Caring For Your Wellness by Caring For Your Gut

Nourishing the connection between the brain, the gut, and the heart is the NEWEST way scientists have found to care for your overall wellness. 

What is "Wellness?"  It's the complete well-being of the mind, the body and the spirit.

And what is well-being? It's a state of balance and harmony, not simply the absence of illness, but a state of health and the presence of positivity and motivation. 

So, what does this have to do with the gut??  And why would you want to take care of your gut?

Ever-increasing scientific research, especially over the last decade, is revealing an undeniable connection between the gut (gastrointestinal system, or digestive system), the brain, and the heart. 

The digestive system: from the mouth through the excretion of waste product, is populated with trillions of microflora (bacteria, viruses and fungi) in it's own little ecosystem of sorts, called the microbiome. 

These microscopic organisms can be beneficial, neutral, or harmful. In the human body a balance between the beneficial and symbiotic (neutral) organisms will keep the parasitic (harmful) organisms under control. 

The benefits of a healthy, balanced microbiome are many:

• Balanced mood/motivation

• Improved focus

• Reduced susceptibility to the "monkey mind" 

Balancing the Microbiome Showed Improved Stress Response without Eliminating Stressors

• Better control of stress.  A balanced microbiome acts as a buffer against stress and actually helps turn off the constant churn of our primary stress hormone, CORTISOL. It's been shown that people who report feeling stressed on a regular basis are either unwilling or unable to reduce their exposure to the stressors.  Supplementing the microbiome has been shown to improve the stress response in those who made no other changes.

• Control of cravings.  It's certain ‘bad’ microbes exist in our gut that create cravings for sugar and processed food.

• Balancing the microbiome helps balance dopamine levels and has been used in treatment for addiction.

Studies across multiple species have shown that gut MICROFLORA can greatly INFLUENCE CRAVINGS.

• The microbiome controls the amount of inflammation in your body — chronic inflammation=chronic disease state.

• The microbiome helps balance thyroid hormone levels to energize the metabolism.

• A balanced microbiome is critical in helping to prevent demential, cognitive decline, and Alzheimers. 

• There are a few species in the microbiome that helps regulate estrogen/progesterone/ testosterone to help better manage menopause, fertility, etc...

But HOW do you care for your gut??

The simplest way to nourish the gut is by eating a variety of foods, 90% plant-based, and reducing or eliminating processed foods, unhealthy fats, and refined sugars.  

However, in our fast-paced lives, it isn't always EASY or simple to eat as healthfully as we would like.

​

So, you have two options:

Keep doing what you're doing, and hope for the best. 

OR

Use a combination of diet modifications and supplements. 

Most people find that slowly incorporating more plant foods into their weekly routine, along with adding supplements have had a great effect. 

​Now, what kind of supplements should we be taking? 

You should be taking more than just a "good probiotic." Those are definitely important, and can help add beneficial bacteria to the gut, if you choose a high quality product that can survive the acid in the stomach. But, beneficial bacteria need what every other organism needs to survive: food, and protection from the elements. The food for beneficial bacteria comes from fiber found in the plants we eat, and other bacteria in the area. Protection is offered in the from of other symbiotic bacteria, the beneficial, protective compounds found in plant foods called phytochemicals, and polyphenols, also found in plants.   

​Now, you could go searching all over for the best individual sources of all of these products. OR, you can let me do the work for you!  

These are the supplements I use personally, and recommend to nourish the gut-brain connection. Click for $10 off your first pack!

I chose to use Amare because the company was the first of its kind researching the gut-brain-heart connection. Amare's revolutionary science has identified the essential compounds, and run independent clinical trials on the ingredients.  The products are top quality, and I've seen fantastic results. Mental clarity, reduced anxiety, improved sleep quality and improved focus are just a few of the benefits I enjoyed after a couple of months, and the benefits keep coming!