Monday, February 1, 2010

What is Gut Health

One of the most important steps that you can take to improve your overall health is to make sure that your intestines have plenty of good bacteria. There are approximately 100 trillion bacteria and microorganisms living in your digestive tract.   It is important that they are good, useful bacteria.  If your gut is full of virus, bad bacteria, and unfriendly pathogens, you are vulnerable to food allergies, candida, autoimmune problems, weight gain, intestinal problem, skin problems, bowel problems and catching everything unfriendly thing that comes by.   70% of your immune system is located in your gut.  If your gut is not healthy, can your organs be?

Please take a few minutes and look at this web site.  It is one of the clearest picturs I have found of what your gut should look like.... and what it probably look like.  I am listing this link again at the bottom of the page.  You don't need expensive probiotics, you need to correct the inbalance in your gut.  If you don't understand what the problem is, you probably will not understand the solution.  Please think this over.

Biolife


Some of the benefits of an abundance of "good" or "friendly" bacteria and microorganisms:
  • Improved digestion and normalized bowel movements
  • Correct skin conditions like acne, eczema, psoriasis
  • Provide protection against asthma
  • Improve your immune system
  • Protect against food allergies
  • Reduce or possible eliminate seasonal allergies
Some of the possible ways to destroy friendly intestinal bacteria:
  • Use of antibiotics (including antibiotics found in dairy and meat products)
  • Eating foods that are genetically modified
  • Not managing tension and stress
  • An excess of sugar or other concentrated sweeteners
  • Overuse of antacids or laxatives
  • Use of some prescription drugs (including birth control pills and steroids like prednisone)
  • Drinking chlorinated water
Today, the balance between "good bacteria" and "bad bacteria" that live in your intestines is the result of the choices you make in what you eat and your lifestyle. The healthier your choices, the more friendly bacteria you have living inside of you. Lets look at some of the ways you can bring correction to your gut using food.

Food based ways to begin correction of the bacteria load in your gut:

  • Neutralize the pH in your gut.  This will weaken the "bad" bacteria and virus polyps  - it does not appreciate a neutral pH
  • Begin a good multi-vitamin to give yourself a good coverage of nutrients for healing and repair
  • Feed the good bacteria - Coconut oil is great fertilizer for the good bacteria and the bad stuff doesn't like it  (lets call it weed and feed)
  • Begin adding "live" lacto fermented foods from a broad range of different cultures - milks, vegetables and roots.  This replaces expensive pill form probiotics and is a more natural, food based way to acquire the "good" bacteria and allow it to colonize.  Eat live yogurt, sauerkraut, drink ginger ale and kefir.  Give your gut what it needs.
  • Eat a green salad daily to help "scrub" out some of the weakened bacteria.  Make sure there is some olive oil/vinegar on the salad
  • Exercise for 20 minutes.  Get your heart rate up and sweat.  This causes your body to produce a broad-based anti-fungal
  • Don't eat overly processed foods
The attached web site has a picture of a healthy gut vs. an unhealthy gut.  Take some time to compare the pictures.  Which one do you think yours looks like?  Don't buy expensive probiotics - make your own or buy them locally.

Biolife

Best of Health
Cindy

Path to Progress:  Start your love of cultured foods here with the benefits of sauerkraut. 

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for all the information Cindy! Its very inspirational. I've got Kim Chi & Sourkrout fermenting on my counter along with kifer & yogurt being made. I got my kifer grains from Arleen at least a year ago & they are doing great.

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  2. Arleen just ressurected her kifer grains and made me some from raw milk. She added honey to it I think. I am thinking about opening my crock of sauerkraut pretty soon. It has been 2 weeks since I put it in.

    I am almost finished getting this stuff up and then I will start Phase 2. I have most of it written, just have to get it up in some organized fashion :)

    Thanks for the kind words. I am hoping that this is helpful. I know it has been good for me.

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  3. When you say make your own probiotics, are you referring to ginger ale and sauerkraut? How else do you make them?

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  4. Yes, Vanessa. Eating a wide variety of lacto fermented foods gives you the right type of bacteria. Eventually the "bad" bacteria should dissipate and the "good" bacteria should colonize.

    The pH level is critical. Bad Bacteria do not thrive in a neutral pH, but good bacteria does. Hope this helps.

    Nicole said 'Hi"

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  5. Evy & I most often have kifer in smoothies so that it masks the tart taste.

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