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Your Gut & Cortisol

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Your gut contains trillions of microbial bacteria as well as yeasts, parasites, viruses, protozoa and archaea. It is more than 80% of your immune system. So, what does that have to do with the brain? Everything! The gut bacteria produce mood-regulating neurotransmitters that affect the chemistry of the brain and, ultimately your moods.

Cortisol (corticosterone) is one of the 20% “bad bacteria” that forms in the gut. Think, fight or flight hormone. Increased cortisol output creates decreased digestive functions. Not only can it interrupt “positive” brain hormones, affecting your moods, but creates gut imbalances, reducing immune system response. Simply stated, there is no mistake in the saying, “Listen to your gut”. It will help you reduce the “ping-pong” effect from the brain to gut cortisol reactions. Here are some symptoms that may occur with elevated cortisol/stress levels:

  • IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Leaky-Gut
  • Decreased “good” gut bacteria
  • Decreased brain serotonin & tryptophan
  • Irritability
  • Impulsiveness
  • Moodiness
  • Fear
  • Susceptibility to illness
  • Nutritional deficiencies

For more on information on gut issues, read: Intestinal Health ~ A Practical Guide to Complete Abdominal Comfort http://amzn.to/2ckb2Mm

A Cortisol “event” many be triggered by any of the following:

  • Hyper vigilance
  • Life events
  • Emotions
  • Poor diet
  • Environmental factors
  • Early-life traumas
  • Genetic factors
  • Medical procedures

Ultimately, the short and simple solution to maintaining a healthy gut and brain homeostasis is to regulate stress levels (lower cortisol), build your gut bacteria and the immune system. Here are some ideas you may incorporate:

  • Reduce high-fat diet
  • Increase Probiotics, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus, & Bacteroides
  • Improved healthy diet with cruciferous vegetables, fish, fruits, low fat meats and fibrous grains.
  • Increased cultured and fermented foods, such as yogurt, Kim chi, & sauerkraut.
  • Taking pre-biotics and pro-biotics
  • Increase water intake
  • Chew your food completely to ensure proper digestion & absorption
  • Quiet your mind with meditation, naps, and restful periods
  • Reduce sugar intake to reduce glucose levels and inflammation
  • Treat any pathogens & “bad” microbes with “good” cultures and herbicides
  • Reduce any toxic environmental stressors
  • Reduce antibiotic use
  • Improve personal hygiene
  • Exercise regularly
  • Consistent sleep patterns of deep, restful sleep

Keep in mind that long-term wear and tear of the brain-gut connection, via frequent cortisol responses, may weaken your intestinal lining. In turn, this weakens the blood barrier allowing the “bad” bacteria, pathogens, and microbes to enter your blood stream, causing mental and physical instabilities.

Quiet your mind to quiet your gut and support your gut to quiet your mind. Now, you will reap the benefits of looking, living, feeling, and acting better!

Fast Health Tip & Recipe Videos: http://bit.ly/29C5dIx – SUBSCRIBE

 

Health.Food

Are You Risking Your Health?

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Are you risking your health with poor eating habits? Do your eating habits include too much sodium, processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages, sugary sweets, junk food and unprocessed red meat? If so, insufficient intake of nourishing foods and high intake of these poor nutrition foods, may have adverse effects on your health. These problems include obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease and stroke, type-2 diabetes, osteoporosis, just to name a few.

Poor nutrition may initially lead to fatigue, stress, and sedentary lifestyle. Over time it may lead to many “diseases”, illnesses, and other health problems, such as:

  • being overweight or obese
  • tooth and gum decay
  • high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke
  • high cholesterol and liver disease
  • type-2 diabetes
  • osteoporosis
  • some cancers
  • depression and/or anxiety
  • reduced brain function
  • and eating disorders.

More healthy information: Intestinal Health ~ A Practical Guide to Complete Abdominal Comfort http://amzn.to/2ckb2Mm

It is never too late to make a change. Make lifestyle changes by switching to eating a healthy diet full of:

  • Fruits
  • Vegetables
  • whole grains
  • polyunsaturated fats
  • fat-free or low-fat dairy products
  • nuts and seeds
  • seafood rich in omega-3 fats
  • eggs
  • lean meats
  • poultry
  • fish
  • beans

Additionally, getting active with sports, walking, or other physical activity will help you get fitful sleep. It is a fact that changing your eating habits will improve your health.

Fast Health Tip & Recipe Videos: http://bit.ly/29C5dIx – SUBSCRIBE

Gluten Free Almond Coconut Cake

Gluten Free…. What is that?

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Simply stated, it is avoiding gluten. Gluten is an ingredient derived from grains containing gluten. A protein which stretches and traps gas as dough rises which creates “airy” bread.

Avoiding gluten sounds simple enough, but you must make a conscious effort to ensure the foods you’re eating do not contain gluten by checking the label for “gluten–free“. To be labeled gluten-free, it must contain less than 20 ppm of gluten in the food according to FDA standards.

So, why would someone want to or must go gluten-free? It’s a health issue called Celiac’s Disease, also known as Wheat Allergy. Yet, many people have decided to go gluten-Free to lose weight or to join into the “food movement” without medical necessity.

The following is a list of grains that include Gluten:

  • Wheat
  • wheatberries
  • graham
  • durum
  • emmer
  • Triticale
  • semolina
  • Rye
  • spelt
  • farina
  • farro
  • KAMUT
  • Einkorn wheat
  • Barley
  • Malt
  • Brewer’s Yeast

More practical health information: Intestinal Health ~ A Practical Guide to Complete Abdominal Comfort http://amzn.to/2ckb2Mm

The amount of foods containing gluten are numerous, so you must check every label if “wheat free” applies to you.

The following are symptoms you may experience if you have sensitivity to gluten, which may be triggered by an autoimmune response as the gluten attacks the lining of the small intestines:

  • Headaches
  • Tiredness
  • Joint pain
  • Skin rashes
  • Allergies
  • IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)
  • Diarrhea
  • Bloating
  • Appetite changes
  • Gas, cramping, intestinal distress or inflammation
  • Moodiness or depression or anxiety
  • Unexplained weight gain
  • Lack of focus or “brain fog”
  • And, more, all of which may affect a person at work or in their social life.

So many food and other daily use items contain gluten products, what exactly is “OK” to eat? To simplify, here’s a list of gluten free foods, many made with gluten free flours, etc.:

  • Fruit, Vegetables and Legumes.
  • Meats, Poultry, Fish and Meat Free Substitutes.
  • Cereals, Grains, Breads, Biscuits, Pasta, Nuts and Baked Goods.
  • Condiments, Dips, Desserts, Sweets, Sweeteners and Spreads.
  • Drinks (non-alcoholic).
  • Dairy Foods.
  • Herbs and Spices.

Final points:

  • If you have gut inflammation or Celiac’s disease, a Gluten-free diet is necessary to eliminate the symptoms.
  • Many American’s believe that a gluten-free diet will improve their health and/or prevent disease. While there is no proof of this theory, if you can eat gluten without trouble, then no need for worry about being gluten-free.
  • For people who avoid gluten to intend greater health, be sure to double check yourself to insure what you are eating “instead” of gluten is indeed healthy for you!

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Relax Clear Health Boulder Colonic Center

Relax

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Eating in a calm, relaxed, and quiet state of mind is ideal for initiating the digestion process and promoting maximum nutrient absorption.

Take a mouthful of food, set down your utensil, chew, breathe, smile, and think pleasant thoughts.

Be Calm and Quiet
Use meditation and quiet breathing to improve blood flow for better oxygen and nutrient absorption, increased concentration, and improved mental state. Meditation and quiet, slow breathing may also:

  • Decrease respiratory rate and slow the heart rate.
  • Deepen relaxation, especially in people with high blood pressure.
  • Reduce anxiety and decrease muscle tension.
  • Increase serotonin to enhance your mood and build self-confidence.
  • Enhance your immune system to improve overall health and well-being.
Good Intestinal Bacteria - Clear Health Boulder Colonic Center

Good Intestinal Bacteria

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Probiotics are living micro flora or beneficial bacterial that play a critical role in promoting good digestion, supporting bowel function, bolstering the immune system, and maintaining healthy intestinal lining to deprive unwelcome organisms by supporting healthy microbial balance in the gut.

The digestive system, if balanced correctly, contains billions of bacteria, roughly 85% good to 15% bad. Unfavorable imbalances may occur due to environmental toxins, medications, lifestyle habits, poor drinking water, chemical intake like pesticides or herbicides, and excessive sugar consumption.

Maintain 30+ Billion Probiotics per day to support intestinal health.

Sources include: bottled Probiotics, fermented vegetables (yogurt or sauerkraut), cruciferous vegetables (such as cauliflower, cabbage, cress, bok choy, broccoli and similar green leaf vegetables), Kiefer, or Kombucha.

Constipated - Clear Health Boulder Colonic Center

Do You Get Constipated?

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“I get constipated…”

Drink Lots of Water!

The human body is comprised of more than 65% water and needs daily replenishment with clean, purified water that is free from chemicals, chlorine, medications, heavy metals, parasites, waterborne bacteria, and sewage (Ick!), to name a few

Eat Plenty of Fiber

Plants and various other carbohydrates contain dietary fiber; for example, fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes.

Exercise!

A sedentary lifestyle that includes little to no physical activity for much of the day—for example, sitting, working on the computer, reading, watching television, and playing video games—may significantly interfere with healthy digestion.

Lubricate Your Insides

With water, healthy oils, and foods.

Get Plenty of DEEP Sleep!

“Deep Sleep” is referred to as the Delta cycle or slow-wave sleep. Sleep is critical for overall health.

Go Ahead and Crack Yourself Up!

Laughter releases pain-suppressing opiates from the pituitary glands and may have long-term health benefits.

Be Calm and Quiet

Meditation may improve blood flow for better oxygen and nutrient absorption, increased concentration, and improved mental state.

What is the Peristaltic Muscle?

What is the Peristaltic Muscle?

The peristalsis muscle measures a full 30 feet (9 m) from the mouth to the anus. Wow! That’s the width of a tennis court!

The first one-third of the esophagus consists of voluntary muscle (controlled by the conscious mind). The next two-thirds plus the remaining peristalsis muscle, all the way to the anus, is an involuntary muscle.

The peristalsis muscle churns food forward with muscular contractions of its walls and responds to “specificity”.

Analogy: “Specificity Effect”

In athletics, “specificity” is the training of a muscle or muscle group to perform for a specific use or sport. For example, a swimmer trains in a pool, a weight lifter trains with weights, and a bicyclist trains on a bicycle so that specific muscle groups will perform at their peak during that specific event.

When it comes to colon cleansing, why not take your peristalsis muscle to the “colon gym”? Regular exercise of the intestines, specifically the colon, via bowel movements is like putting this involuntary muscle on a treadmill. Train it for specificity just like you would train a professional runner on a track or a treadmill rather than on a bike. Train the peristalsis muscle to push when it feels pressure. In other words, when stool is present and cued up for release, the appropriate response is to push—not hold!

When you regularly use an open, gravity-feed colonic system or colema board, the colon and rectal area are trained for “pressure push” when stool begins to build up. If you hold water in the bowels such as with enemas or closed pressure feed systems, the peristalsis are trained for “pressure hold.”

REMEMBER: The lower peristalsis muscle is not “intelligent” (i.e., it is involuntary) and does not know the difference between water and stool.

So does all of this mean that you should not do an enema? No, there is a time and place for almost everything. Just be aware of the Specificity Effect and adjust your personal choices accordingly.

In addition to the open and closed systems or enemas described above, there are other colonic options, including colema boards. Determining which system and practitioner, if applicable, are best for you is a very personal choice. It may make sense to try the different systems in order to make the most informed decision as to your personal preference.

Keep in mind that no matter how many colonics or what type you receive, the long-term results you may expect to see are also dependent on your dietary and lifestyle choices, as well as the frequency and types of cleansing and intestinal support that you do.

In conclusion, for the best bowel movements, maintain good peristalsis throughout your digestive tract.

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