Gut Health

Microscopic living things such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, are referred to as microorganisms, or gut microbes, for short. Trillions of these microorganisms exist mainly inside your intestines and on your skin. The majority of microorganisms in your intestines are found in a pocket of your large intestine, also known as your gut microbiome. There are roughly 40 trillion bacterial cells in your body, and only 30 trillion human cells. These live bacteria are in control of multiple systems throughout the body. Scientists refer to the gut microbiome as our "second brain."
-
Side effects of gut imbalances include IBS, constipation, anxiety, insomnia, weight gain, brain fog, sugar cravings, Auto-immune disease, skin issues, and much more.
-
An overload of harmful bacteria can cause a whole host of health issues. For health reasons, it is best to have enough good bacteria to thrive in your gut microbiome. It is crucial to get a diverse amount of probiotics and prebiotics daily through your food intake. If need be, you can also supplement.
-
Probiotics are living microorganisms. When consumed, they provide many health benefits. These can are found in foods such as sauerkraut, pickles (stay away from sodium benzoate), kombucha, water kefir, cashew yogurt, tempeh, miso soup, cottage cheese, kimchi, garlic, sourdough, dark chocolate, natto.

Prebiotic foods are dietary fibers that help feed the good bacteria that already exist in your gut. These are found in foods such as chicory root, dandelion greens, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, asparagus, onions, barley, bananas, apples, oats, cocoa, flaxseeds, jicama root, seaweed.

Quality fats such as olive oil, avocado, avocado oil, nuts, seeds, grass-fed beef, coconut oil, pastured eggs, salmon, chia seeds, fish oil, MCT oil, flaxseed, ghee, grass-fed butter are also great to include because they balance your hormones ghrelin and leptin. If you have an overload of the "unfriendly" bacteria, this can cause significant food cravings. These unfriendly gut bugs want to be fed, and they feed off of:

1.) Refined sugars (high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup)
2.) Refined Oils (corn, soybean, canola, cottonseed)
3.) Trans fat (partially hydrogenated, hydrogenated)
4.) Refined Carbohydrates (refined, enriched or bleached)
5.) Alcohol (all alcohol)

Be sure to keep these to a minimum.