I often see many people come to our wellness center with primary and secondary complains of digestive issues. It is not surprising to hear these complains, digestive diseases make up more than 40 acute and chronic conditions plaguing the human digestive tract and they range from common indigestion and constipation complaints to serious, life threatening diseases.
There once was a debate among the organs of the human body over which one was the master of all. The liver said, “I am the master. I perform over 500 functions every day and everything must come through me. I am the master.” The brain, in all gloriousness said, “I am the master puppettier and I control all of the body’s functions. Therefore, I am the king and master of all.” All of the other organs except the intestines touted their reasons for being the master of all. Finally, the gut quietly and gracefully said, “I am truly the master of all. All passes through me to get to each of you and I must ensure you all get your portions. Without me, none of you will be able to perform your functions.”
The brain harrumphed, the liver guffawed, the gut decided to show them all. Like a true lady and queen that she is, she decided to stop working for a few days. Immediately, the liver couldn’t do his work properly, the brain started sending out weird instructions to the rest of the body, the heart started beating erratically and the human was in pain and crying out in agony. There was bloating, cramps, nausea, blotchy, clammy skin, feverish feelings, visual distortions, mood issues and more. After 3 days of the gut’s strike, all of the rest of the organs unanimously bowed at her feet and crowned her the Queen. For they recognized, that they all needed her in order to be their awesome selves. Once she returned to work, the rest of the organs began to function properly and the human pooped, the pain subsided, the mood improved and happiness returned to the body.
Now, I hope you have been taking excellent care of your gut. If not, here are some things to get you started on a lifelong love affair with your lovely queen so she may serve you well.
First, eat whole, nourishing foods daily.
Reduce or cut out gluten if you’re really serious about kicking up your love affair a few notches.
Eat two servings of raw, fermented vegetables daily.
Drink ½ your weight in ounces and if drinking pure water is too dull for your new romance, infuse your water with freshly cut fruits, mint, ginger, lemon or lime. You can even change them up to keep the affair sizzling hot and the contenders on their toes.
Use a smaller plate to serve your meals and chew your food portions very well. If you want a count, 50 times is a good chew time. That gives your stomach time to signal to your brain that you are full and keeps you from overeating. By the way, this tip is also red hot for weight management, ohh la la!
Walk for at least 30 minutes every day; it helps with keeping the queen happy to be of service.
Add 2 tablespoons of ground golden flax seeds daily to your salad, yogurt or gluten free cereal or smoothie. It will help with smooth sailing afterwards, if you know what I mean.
Take digestive enzymes, glutamate, prebiotics and probiotics daily.
Find reasons to laugh and have fun. This will help your gut’s neurotransmitters work for you better.