September 18

[90 Days of Vitality] Day 10: The Gut-Brain Connection

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Let’s talk about a very important topic today that affects the way we think, feel, and how often we get sick. The Gut-Brain Connection is well-known when it comes to our nervousness, anxiety, and depression affecting our digestion. If you’ve ever felt your stomach ‘tie in knots’ or a ‘faster flow’ of things when you’re nervous, then you’ve experienced this first-hand.

But did you know the reverse is true too? The health of our gut affects our emotions, the way we think, and our immune system. The microflora that populate our gut – the microorganisms and bacteria – do some very important things for us, like produce vitamin K, several varieties of B vitamins, ‘eat’ carcinogens, and help us digest plant matter, so they help us get more nutrition.  But they can also affect our immune system, our stress response, and how often we get nervous and/or depressed.

Since we know the microflora can affect our brain, how can we nourish our microflora? What practices influence, good or ill, the microflora in our gut?

What affects our microflora population?

  1. The way we eat
  2. Stress exposure
  3. Antibiotics
Because we don’t eat like we used to – traditional populations consume large amounts of fermented foods with these critters – we don’t re-populate our gut on a consistent basis. And this can lead to more depression, anxiety, inflammation and is a vicious cycle.
So the next time you’re feeling worried and overwhelmed and think you shouldn’t be reacting so strongly to this stressor, then maybe it’s time to focus on your gut health and increasing the microflora population inhabiting it. You may be pleasantly surprised to experience more calmness, less overwhelm, clearer thinking, and a smaller waistline!

How can you increase and improve your microflora?

  1. Eat real food diet that’s antinflammatory, grain and legume-free (at leaste for the first 30 days). Make sure you get plenty of safe starches too! Click here for a simple food formula that helps you implement real food living into your busy schedule simply.
  2. Eat fermented foods, like saurkraut, kimchi, kefir, and pickles. Make sure they are not cured with vinegar, but only water, the veggie, and some added bacteria.
  3. Actively reduce stress levels through meditation, breathing, taking walks, quiet time, etc.
  4. Take a high quality probiotic, like Jarrow’s brand. Look for 8-10 billion organisms and only 4-6 different strains. Remember, you get what you pay for with probiotics, so don’t go cheap!

Note: store-bought yogurt is of inferior quality to the above tips, so I highly recommend getting the bulk of your critters from the above sources.

That’s your vitality tip for today! I hope you’ve learned how our gut health affects our emotions, the we think, and the way we perform at home, life and at work. Did you learn something interesting? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think!
 
Know someone this could help? (It could save a life!) Please share this with them and spread the message of vitality!

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Gerilyn is a mentor to women getting healthy to transform the world! Her experience in nutrition, strength & conditioning, personal growth, love of cooking, and passion for transformation make her uniquely suited for this mission. She has a knack for creating contagious healthy experiences and providing the needed support and accountability that turn diets into lifestyles and dreams into realities.

Learn Gerilyn’s Signature Jump-Start Formula – free. It’s a simple nutrition formula to infuse you with more energy, more freedom, and more vitality! Click here to access it now! 


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