Blog Archives

15 Signs Your Gut isn’t as Healthy as it Would Like to be

27/3/2017

15 signs your gut isn't as healthy as it would like to be:

Regular bloating, digestive upset, excess gas and/or reflux
Regular headaches or migraines
Tiredness, fatigue and lack of energy
Inability to lose weight, puffiness, fluid retention, or excess abdominal fat
Candida symptoms, including thrush
Fungal skin and nail infections, including athletes foot
Anxiety or feelings of pressure and tension
Inability to feel in control of stress levels
Depression or depressive-like symptoms
Diseases including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Hashimoto’s, Chrohns Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Leaky Gut Syndrome
Skin issues such as eczema, psoriasis, acne
Strong sugar and refined carbohydrate cravings
Mood swings, irritability, poor memory or lack of concentration
Food allergies or sensitivities, including sinuses, gluten, dairy, soy
Regular diarrhoea and/or constipation

If you tick off more than one of these signs then there is a likelihood your gut isn’t as healthy and happy as it would like to be. Lifestyles high in mental and emotional stress, toxic environments, diets centred around refined and processed foods, everyday foods laden in artificial additives and chemicals, and consumption’s of phenomenal amounts of sugar, are leaving people fighting an unseen and unrealised battle with their gut and the health of their entire digestive system.

There is a centuries old quote by Hippocrates that states “All disease begins in the gut”.

5 Ways You Can Encourage a Healthy Gut Starting Today

Significantly reduce, or better still, entirely remove gluten-containing foods from your diet
Manage stress levels through relaxation, meditation, yoga and deep breathing
Increase healthy fats and proteins to help reduce sugar cravings as sugar feeds the bad bacteria in our gut
Consume probiotic-rich foods, drinks or supplements every day – try kombucha, kefir and sauerkraut
Eat wholesome, real and natural foods to reduce the amount of artificial chemicals, preservatives and additives you put into your body

The health of your gut really dictates so much about how you feel, how you think, and the way your body functions.

Start loving your gut today!

Kerri x

0 Comments

The Head Phase of Digestion

18/3/2017

0 Comments

There is one critical step to the digestive process of eating that many people are indirectly sabotaging, all the while being entirely unaware of it.

Do you eat in a rush or while distracted?
Do you feel angry, resentful or guilty when eating certain foods?
Do you eat fast without chewing properly?

Digestion begins the moment you think about food. The process of preparing your food, smelling your food cooking, thinking about your food, and looking forward to your food all affects how your body will digest and process that food.

You can have the healthiest eating plan in the world, but unless you eat in a way that supports a healthy digestive system, those healthy foods will contribute very little to your health, wellbeing or body weight.

So many people today have huge digestive upsets, problems digesting foods, and they suffer from bloating and feeling uncomfortable. Some of the reason for this is how you prepare your food (or lack of) and the way you eat your food, rather than the actual food choices you are making.

If, for a moment, you reflect back several generations ago, the way food was prepared varies significantly from the way it is today. Meals were made from scratch, hours were spent in the kitchen creating meals from whole foods, and very little of the ingredients that went into meals were from packets or food-like products.

The nutritional value of whole foods is huge, as well as the negative side-effects of ‘food-like’ (artificial foods) products. But further to that is the lack of preparation the digestive system now has for meals.

That time spent preparing your meal is sending a huge amount of signals and signs around your body prepping everything from the saliva in your mouth, to your digestive tract, to your blood stream and to your chemical pathways. Your brain receives these signals the moment you think about food, and starts preparing it for digesting the food that will soon be entering the body. The sight of food, the smell of food, the thoughts of food, and the pleasure you will receive from the food all is activating so much within your body already, well before the first mouthful of food is actually taken.

This stage is critical, but unfortunately due to eating in a rush, having negative feelings towards your food, being distracted while preparing food, eating convenience foods, eating fast, being unaware of your food, and little to no preparation of meals, this stage is not being allowed to function properly. As a result, food is entering the second phase of digestion without the first stage even being activated properly.

The result? A stress-induced shut down of your digestive system causing indigestion, reflux, bloating, gas and an uncomfortable tummy.

Instead try spending more time calmly preparing your meals, feel relaxed and happy while eating your meals, remove all distractions such as TV or phones, enjoy eating in a happy environment with friends or family, eat slowly and chew food well before swallowing, and most importantly just simply be ‘present’ in your meal. Too often we rush around while eating and thinking about the next thing on our agenda – instead stop, sit, and be in the moment. Enjoy your meal!

Bring on happy digestion!

Kerri x

0 Comments

▼ THIS IS YOUR POP WINDOW ▼

15 Signs Your Gut isn’t as Healthy as it Would Like to be

The Head Phase of Digestion

Kerri van de Loo - Personal Trainer, Nutrition Coach & The Author of:

Categories

Archives

Contact Details:.

We Are Social:.

15 Signs Your Gut isn’t as Healthy as it Would Like to be

The Head Phase of Digestion

Kerri van de Loo - Personal Trainer, Nutrition Coach & The Author of:

Categories

Archives

Contact Us

Contact Details:.

We Are Social:.