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"SiCK TO MY STOMACH"
How to use your Gut as a Guardian.
We hear this phrase all the time, right? "It made me sick to my stomach." Sometimes we know exactly what caused us to feel that way, like eating something we know makes us feel poorly. Other times, however, it is the feeling. Have you ever had an experience that made you excited, anxious, or depressed, and sure enough something in the pit of your stomach seemed to remind you that balance had been lost? Or have you ever felt "butterflies"?
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This post will explore how to have good "gut feelings". Since the word "gut" isn't a very technical term, let's first define it. Traditionally, the word gut has been used (as a noun) to describe the anatomical area of the stomach or belly. Informally, it is used to describe a feeling or reaction coming from an almost instinctual emotional response. Here, when I say "gut", I'll be referring to both. Good gut health in my experience allows for our stomach and other organs involved in gastrointestinal (GI) function to operate most optimally, and this as a result provides our body the balance to support stable emotional responses internally regardless of external circumstances being hard to swallow.
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I've been thinking about this terminology lately, especially with all the buzz around "gut health" in recent years. Some sources will try to claim that healing your gut alone is the key to all that ails you. The truth is, just like anything else, healing your gut is an element of healing your whole self. There are also a lot of sources that add layers of complexity to maintaining your gut health. Essentially, good gut health comes down to two things.
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PREBIOTICS
Okay, let's just break this word down for a quick second to make it a lot more simple to remember and understand. If "pre-" means before and "bio" typically refers to life, then essentially prebiotics are designed to provide a favorable environment for something to thrive. Prebiotics are "natural, non-digestible food components...linked to promoting the growth of helpful bacteria in your gut...they're "good" bacteria promoters" (1). If we consume prebiotics with awareness of how they work in tandem with other healthy habits, they have the potential to improve gut health as well as absorption of vital vitamins and minerals, such as calcium.
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What to eat to include more prebiotics in your diet:
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fruits (bananas)
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vegetables ( onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, artichokes, soybeans)
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whole grains and whole-wheat foods
02
PROBIOTICS
If prebiotics make way for a healthy gut, then it follows that probiotics help promote a healthy "gut life". Probiotics are often referred to as"good bacteria", and are literally "live cultures...like those naturally found in your gut" (1). Their job is to "help change or repopulate intestinal bacteria to balance gut flora" (1). If prebiotics set the stage, the probiotics are the actors. Probiotics have the potential to improve immune response and overall health, but particularly gut health.
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What to eat to include more probiotics in your diet:
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fermented dairy foods (yogurt, kefir products, aged cheeses) containing live cultures (i.e. bifidobacteria and lactobacilli)
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non-dairy foods (i.e. kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, cultured non-dairy yogurts) which also have beneficial cultures
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Note- Some products combine both pre- and pro- biotics together, and they are called synbiotics. Optimal gut health includes both pre- and pro-biotics taken together in the proper way.
Can you see know why eating the proper nutrition for gut health is so important? Our gut (gastrointestinal tract) is involved in two vital functions in the body, digesting and uptaking nutrients, and maintaining immune balance and defense in our body(2). If the food we eat and the supplements we ingest are not creating or supporting an environment for life, we have both the power and potential through our food choices to change that.
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A balanced diet won't protect you from everything in life, but eating to promote the thriving of your physical body can certainly give you line of protection that will make you feel more stable in all aspects of your life. Imagine this as a reality- whatever current stress, heartache, or anxiety you are experiencing now could be lessened. Eating well and especially eating for optimal gut health can ensure that while the storms rage around you, the rhythm of the waves inside are calculated carefully and moving carefully with the tide you set. In other words, just because you are upset doesn't mean you have to have an upset stomach. Healthy habits such as incorporating pre- and pro-biotics into your diet can give you a stability to face life's challenges. Sometimes when we experience something difficult it can make us feel unsafe and unsure, but everyone should feel safe in their own body, despite decades of beliefs that have perpetuated otherwise. Health should not come at the cost of a balanced relationship, job, or life, it should be an integral part of it. A healthy diet and lifestyle choices can create a safe body for you to experience your challenges in, and ingraining these habits into your life will be one more thing to support you and one less thing to think about when the worries are wearing you down.
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The organs in the gut are sometimes referred to as "vital organs". I always thought this was funny because there are very few organs in your body that aren't vital to you. But more and more, I am realizing that a possible meaning for this is that our vitality lies in our gut. Our quantity of life (the amount of life we live) as well as the quality of our life (the degree to which we thrive) are incredibly linked to and dependent upon our gut, literally. We are all warriors in our personal stories, and how we arm and defend ourselves matters. All I am trying to do is suggest the best armor for your body to help you defend your best self and your best life. I hear this phrase so commonly among those who invest their attention and awareness into making positive dietary changes. They tell me that they "feel better" and in some form of speaking they particularly acknowledge that a literal heaviness is gone, that the foods they eat don't sit in their gut and weigh them down anymore. They don't say it cures them of everything wrong, but they can't deny the truth and lightness that is allowed to enter into their life. I'm excited to see what it can do for you.
References
1. https://www.eatright.org/food/vitamins-and-supplements/nutrient-rich-foods/prebiotics-and-probiotics-creating-a-healthier-you