You walk into a bakery and smell the delicious aroma of bread, pie, cake, muffins, cookies, scones, cinnamon rolls and immediately you get more saliva and *think* you are hungry and need a snack. You practically drool at the thought of a ooey, gooey cinnamon roll. Mmmmm!!! 😀 (are you actually drooling yet?! 😀 ) Some of this deliciousness takes yeast to make into bread or rolls, while the other yummy goodness doesn’t but it actually breaks down (metabolizes)  into sugar – which – too much will make yeast in our gut! 🙁

“All Health Begins in the Gut” – Hippocrates

Who was Hippocrates? He is considered to be the “father of medicine” while in reality, he was a physician from Greece and lived during the time of 460-375 B.C.  There are many articles written about his ethical mannerisms and how he taught students such as Meno.  “Meno, a pupil of Aristotle, specifically stated in his history of medicine the views of Hippocrates on the causation of diseases, namely, that undigested residues were produced by unsuitable diet and that these residues excreted vapours, which passed into the body generally and produced diseases. Aristotle said that Hippocrates was called “the Great Physician” but that he was small in stature (Politics). (1) 

Hippocrates also ended this quote with “and let medicine be your food”.  In actuality, it makes sense to use real food as your medicinal arsenal. Sometimes it is hard to decipher what Real Food is due to so many articles, authors, doctors, nutritionists, health coaches or self-taught personnel telling you to do this! do that! Try this or that! Eat this herb! Try this supplement! Mine is the best! Don’t eat theirs! :-O It can be SO confusing knowing what is right or wrong; what to do or what not to do.

While I certainly don’t want to add to the confusion, I do want to share some truths I have learned. I suggest you ask your family physician what is best for your health if you take any pharmaceutical medications. There can be interactions between medications and herbs / different foods, so please educate yourself on the different possibilities.  Or schedule an appointment with your personal health coach or nutritionist to discuss your supplement regime.

Obviously, if you do a Google search on “gut health”, you will get numerous pages of articles and hundreds of different ideas. The one thing they do unite on is : A HEALTHY GUT IS SO IMPORTANT! 🙂

While this subject of gut health could take many pages and many days to write, it could not be exhausted. I plan to continue sharing tips as I learn more. But for today, here are some ways to tell if your gut is not healthy. **Keep in mind that each body is different and we each process foods differently. **

1. If your bowels are not moving at least once or twice a day, your gut needs a little help! Fecal waste that lies in the gut longer than 12-24 hours can ferment and start to leak bacteria back into your body!
2. If you are not drinking enough water on a daily basis, your health is compromised.  Your body becomes like a stagnant swamp when it is not “flushing” out the toxins. Take your weight, divide it in half and that is how many ounces of water your body needs each day. If you are not used to drinking water, start by drinking 8 ounces in the morning first thing when you get up.

Then add in another 8 -16 ounces between your meals.  If plain water is difficult for you, add in a little lemon juice, lime juice or these wonderful packets. Keep adding in water between your meals, so you digest your food better during meal time when you don’t need to drink as much liquid! Sip it throughout the day – your body can’t process more than 8 ounces in a gulp! 😀

3.  If you haven’t tried eating some of the foods on this list, you should add in some healthy foods from this list of 10 foods good for gut health!

4. If you have intense stress or anxiety, your gut health could be compromised. Our gut is like a “second brain” and many health challenges could be removed if we listen to what our body is “telling us”. (2)

5. If you crave sugar or carbs, your gut is trying to tell you something! Please consider option six below to help combat this craving! (also look at resources # 6 and 7)

6. If you are lacking a good probiotic source, consider this one. I take it and love the results I am getting! 🙂

7. If you have extra weight around your middle, your gut could be storing toxic waste. When the body gets the number of calories it needs for the moment, but we like what we are eating and keep stuffing it in, the excess tends to reside in the hips or around our waist. This is not healthy as it causes the heart and respiratory system to work harder as well as cause more for our hips and joints to carry!

Cheers to a more healthier you! Please send me an email or comment in the box below if you have questions. Watch your inbox for more info on this subject!

Blessings on your day! ~Coach Shannon

mannafoldblessings@gmail.com

Resources:

1. Who was Hippocrates?
2. Gut Health
3. Ten Healthy Foods for the Gut
4. WebMD
5. Dr Mercola
6. 8 Causes of Cravings 
7. Deconstructing Cravings
8. I want to know more!