Over the last few decades, research has revealed that the health of the gut has a huge impact on our overall health. In addition to absorbing the nutrients, eliminating the waste and digesting the food we consume the gut is also the gateway to the immune system and the brain.
Our gut health needs to be a priority in order to be healthy in the other areas of our life, especially now with all the unhealthy habits we have inhabited in this day and age.
Here are some some of my favourite ways that you can improve the health of your gut. Please remember I’m not a doctor, these are just the ways that I find work for me.
With Love,
Em J
X
Start with a IgG antibody test
How can we be sure of what foods we need to avoid if we don’t get tested?
Almost all of us have allergies or intolerances to certain foods, even minor. Some of them can be so minor that we don’t realise. Although, it will be evident in ways we hadn’t even thought about. Bloating, trouble sleeping and trouble digesting are just some of the ways these intolerances can show themselves.
Find out the foods you are sensitive to and work on removing/limiting them from your diet.
Heal yourself by removing the foods and drinks that are causing inflammation to your gut.
Alcohol, processed foods, gluten, sugar, certain oils and conventional dairy. Switch to organic grass fed dairy, or remove dairy altogether. Cooking with oils such as coconut oil and Ghee is a great replacement to oils such as canola and sunflower oil , etc., to reduce inflammation.
A cup of warm water with lemon has always been a recommended addition to our diets. The health benefits that come with it is truly beneficial. It jumpstarts our metabolism for the day, gives us an added dose of vitamin C and gives us an energy boost.
On top of this, it detoxes our liver and internally hydrates us. Try swapping your morning tea or coffee with this and see if you can feel the benefits. Remember to drink it first thing before consuming anything else.
Almost all of us have allergies or intolerances to certain foods, even minor. Some of them can be so minor that we don’t realise. Although, it will be evident in ways we hadn’t even thought about. Bloating, trouble sleeping and trouble digesting are just some of the ways these intolerances can show themselves.
Find out the foods you are sensitive to and work on removing/limiting them from your diet.
Remove Inflammatory foods
Alcohol, processed foods, gluten, sugar, certain oils and conventional dairy. Switch to organic grass fed dairy, or remove dairy altogether. Cooking with oils such as coconut oil and Ghee is a great replacement to oils such as canola and sunflower oil , etc., to reduce inflammation.
Start your day with warm water & lemon
On top of this, it detoxes our liver and internally hydrates us. Try swapping your morning tea or coffee with this and see if you can feel the benefits. Remember to drink it first thing before consuming anything else.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to a glass of water 15-30 mins before you eat each meal. The vinegar balances the PH levels in our system and helps to break down our food better, meaning better digestion, as well as absorbing more of the nutrients.
Throughout the day, try sipping some CCF tea. (Coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds) Add about half a teaspoon of each to some hot water, then strain.
It’s not for every ones appetite but these are 3 of the most powerful seeds in increasing metabolism and stimulating digestion. They also help to absorb nutrients.
I know I preach about hydration — but the percentage of us who are severely dehydrated is shocking. This also causes us to age faster! Who wants to be 40 and wrinkly?
Aim to drink 2 litres at the very least a day. Then work on increasing this to 3-4. Also, on the days where you are more active, we need to make sure we are upping our water intake to match this.
CCF Tea
It’s not for every ones appetite but these are 3 of the most powerful seeds in increasing metabolism and stimulating digestion. They also help to absorb nutrients.
Water Consumption
Aim to drink 2 litres at the very least a day. Then work on increasing this to 3-4. Also, on the days where you are more active, we need to make sure we are upping our water intake to match this.
Get your fermented veggies in!
Fermented vegetables such as Kimchi and Sauerkraut are great. These veggies provide the gut with loads of good bacteria and help you absorb the nutrients from other foods. Add a tablespoon to a meal every day and reap the benefits!
Not only does turmeric reduce inflammation, it also dramatically increases the antioxidant capacity of the body.
In addition to this, it improves brain function and lowers the risk of brain disease.
I drink turmeric juice and I also take turmeric supplements 2-4 times a day. I’m going to share my favourite Turmeric juice with you all soon, so watch this space.
Kombucha is a fermented tea which has been consumed for thousands of years. It contains antioxidants and can kill harmful bacteria.
Kombucha is great when made with green tea and can also be bought in bottles ready made — usually infused with lemon or ginger , etc. Just be sure not to buy one that is high in sugar.
Turmeric
In addition to this, it improves brain function and lowers the risk of brain disease.
I drink turmeric juice and I also take turmeric supplements 2-4 times a day. I’m going to share my favourite Turmeric juice with you all soon, so watch this space.
Kombucha
Kombucha is great when made with green tea and can also be bought in bottles ready made — usually infused with lemon or ginger , etc. Just be sure not to buy one that is high in sugar.
Intermittent fasting
Many of us don’t allow our bodies the sufficient amount of time to digest and renew. We need at least 12 hours rest between each day of eating.
This means, if we eat breakfast around 7am, we need to be eating our final meal at 7pm the night before. This can then be adjusted to your body clock.
Another great way to intermittent fast is the 16:8 rule, fasting for 16 hours, then eating within an 8 hour window.
Intermittent fasting is said to have anti-inflammatory benefits, curbs cravings, lowers risk of disease and gives a more diverse gut bacteria.
Eating the right foods is great, but if we’re eating the right foods at the wrong times, it can have a reverse effect on our health.
Something I found out a few weeks ago was regarding fruit.
Fresh fruit is crucial for a healthy diet, but if we eat it at the wrong time, it can disturb our digestion and reduce our gut health. If fruit is eaten straight after a meal, the fruit ferments in the stomach and doesn’t allow our food to digest properly. We should be allowing 1-2 hours after each meal to consume fruit. The optimum time to eat fruit is as soon as we wake up before we eat anything else. This way, our body absorbs all of the nutrients and promotes healthy digestion for the rest of the day. We also need to be allowing time from eating to fruit to when we eat anything else. Again, around 1-2 hours.
I’m going to do a separate post just for enemas but in short, enemas are highly detoxing and have been used for thousands of years.
The job of the colon is to absorb nutrients and liquids from our foods and to remove waste and toxins from the body.
However, the walls of the colon can become encrusted with waste. By performing enemas and colonics we aim to flush this waste from our system.
This means, if we eat breakfast around 7am, we need to be eating our final meal at 7pm the night before. This can then be adjusted to your body clock.
Another great way to intermittent fast is the 16:8 rule, fasting for 16 hours, then eating within an 8 hour window.
Intermittent fasting is said to have anti-inflammatory benefits, curbs cravings, lowers risk of disease and gives a more diverse gut bacteria.
Timing is everything
Something I found out a few weeks ago was regarding fruit.
Fresh fruit is crucial for a healthy diet, but if we eat it at the wrong time, it can disturb our digestion and reduce our gut health. If fruit is eaten straight after a meal, the fruit ferments in the stomach and doesn’t allow our food to digest properly. We should be allowing 1-2 hours after each meal to consume fruit. The optimum time to eat fruit is as soon as we wake up before we eat anything else. This way, our body absorbs all of the nutrients and promotes healthy digestion for the rest of the day. We also need to be allowing time from eating to fruit to when we eat anything else. Again, around 1-2 hours.
Another timing factor we should be considering is how late we eat. This is closely linked to the previous point of fasting. We should be aiming to eat our dinner earlier to allow our bodies to start the digestion process before we go to sleep. Around 3-4 hours from your last meal to when you go to sleep is good.
Enemas
The job of the colon is to absorb nutrients and liquids from our foods and to remove waste and toxins from the body.
However, the walls of the colon can become encrusted with waste. By performing enemas and colonics we aim to flush this waste from our system.
The benefits of enemas are wide-ranging and include eliminating bacteria, toxins, and excess fatty acids from the intestines, and aiding in the restoration of the stomach’s natural flora. They can also have a positive impact on the nervous system, flushing away exhaustion and anxiety. Enemas help to balance hormones, control appetite, regulate sleep, and improve mental processing. Enemas can also clear your skin, and improve concentration and circulation.
- Visit natural detox resort
I am a strong believer in enemas and I do one almost daily. My chosen form of enema is coffee, which I will elaborate more on in my post dedicated to this practice. Please be safe and consult your doctor first.
Reduce stress
Stress is the root cause of the majority of illness, including chronic illness. It is such a strain on our bodies and our lives and most of us don’t realise the full effects of stress, including our gut. If we are experiencing high levels of stress, our bodies take on a trauma like state.
We can experience trouble sleeping, our eating patterns change, illness and gut health. Managing our stress to me, is the most important practice of our daily lives in order to be happy and healthy.
Through the sacred practice of yoga we can work to eliminate stress and live a more fulfilling life on this planet. Including just 10 minutes of meditation a day into your lives is such a strong starting point.
Almost all of my posts on here help to aid stress, if you have any questions of how you can improve your wellbeing please send me a message, I’d love to be of service.
Finally, sleep. What are your sleeping patterns like? Are you getting enough? Is the sleep you’re getting high quality and aiding rest and rehabilitation?
We should be aiming to sleep around the same time every night to support a healthy body clock. If we are going to sleep at completely different times each night our bodies can’t recognise when it is time to rest. As well as this, we should aim to be rising at the same time each day.
Reducing our phone times in the evening and shutting off after the sun goes down helps to calm the mind and prepare our body for rest.
Going to sleep and waking up earlier is one of the most powerful things to add to our routine for brain function, digestion and optimum health.
We can experience trouble sleeping, our eating patterns change, illness and gut health. Managing our stress to me, is the most important practice of our daily lives in order to be happy and healthy.
Through the sacred practice of yoga we can work to eliminate stress and live a more fulfilling life on this planet. Including just 10 minutes of meditation a day into your lives is such a strong starting point.
Almost all of my posts on here help to aid stress, if you have any questions of how you can improve your wellbeing please send me a message, I’d love to be of service.
Sleep
We should be aiming to sleep around the same time every night to support a healthy body clock. If we are going to sleep at completely different times each night our bodies can’t recognise when it is time to rest. As well as this, we should aim to be rising at the same time each day.
Reducing our phone times in the evening and shutting off after the sun goes down helps to calm the mind and prepare our body for rest.
Going to sleep and waking up earlier is one of the most powerful things to add to our routine for brain function, digestion and optimum health.
