How To Improve Your Gut Health Naturally
Gut Health – What Is It?
Everywhere in the news we hear about how important gut health is, but what exactly is GUT HEALTH? When we talk about the gut, it is your entire gastrointestinal tract, from your mouth all the way to your anus and everything in between.
Why Is Gut Health So Important?
Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine said more that 2,000 years ago that “All Disease Begins in the Gut” and I firmly believe that. Research has proven that 80-90% of our neurotransmitters are made in the gut and that is why our gut is also called our “2nd Brain”. Our gut also houses 70% of our immune cells and that’s why it’s imperative to focus our attention on the health of our gut. Along with the knowledge of our neurotransmitters being made in the gut also comes the realization that to fight our brain disorders like ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, OCD or ODD, improving our gut health can be very beneficial.
7 Steps to Improve Gut Health Naturally
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Invest in a good quality Probiotic – Probiotics are the “good” bacteria that is needed to support our immune system as well as playing a key role in making those neurotransmitters that our brains so desperately need to function with mental clarity and emotional wellness. It’s imperative that the probiotic can withstand the acid in our stomach, otherwise the good bacteria is eaten up by the stomach acid, hence, they are of no use then. One of my favorite probiotics is from doTerra. PB Assist and PB Assist Jr. are doctor formulated to withstand the stomach acid and deposit the good bacteria into the small intestine. You can read more about both products here: https://www.doterra.com/US/en/site/maryctate
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Eat foods rich in probiotics – Unsweetened yogurt or kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso soup.
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Eat food rich in Prebiotics – Oats, bananas, garlic, onions, leeks, green leafy vegetables, citrus fruit, flaxseed, apples.
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Limit or eliminate inflammation triggers – Corn, wheat, gluten, soy, dairy (casein), eggs.
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Chew, Chew, Chew as all digestion begins in the mouth.
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Supplement with Bone Broth or Collagen Protein – I love Dr. Axe’s Bone Broth and the Multi-Collagen Protein. Check them out here: https://amzn.to/2LhnGzv and here: https://amzn.to/2LtKPf8
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Use doTerra Essential Oils to aid in digestion. I love doTerra’s Digestzen. Check it out here: https://www.doterra.com/US/en/site/maryctate
What’s Up with the Brain-Gut Connection?
Neurotransmitters made in the gut travels to the brain? How you ask? Well there is a nerve known as the Vagus Nerve that runs from our brain all the way down to our stomach and that is how neurotransmitters go back and forth. We need our gut to be in a healthy state in order for the Vagus Nerve to do it’s job correctly.
What Contributes to an Unhealthy Gut?
Our typical Standard American Diet (SAD) is full of inflammatory foods and doesn’t focus on brain health for us or our children. Pesticides and herbicides have compromised our environment and our food supply so what we think is good for us is not. Whole grains are recommended and yet if it’s grown in a chemically laden ground, then it does no good for us or our children. So what are we to do? Do your homework. Buy local and organic and strive to plan those meals so you are not at the mercy of your hungry stomach. I’d love to work with you and your family and be your coach in your corner as you navigate these changes in your life. To book a Discovery Call and get your Gut Health back on track: you can email me at mary@treeoflifehealthwellness.com
Until next time,
Mary
About the author: Mary is a wife of 22 years and mom to three children, one who has ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder. She is also a Certified Health Coach and loves to serve her clients through a Free Facebook group, Online and In-Person Individual Family Coaching and Group Coaching programs. She is also a self published author of “Food & The Brain” a book about how food affects our brains and the creator of “Grocery Store to Table” a program with a proven approach to helping your child accept new foods into their diets.
