You are what you eat!

Well, no not exactly. You aren’t going to turn into broccoli if you eat only broccoli. But what I am saying is that what you eat has a direct influence on who you are; physically, mentally, and emotionally. We live in such a hustle bustle society that most people won’t make time for themselves to eat clean, nutrient rich foods. In the world that we live in now, everything needs to be instantaneous thus why we have so many fast food restaurants where everything is fried in rancid, highly inflammatory oils.

Inflammation is the driver of all disease. If you can limit the inflammation present in your body you can drastically decrease your chance of acquiring a disease in the future. Highly processed foods such as gluten, dairy, sugar, and seed oils are major contributors to inflammation. When your gut is inflamed your body can’t effectively absorb the proper nutrients from food. Chronic inflammation can also lead to leaky gut which then can lead to many forms of digestive system issues such as IBS, Crohn’s, and many food sensitivities.

Your gut is home to billions of bacteria and the food you eat has a direct influence on the balance of good bacteria versus bad bacteria. Eating foods that are fermented such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and kombucha can all start to promote good bacterial growth in your gut.

Your gut and brain are in constant communication with each other. This is why they call the gut your second brain. 90% of your serotonin receptors (which are your mood regulators that influence your biological and neurological processes such as aggression, anxiety, cognition, mood, and sleep) are located in the gut. When the gut isn’t able to properly digest foods your gut isn’t able to produce serotonin and that can have a negative impact on your mood.

Your gut is also directly related to your immune system. A majority of our immune system cells are located within our gut. If your gut bacteria is well balanced your body has a greater chance of defending and killing off any virus, parasite or fungus that could otherwise lead to sickness. This is one of the main reasons you won’t see people who have a well balanced diet that limit inflammation ever really get sick. Their gut is primed to be able to fend off any type of invader before it becomes a problem.

The goal now is to get your inflammation under control to allow your gut to function the way it was created too.

4 “R” Protocol

So now I am sure you are wondering how you can get your inflammation in your gut under control and allow your body to start properly absorbing nutrients and producing the right neuro-chemicals to allow your brain to function at 100%.

Remove– you need to remove any offending foods, gluten, seed oils, refined carbohydrates, and sugars.

Replace– replace what is needed for normal digestion such as betaine HCL, digestive enzymes, and herbs that aid in digestion such as deglycyrrhizinated licorice and marshmallow root, and dietary fiber.

Reinoculate– reinoculate with good bacteria. Consider adding a probiotic into your daily routine. Supplementing with prebiotics to help ensure your bacteria in your gut are getting the proper food they need to grow and flourish inside your gut.

Repair– repair the gut lining by giving support to the healthy gut lining cells. Supplementing with l-glutamine, essential fatty acids, zinc, Pantothenic Acid (vitamin B5), and vitamin C.

Call to action!

My challenge to you all this week is to limit the amount of processed and refined foods you eat. Limit your sugar intake to nearly 0. No alcohol. Eat a couple extra servings of vegetables to feed the bacteria in your gut. Drink 100 ounces of water per day. No fast food.

Let me know how much better you feel after you try this out!