Gut Health - 3 Steps To Improve Yours In One Day

Really?! Is that even possible you ask. Yes! It is. Realize though we are talking about improving gut health, not completely repairing a compromised system. (And that being said these 3 steps will get you started on your way to deeper repair.) At times you can even experience immediate improvement and feel the difference instantly! This last week of being on the road has reminded me over and over again of this which is why I thought I’d write about it today.

What

I’ve written quite a bit in the past about the microbiomes that are part of us and keep us healthy so I’ll just recap for you here. I simpy refer to microbiomes as “bugs that live in us and on us – both good and not so good. The key is the balance between the good and bad.” More detailed information will be linked here shortly.

Healthy microbiomes are critical to your health. 80% of your immune system is in your microbiome, which is made up of bacteria that help your body with pretty much every process. Some of the more common ones being helping you digest your food, think clearly and maintain a healthy weight.

As we’ve discussed before, besides your gut microbiome, you have them around your mouth, nose and genitals as well as your skin. When your microbiomes are healthy and balanced you are too. When you are healthy and balanced you have a strong immune system, lots of energy, sleep well and are in a good mood. When they are unhealthy and out of balance, so too are you. This unhealthy state of your microbiome can lead to heart disease, brain fog, lack of energy, weight gain, depression and even cancer.

Why

You can make a positive impact on your microbiome in a 24 hour period because gut microbes evolve much faster than we do. They can respond to changes in their environment, both threats as well as opportunities — with much greater speed and agility than we can. In some cases a new generation can evolve in 20 minutes! So everytime you eat you have an opportunity to begin making changes within your gut microbiome.

And as you know diet plays the largest role in the health of your microbiome. Of course environment, stress and other factors play a role too but diet is the largest contributing factor. And that is one thing you can control. With all this in mind here are my top 3 favorite ways to make a big impact.

3 Tips For Big Impact

1. Choose not to eat sugar laden and processed foods and replace those with lots of local, in season vegetables, especially leafy greens. The latter choice will feed the good bacteria and lead you to have more energy, clearer thinking and good health. The sugar laden processed foods feed the bad bacteria which take you down the road to lethargy, foggy brain and disease related health issues.

2. Include traditionally fermented foods with at least one meal a day. We are stressing traditionally fermented foods here because they are filled with the kind of probiotics that feed your good bacteria. Vinegar ferments do not contain these same probiotics. Not only do these traditionally fermented foods add probiotics, they help you digest because they have already begun breaking down that food source for you and making it’s nutrients more available to you. These traditionally fermented foods also help you by “predigesting” your food for you. This gives you more energy and more nutrients.

3. Take 3 – 5 deep breaths before putting any food in your mouth. These breaths signal to your body to change gears from hyped up state to relaxed state. This relaxed state is where digestion happens on a deeper level and supports you to get and utilize the nutrients from your food. It also supports you to gain more energy through the support of these nutrients.

Amazingly enough these 3 simple steps can largely impact your overall health, mental clarity and energy levels. Tired of reaching for the sugar or caffeine to keep you going? Tired of brain fog? Tired of feeling bloated after you eat? Give these a try and see how things begin to change for you.

My passion in supporting others to live dis-ease free and vibrantly lead me to creating my 10 step blueprint as a foundation. These 3 tips are from that blueprint which is available here. I would love to hear how these 3 steps have impacted you so please do share your comments below. I look forward to hearing from you!

Live Vibrantly!

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