LOVE YOUR GUTS
It’s the trendiest health issue right now: improving your digestion
Good digestion is the foundation of energy and wellness. That’s because researchers now know that your immune system and your stomach are crucially linked.
Being able to digest nutrients is key to good health.
Even better, having a happy relationship with your guts means less discomfort and more enjoyable eating.
Good news: it doesn’t have to be hard.
Eat when you feel like it
While most people tend to consume three meals a day, there is no physiological mandate for this. People who have a sensitive gut find it easier to eat smaller meals more frequently, while others may consume nothing between breakfast and have an early dinner. The key is to listen to your gut.
Also make sure your diet has plenty of variety; a good range of protein rich foods, essential oils from nuts and oily fish, vegetables and grains rich in fibre.
Exercise
Moving the body’s lymphatic system daily is ideal for getting rid of toxins. I suggest either a 30-minute power walk, a 20-minute run, fast yoga movement or Pilates. The idea is to work up a good sweat.
There are lymphs circulating the entire gut, stimulating a circulatory response to movement.
However, your diet needs to be adjusted first before exercise can have a positive response to eliminating toxins.
Keep hydrated
Drinking 2–3 litres of water a day slowly is the key for proper hydration of each cell in the body.
If water is drunk quickly, urination becomes frequent so water is unable to move through and hydrate the bowel or eliminate fat out of the cells.
Make sure the water you are drinking is purified, and keep in mind that tea and coffee don’t count.
Reduce stress
When we’re stressed or anxious, we tend to store a lot of these emotions in our gut. This tension can stop the natural process of digestion from working efficiently. In fact studies show there is a direct link between stress and IBS.
It’s good to practise breathing exercises daily to limit the feelings of stress.
Deep abdominal breathing can help to release any feelings of tension. Slowly breathe in until your belly is full of air (almost as if you’re bloated) and then slowly breathe out.
Practise this for 10 minutes daily and you will notice a huge difference.
Probiotics
Adding natural probiotics to your diet is beneficial for good bacteria to thrive. My suggestions are goat or coconut kefir, fermented foods such as sauerkraut or 20mls of cabbage juice (from sauerkraut) first thing in the morning, 20 minutes before breakfast.