Research has shown that our gut is the biggest player in our bodies. It can affect every aspect of our lives. One of the biggest things that I personally have noticed is my mental health. When my gut health is out of whack my mental health is out of whack. 

Now in Part 2 of Gut Health we will talk about the things that we discovered and changed in our world to improve our gut health. Your gut bacteria play a major role in your health and well being.

These 5 strategies can help you improve bacterial diversity and digestive function, as well as reduce the risk of disease.

1. A few of the first things that we did was get our nutrition dialed in. The foods that we ingest are not always foods that serve our individual bodies. We can actually be doing more harm than any good with some of the foods that we ingest. We tracked everything that we  were eating. We started to change things out of our diet. The main one was removing as much processed foods as we could. With my daughter being so young it was near impossible to get her on a whole 30 elimination diet so we just modified it to suit her and her needs. For myself I went into it full force to see what was affecting me more than I even knew. 

2. The second thing we did was make sure that she was drinking enough water on a consistent basis. Keeping yourself hydrated is so important for flushing out the toxins and the things that are not serving your body well. We absolutely need water. To know if you are drinking enough water it's a simple equation;

 Your body weight Divided by 2 = how much water you need in ounces.

3. We then added fiber. Now not everyone benefits from more fiber. If you consume a diet rich in minimally-processed foods, your diet is already naturally rich in fiber. And adding even more of the stuff may not move the digestive needle much, if at all. 

I knew that we needed more fiber in our diet. If your poops are infrequent, hard to pass, or very small, consider adding more soluble fiber, either through foods like beans, lentils, oats, or sweet potatoes or through adding in a clean fiber supplement with soluble and insoluble fibers. We started a daily intake of fiber. This started to make a massive change for us. We noticed an incredible amount of difference in bloating, gas, the way our poop was, and even in our skin.

4. The next thing that we did at this time was add in probiotics and prebiotics. We have billions of friendly bacteria living in our digestive tract. Friendly bacteria help us digest our food and absorb nutrients effectively. In a sense, we don’t actually digest many components of our food — the bacteria digest it. Good bacteria can displace bad bacteria and influence our overall health, metabolism, digestion, and body composition. It is important to find a supplement that has at least 5 billion CFU’s and at least 7 strains.

 We went for an aim of 10 billion and at least 10 strains because we needed to do some major overhauling. Our microbiome had taken a massive hit with the previous way that we had been eating. 

5. Lastly, we made sure that we were getting at least 30 min of physical activities per day. This is where we would make sure our heart rate was elevated. Getting all the blood and oxygen pumping through our system really helps to keep things moving inside. 

This has propelled me into my journey to really work on our families gut and how it plays a part in the way the rest of our bodies work. I have suffered from many signs and I had no idea that it was my gut health that was affecting it. I had no idea that the foods that I was ingesting were a major cause of my gut health. 

The changes that we have seen and experienced from these small daily changes have increased our energy levels, our immune system, decreased our bloat, gas and abdominal discomfort. I know it sounds cliche but it has truly changed our world. 

It's time for you to feel amazing in the skin you are in.

 These are part of the steps that you are guided on in my programs. Now is the time to start educating yourself on your body. Find out more here!