Did you know that digestion is the foundation of your health? You can eat the healthiest food in the world, but if your gut is inflamed or unhealthy, the nutrients from all that wonderful food will not get processed nor be properly absorbed by your body.
Did you also know that your belly actually communicates with your central nervous system? This connection is called the brain-gut axis. The gut is often called your second brain because it contains hundreds of millions of neurons – more neurons than are contained in your spinal chord. Your belly is also deeply connected with your intuition because it is a way in which you perceive and read the world, but you do it without thoughts, obviously, because it is not happening in your brain. What you instead experience is a “feeling” – your intuition. This is still as valid and powerful as what your brain is experiencing, but it is something that we often overlook, especially if our digestion is already making us feel lousy. But just think how it would be if you could more deeply use this part of your body and your intuition to more accurately make decisions on a daily basis, and in all areas of your life.
So, what’s going on in there? As a human being we have 1 trilion cells in our body and there are 9 trillion bacteria living within us! This is a true example of a symbiotic relationship. Here we are living in concert with bacteria in our body and they are there for a reason. We have a mutual relationship with the good bacteria living within us, where they get some major nutrition from us, and in return they give us some much needed vitamins and make sure no other organisms take up residence in there. Human breast milk is one of the first ways babies get inoculated with good bacteria.
The gut-brain axis is very important because the bacteria you harbour, whether good or bad, communicates with your brain. This means that friendly bacteria can send messages about what they want to eat, but it also means that bad bacteria also send messages. So if you’ve ever tried to give up sugar and found yourself raiding the pantry the very next day… it has nothing to do with will power. It’s because you are not totally in control of your food choices…
Your intestinal flora plays a major role in the cravings and inklings you have for various foods. Parasites, pathogenic bacteria and yeast, like candida like to eat simple sugars. Friendly bacteria like lacti-vasili like to eat fibre, whole fruits, vegetables, and grains. Conveniently the friendly flora help us to digest these foods more fully, which increases our nutrient uptake and absorption. Just imagine how much better you could feel by properly balancing and rebuilding your intestinal eco-system.
The intestinal tract not only digests and absorbs food, it also filters and protects you from damaging substances, pathogenic bacteria, wastes, toxins and chemicals – that is, if it is working properly! Remember, you can eat the healthiest food in the world but if your gut is inflamed or unhealthy the nutrients will not get processed and absorbed properly by your body. And an inflamed intestinal tract is a harbour for bad bacteria.
Friendly bacteria need the right food to grow and to thrive in the intestines. When they are thriving they keep pathogenic bacteria and parasites out. So foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans promote the growth of probiotics. Fast foods, processed foods, alcohol, sugar, coffee all promote the growth of bad bacteria.
If your probiotic balance is off you are more suseptible to infections, sleep disturbances, stress, constipation, diaohrea, heart burn, GERD IBS, Chrohn’s, colitis, asthma, allergies, PMS, anxiety and depression. So you can see how important the proper intestinal eco system is for your overall health.
Remember, your nervous system should be bathed in minerals in order to keep calm and functioning. Once we run out of our mineral reserves our nervous system becomes frayed and we start craving fats to build some insulation around the nervous system, when really what is more useful in this situation is deep nourishment, minerals and building your mineral reserves.
When you get full nutrition from your food, this is what you will experience: feeling calm, collected, freely able to feel emotions without the need to stuff them down, no anxiety, and access to being able to move those emotions through your body.
When you are fully “nutritionalised” people look at you and wonder, why you are so grounded? They want to know what your secret is, and the best part is that you get tonnes of energy!
So, how can can you feel better and help heal your digestion?
Probiotic supplements are one way, and many people achieve good results with them. However, they are made in a laboratory and often have to be taken in large quantities to be effective. But the great news is there are some wonderful natural whole food forms of probiotics that can be bought or made at home: raw, unpasturised fermented vegetables. Most people think of fermentation just as a food preservation thing – actually, it is one of the oldest forms of food preservation that we know of, and a fantastic healing technique as well!
What’s one of the most versatile healing foods of the fermented variety? Sauerkraut, which is cabbage, usually mixed with salt. It supports digestion, helps you become more alkaline and is filled with live probiotics that implant in your system so that when you are not eating it you are still getting the benefits.
If you’re ready for some spontaneous healing try a couple of spoonfuls of sauerkraut once per day for 30 days and allow your body to become inoculated with the right bacteria and see what happens. Just note that it must be “raw and unpasturised” sauerkraut to be effective.
To your internal health!
P.S. If you are struggling to balance your digestion and energy levels please contact me for a complimentary 45min “Love Your Body, Love Your Life” Breakthrough session. During this session I can help you pinpoint the exact areas in your life where you are unknowingly adding to digestive problems or losing energy and what to do to re-ignite it. Click on this link to be taken directly to my online appointment scheduler:
and book your complimentary session now. This is also a great way to find out what it might be like to work with me further in my 3 Month One-on-One Coaching Program!