by Wally Bishop | Jun 19, 2023 | Gut Flora
In our continuing series on gut flora, one of the questions we must ask ourselves is whether we are damaging our gut flora.
Did you know that your gut flora can impact your brain health? Do you find yourself battling depression or anxiety? Do you have trouble concentrating on tasks? It could be a gut flora imbalance. The gut-brain axis is real. Our gut is called our second brain for a good reason. Our gut health can affect our cognitive ability, memory, moods, and more.
Your Diet Impacts Your Gut
So what kills or damages our gut flora? In one word – diet. Remember the old saying, “You are what you eat?”
The American diet is loaded with processed foods that contain gut inflammation-producing ingredients and very little fiber. In addition, these processed foods have a host of chemicals that can kill our good bacteria while feeding the harmful bacteria and funguses. For example, a study in February 2022 showed that artificial sweeteners like Splenda, also known as sucralose, kill your gut flora.
Some medications, like antibiotics, also kill all the gut flora, good and bad. And don’t forget all the food preservatives, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, food colorings, unhealthy fats like soybean and corn oil and hydrogenated fats, GMO foods, gluten, water with chlorine, and mercury-containing vaccines and foods.
Taking in Junk Leads to Bad Gut
The result of all of that is a microbiome that’s in horrible health. Our gut flora is imbalanced. The technical term for the imbalance of our body bacteria and microbiome is dysbiosis. Our digestive system has many parts, and most of those imbalances occur in the small and large intestines.
Your microbiome, the types and amount of bacteria living in your gut, are critical to your overall health and very critical to the health of your digestive system! The wrong foods produce the wrong bacteria that cause gut and whole-body inflammation.
Improving your gut health is the first step to improving your overall health. To see how Vive Shake can help improve your gut flora, contact us today at info@viveshake.com or 877-878-3009. Next time, we’ll talk about the benefits of fiber on our gut flora.
Vive Shake and the recommendations contained on this site and our blog are not and should not be considered medical advice. They are for informational purposes only. Always consult with your doctor before making any dietary or lifestyle changes. Never quit taking prescription medications unless advised to do so by your doctor.
by Wally Bishop | Jun 12, 2023 | Gut Flora
Last time, we talked about what gut flora is. Today, we want to discuss ways you can balance your gut flora.
Are Bacteria Really Good for You?
Sometimes we want to think that bacteria are harmful, but it serves a great purpose in our gut! Out of the trillions of strains of bacteria, we want to ensure we have the right amount of those good bacteria.
These good bacteria do many things to help us, including:
- Breaking down foods.
- Supplying the gut with energy.
- Making some vitamins.
- Producing anti-inflammatory compounds called postbiotics in the colon.
- Breaking down toxins.
- Protecting against pathogens by setting up camp where the harmful bacteria normally would and by producing anti-microbial chemicals that defend the host against them
- Helping make neurotransmitters. Our gut flora is essential for producing at least five neurotransmitter compounds.
- Improving our bone, brain, gut, heart, skin, and immune system health.
How Can I Improve My Gut Flora?
There are multiple ways you can improve your healthy gut flora. Those include:
- Increasing your fiber intake through your diet. Foods with digestive-resistant starch are great at populating beneficial gut bacteria in our colon.
- Taking a probiotic, but only if your diet is low in fiber, for a short-term boost, or if recommended by a qualified health professional.
- Eating and drinking fermented foods.
- Eating a whole food plant-based diet. It will contain lots of fiber.
- Limiting the intake of processed foods. They have chemicals that kill your gut flora.
- Avoiding sucralose (Splenda). Studies show it kills gut flora if consumed regularly.
Challenges with Imbalanced Gut Flora
At least 80% of my clients have some type of digestive issue. They range from leaky gut syndrome, GERD (reflux), heartburn, bloating, cramps, constipation, and a smaller amount with a blend of constipation and diarrhea. If symptoms last long enough, it can become irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or irritable bowel disease (IBD) such as colitis or Crohn’s. Unfortunately, most people never consider their food’s impact on their digestive health.
This is very important: your health is highly impacted by your gut health.
It impacts your neurological health, heart, vascular system, bone health, nutrient absorption, immune system, detoxing ability, and more. In addition, according to Psych Central, an imbalance in your gut flora can cause depression and anxiety. Your gut is your second brain!
Get your gut healthy, and many adverse conditions can improve significantly and even disappear.
Next time, we’ll talk about what damages our gut flora. For more information on how Vive Shake can help with your gut flora, contact us today at info@viveshake.com or 877-878-3009.
Vive Shake and the recommendations contained on this site and our blog are not and should not be considered medical advice. They are for informational purposes only. Always consult with your doctor before making any dietary or lifestyle changes. Never quit taking prescription medications unless advised to do so by your doctor.
by Wally Bishop | Jun 5, 2023 | Gut Flora
Are you embarrassed when you squeak one out that you will run everyone out of the room? Or hate to use a friend or family member’s bathroom out of fear that you totally bomb their bathroom? It could be that out-of-balance gut flora is to blame! Over the next few weeks, we’re going to talk about gut flora and its impact on your overall health and wellness.
What Is Gut Flora?
Our gut has approximately 1,000 strains of bacteria that number in the trillions. That’s our gut flora. According to the National Library of Medicine, gut flora plays an important role in, “supplying essential nutrients, synthesizing vitamin K, aiding in the digestion of cellulose, and promoting angiogenesis and enteric nerve function.”
What’s the Downside of Unhealthy Gut Flora?
Certain conditions like stomach bugs or food sensitivities can cause that bacteria to get out of balance. This condition is called dysbiosis. For example, Brussels sprouts and cabbage can cause smelly gas and bloating in some people sensitive to the type of fiber and sulfur compounds those cruciferous plants contain. When your gut is out of balance, your flatulence and bathroom trips might be very smelly.
What Happens When You Balance Your Gut Flora?
If you balance your gut flora, most of the foul smell will likely disappear. And in fact, did you know you can even get your digestive system used to foods like legumes (beans) that generally cause a lot of gas in some individuals?
The more balanced your gut flora, the less offensive and smelly your emissions should be.
Most of my clients don’t believe me until it happens. For example, a coaching client recently told me their emissions were barely noticeable now, and we’re just six weeks into their coaching program. So, realize it takes time to heal the gut and bring balance to our microbiome. For some, change can be quicker, and for others, it may take longer. Did you know that Vive Shake helps balance your gut flora? Contact us today at info@viveshake.com or 877-878-3009 for more details! In our next post, we’ll talk about good bacteria and ways to balance your gut flora.
Vive Shake and the recommendations contained on this site and our blog are not and should not be considered medical advice. They are for informational purposes only. Always consult with your doctor before making any dietary or lifestyle changes. Never quit taking prescription medications unless advised to do so by your doctor.
