Let’s just face it, I am not a born blogger! It is now my intention to write a blog post at least once per month and possible twice per month. Hold me to it!!
Back on task here…
I want to write about the importance of intestinal health in regards to our health in general. Our guts are home to trillions of bacteria, both “good” and “bad”. In fact, we have 10 times more bacteria in our bodies than we have cells, totalling about 4 pounds! The “good” or beneficial bacteria keep the “bad” or pathogenic bacteria numbers in check. There cannot be an overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria when there is a healthy population of beneficial bacteria. It is important to have a healthy population of “good” bacteria because it is responsible for 80% of our immunity in our bodies.
How does this balance get disrupted?
There are certain foods we eat, medications we take (antibiotics!) and stress in our lives that can lead to the imbalance of bacteria in our guts. This is called “dysbiosis”. When we have dysbiosis, it can lead to a whole host of diseases, from Intestinal Disorders, Allergies, Asthma, Depression, Anxiety, Autism, Schizophrenia, and Weight Gain to Autoimmune Diseases like Hashimoto’s Disease, Arthritis, Celiac Disease, Crohn’s Disease and more! As one can see, these microscopic creatures dictate whether our bodies are in good health or dis-ease.
I am sure that at some point in time, you may have been on a course of antibiotics. Chances are it’s been multiple, as our Western medical practices tend to over-prescribe antiobiotics as well as use them prophylactically. When someone takes a course of antibiotics, the medicine kills not only the pathogenic bacteria, but also the beneficial bacteria. If we don’t immediately replace the “good” bacteria that was killed during the course of antibiotics, we leave the gut very vulnerable for “opportunistic” pathogenic bacteria to move in and set up shop.
How do we rebuild our “good” intestinal bacteria?
We do this by eating good, probiotic foods such as kefir and yogurt (organic plain whole milk and grass-fed if possible), fermented vegetables like sauerkraut, kim chi and others, kombucha (fermented tea), natto (fermented soybeans), tempeh and miso to name a few.
If these are foods that you are not consistently consuming, I would recommend taking a well trusted probiotic. My favorite is Bio-Kult which was developed by Natasha Campbell McBride, the author of GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome). Natasha is an incredibly bright woman. Before I knew about GAPS and Natasha, I had a difficult time recommending certain probiotics. Because of my trust in her work, I now recommend Bio-Kult to my clients. In fact, I now carry Bio-Kult myself for my clients convenience. They will soon be available on my website. In the meantime, if you’re interested in purchasing some yourself, please contact me: eaglevisionnutrition@gmail.com
