 4 simple steps you can take daily to support gut health and improve digestion:
- Cut the crap – avoid eating inflammatory foods such as gluten, dairy, sugar and soy
- Chew on it – chew each bite 20 times to promote more digestive enzyme production
- Boost beneficial bacteria – take a high quality probiotic such as this one
- Slow down – take 5-10 deep breaths before eating to put your body into rest and digest mode
Depending on the depth of your leaky gut issues, it may take more than just these 4 simple steps to restore health to your gut. However, these simple daily strategies will pave the path for improved health.
To learn more about your gut health and how to optimize it, join me April 11th at 5:30pm PT/ 8:30pm ET for a free webinar…
Leaky Gut: The Missing Link To Better Health, Hormones & Happiness
In this webinar I’ll cover in more detail:
- What leaky gut is and how it’s your most overlooked healing opportunity
- How leaky gut happens and 3 simple steps you can take to reverse it
- The link between healing your gut, hormones, improving health and overall sense of happiness
- Why candida or parasite cleanses go wrong and what you should be doing to heal your gut instead
Healing my gut has been a very personal part of my own health re-building program. I’ve alleviated my allergies, joint aches, migraines, back pain, and have balanced my energy, all by listening to the signals my body was giving me about my gut. Now it’s part of my personal mission to help others stop the pain and suffering by teaching them to do the same!
Join me April 11th at 5:30pm PT/ 8:30pm ET for a free webinar…
Leaky Gut: The Missing Link To Better Health, Hormones & Happiness- Register Here!
P.S. Want to hear more about the importance of gut health and how it can help you get your life back? Check out the live video I did on Facebook recently here.
