On your quest towards vibrant health, would you form an alliance with 100 trillion microbes?
Consider that the strength of this alliance can spark the difference between peak health, and a vast array of chronic symptoms and disease.
Twenty-five hundred years ago Hippocrates (“Father of Medicine” from Ancient Greece) said, “All disease begins in the gut”. Modern medicine is finally catching up with this ancient wisdom.
What level of vitality is possible with 100 trillion microbial guardians?
These microbes are the beneficial bacteria (gut flora) within our Gut Microbiome. Consider that our bodies are composed of more bacteria cells than human cells, and that 80% of the body’s immune cells are housed in the gut. Beneficial symbiosis with our microbial guardians is truly a game-changer.
When balanced, the gut microbiome promotes vibrant health and well-being. The benefits are vast, including a strong immune system, sustained energy, and clear-mindedness (just to name a few). When out-of-balance (dysbiosis), trillions of microbes sabotage our health resulting in stress, anxiety, fatigue, pain and suffering (to name a few).
The choice is yours. The key is in your hands.
In this article, we’ll illustrate how to optimize your gut microbiome for vibrant health benefits. Establishing an alliance with trillions of microbes is simple.
I offer a two-step process:
(1) Stop doing the things that disrupt the gut microbiome
(2) Continue taking steps to strengthen the gut microbiome alliance.
Step 1: Stop disrupting your gut
First Let’s look at how imbalances in the gut microbiome can affect us. Negative changes in the gut microbiome have been linked to everything from rheumatoid arthritis, to depression and mood imbalances, to Parkinson’s and fibromyalgia, to SIBO, gut infections, diabetes, obesity, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBS). A disrupted gut microbiome can be a root cause of many chronic diseases. Beneficial bacteria even break down substances that might otherwise cause cancer.
The good news is that gut health is largely based on our diet and lifestyle choices (which are in our control). Again, the choice is yours. The key is in your hands.
Action Step: Minimize (or eliminate) refined sugar, flour, gluten, processed foods, and industrial seed oils (soybean, corn, cottonseed, safflower, sunflower).
These offenders disrupt your gut microbiome, which in turn cause systemic inflammation and other consequences that can lead to everything from autoimmune disease, to weight gain, to mood disorders (also see full list above).
Step 2: Form your microbiome alliance
If you want the vast benefits of a balanced gut microbiome, then strengthen your microbe alliance in the following ways:
Feed your microbe guardians:
- Organic whole food fruits and vegetables – the soluble fiber acts as a prebiotic food for the microbes to thrive. Some of the most beneficial are asparagus, dandelion greens, sunchokes, garlic, green bananas, onions, and leeks.
- Potatoes: cooking and then cooling potatoes forms resistant starch, an insoluble fiber that microbes love (prebiotic). Once cooled, you can gently warm up the potatoes before eating. I recommend making a large batch, eating it over the next few days.
- Fermented foods: raw sauerkraut, kefir from grass-fed cows, kimchi, and kombucha. These are natural sources of probiotics. I recommend two tablespoons of fermented foods at each meal.
- Bone Broth: Bone broth is a gut-healing nutrient source. Make your own at home or buy it from the refrigerated section (Staff of Life in Santa Cruz makes their own chicken and beef bone broth – sublime). I recommend 1 cup of bone broth per day. Bone broth also has many other benefits.
Care for Yourself:
- Sleep: 7 to 9 hours of actual sleep per night
- Exercise: An average of 30 minutes of moderate to strenuous activity each day. Also stand up and walk around often during the day. Aim for a total of 10,000 steps per day.
- Cultivate pleasure and connection in your life: This is an effective way to manage chronic stress, which can greatly disrupt the gut microbiome. For more guidance on this and an elaboration on Step 2 recommendations, refer to our free Vital Health e-book (via the email opt-in box).
In conclusion, I invite you to call upon your 100 trillion microbe guardians. Feed them well and form a powerful alliance. Enlist, marshal, and aim this automated tribe of healing microbes toward your most vibrant health and well-being. Be the joyful woman you were born to become. May they serve you well.
For an in-depth, personalized analysis of your gut microbiome – and a protocol to fully align your 100 trillion microbes with your greatest good, book an appointment with our Functional Medicine doctor, Dr. Angelica Salazar, MD via the button below.
