Discovering Wellness: My Empowering Journey to Optimal Gut Health
Caring for our gut health is like embarking on a journey to understand our body’s inner ecosystem. Many of us don’t realize how deeply connected our gut is to our overall well-being—our mood, energy, immunity, even the clarity of our skin. Today is the beginning of my healing reset, yes, I’m including my family as well.
Photo by Ona Creative on Unsplash
I realized we have to get back to the basics…real, sustainable foods like this woman here.
My #1 Reason for Starting this Journey
For a number of years, honestly, most of my life, I’ve been interested in all things health and healing. I would occasionally find myself in the gym, I’d eat relatively clean, and drink plenty of water. Then I got married and motherhood began. With that change in life, I also began to pay more attention to the things I thought I knew along with how my body felt. I noticed fatigue was a part of my normal, along with insomnia, mood swings, and poor digestion. My energy went down the tubes and honestly, I knew something had to give. In 2020, I joined the mental wellness company that began educating me on the gut-brain axis (I never heard of that until then), and how our immune system is largely regulated in our gut. Unfortunately, I didn’t take that knowledge and applied that to my lifestyle until recently when I couldn’t shake off other symptoms with just my normal baking soda water aids.
Gut Health: A Few Basics
Many of us know that there are trillions of both good and bad bacteria in our guts (let’s call their house the microbiome), that aids in digestion. But it’s more than that. Did you know that also in the gut are things to help regulate our moods and hormones? We’ve also heard, “you are what you eat” for years, but our food seriously impacts the quality of our lives—for good or bad—and will either assist us in being healthy or become our demise. Yikes!
Key Points to Remember
Gentle Cleansing & Detoxing
Keep in mind, I’m just now resetting so you’re journeying with me and not just seeing the finished product. There’s a time and place for a Master Cleanse, etc. but right now, this isn’t that for me. I’m beginning with a reboot to my system that will help assist my body’s natural detoxification process. During this three day reset, I’ll remove every food item that would try to hinder the process, and for what I can eat, I’ll be eating from locally grown and/or organic fruits and vegetables.
Food Is Foundational
After that three day stretch, my next steps will be focusing on whole foods and healthy fermented probiotic foods. I’ll also be including prebiotics to feed the good flora along with phytonutrients. Our bodies heal best when we are nourishing it with foods in their purest forms so majority of my food intake will be raw or lightly steamed. Since I’m coming off of a strong antibiotic, clean eating is a necessity to help replenish the good flora in my gut biome. Along with the foods, I’ll be supplementing with digestive enzymes to help balance and support.Eliminating Trigger Foods
I’m sure you don’t want to hear this but, most of the readily available “food” is so bad for us! After this reset, the items I know don’t support healthy habits I’m nixing. While I’m at it, I’m rethinking recipes so I can have homemade alternatives for some of the highly processed snacks we enjoy. Goodbye, refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, and unhealthy fats! We’re choosing to elevate over here!Listening to My Body
Our bodies are always communicating with us, but often we ignore. Well, not anymore. I’m noticing the full feelings, or being overstimulated, fatigued, and lethargic. I’m paying attention to sadness, depressive thoughts. When I indulge in what’s good for me, including exercise, positive friendships, and self-care, I’m feeling most like my best self. It’s so important to hear when our bodies are stressed, but also to discern when we’re on the right trek.Restfulness
Lack of rest and sleep, along with the deepening of stress, can lead to an array of health problems. Includinging, you got it, issues with the gut. For me, I’ll be leaning on meditating in the Word of God, practicing my breathing, and intentional unwinding with help from apps like Abide. For years I’ve made adequate sleep and rest an option, and while I still have the opportunity to reset my health, I’m reclaiming that and beginning again.Be Consistent and Endure
It’s so funny how Abba brought this back to me after just ministering on this ver thing last Sunday. This race isn’t given to the swift (my paraphrase), so I am choosing to rest in the truth that no matter how long this season is for my reset, I will endure because consistency matters. Poor food choices and various symptoms in the body didn’t happen overnight, so I’m giving myself grace to know that the results of my diligence may seem to come with a mind of its own. Yet, I know for a fact this is worth it.
Are You Ready to Join this Revolution?
If you’re inspired to start your own gut health journey, consider this:
Start Slowly & Stay Connected
Connect with me here, and let’s talk about your goals. Let’s journey together! This may be where you also start with a gentle cleanse or detox as well, as long as you have the consent of your healthcare professional. I am not your doctor. ;-) Although I’m going a more holistic route, I am definitely keeping my primary care professional, along with my GI, in the loop regarding everything that I’m doing (within reason).Use Reputable Prebiotics and Probiotics
I’m partial to a particular brand of supplements. Simultaneously, I encourage you to look for clean products that naturally contain these elements. EWG is a great source of information to tell you wether you’re accessing the best food item (and more) or not.Hydrate Please
Listen! Water is your friend! The purer the better so be mindful of your water source. Drink enough to keep your cells happy and gut coated.Enjoy the Ride!
I see beauty and freedom on the horizon for my family and me! A happier, healthier us where we are eating to live and not living to eat. I see us facing our fears—and overcoming them. I’m thrilled and in awe just thinking about it all! Sis, I hope you take the plunge with us!
Final Thoughts
Right now, Abba still has need of us earthside to continue being salt and light in the earth. We can’t do that if our health is failing due to our own negligence. As we embark upon this journey of improving the gut-brain axis, let’s do so in faith. Let’s expect to see transformative, lasting, beautiful change. It’s time for us to win in our health. It’s time for us to heal from the inside out.