Okay, so recently I had this conversation with my granddaughter and her friend about their diet. This particular morning, it appeared to be mostly brown and high in corn syrup. The eggs were literally floating in this corn syrup disguised as maple syrup. (I got them organic maple syrup and they told me it tasted weird!) They noticed me staring at their plates over breakfast. Then I got that, “Here comes the lecture look,” but they listened. At least, it looked that way. There was eye contact. I wasn’t looking at scalps, so that was a good sign!
My granddaughter then shared with me how much she hated water! “Hated!” I explained to her that water was NOT optional. So I said to myself, I better break this down for them in a way they might easily understand. But I had to start with the tragic news that without water, you will die! Do they no longer teach health class, science, and biology in school? It’s bad enough that physical fitness and art took a back seat in school as if exercise and creativity no longer matter, but I digress.
Okay, back to my teen lecture. As an athlete this was especially important for her to hear. I wanted her to understand that her dietary habits are definitely affecting her performance. But this holds true for us all, which is why I decided to share my teen lecture with my adult audience. Most of us left school many moons ago and quite frankly, until I went back to school specifically to study food and health, I didn’t remember most of it!
I explained to them that the human body is a machine. All of the parts need to be working properly as they are all interdependent. While some parts can be replaced, replacing them can be dangerous and risky. So, we need take care of our original parts! Some of us are getting to the age that we are paying for the neglect and abuse to our original parts and that *#it is not fun!
The body’s fuel is food and water. To SURVIVE, you need oxygen, water and food. (Damn, I thought sure chocolate chip ice cream would have made the list!) REAL FOOD. The type of food you choose has an enormous impact on not only the quality of your life, it also helps determine the length of your life. Give it bad fuel and before you know it, the engine will die and you will be towed away! And, not by a tow truck. You’ll be towed away by the undertaker! With big fat sausage undertaker fingers. No idea where that came from. It wasn’t part of the original lecture.
What most people eat are chemicals disguised as food. They are food-like substances purposely made to be addictive. They served them in school and called them lunch! These kids grew up during the convenience food era. (Not that lunch when I went to school was much better! But Chick-fila wasn’t running the kitchen!) Most of my generation grew up on REAL food. McDonald’s and KFC was something you ate on occasion because we didn’t know any better. A bucket of KFC was considered a treat! (We know now it wasn’t really, but it sure felt like it back then!) Some of this younger generation grew up on junk food, sometimes eaten at more than one meal in a day! (Her mother does cook, but OMG she is the pickiest eater I have ever encountered!)
Anyway, I explained that in order for your food to be considered fuel, it needs to be nutritious. Quality matters. You must choose foods that support health, not work against it. Those are the only two choices! Nutrient rich food is essential to your health and wellbeing. It is the ONLY fuel that will keep that engine of yours, and all of its parts operating optimally.
Now, I don’t know squat about automobile engines. I’ve had my car two years and still have no idea how to work the satellite radio, but food and nutrition are actually subjects I am passionate about. My car manual says premium fuel only, so that is what I feed it, but we humans need premium fuel too! It is also important to note, that you can actually use premium fuel, but how that fuel gets used has to do with digestion.
Digestion begins in the mouth where your teeth and enzymes begin to break down food. I’m so guilty of waiting to eat. Then I am starving and damn near inhaling my food. I’m basically swallowing my food whole. It’s a terrible habit. In order for our bodies to absorb the fuel or nutrients, we need to chew our food and chew it well.
Swallowing it without chewing it properly (where our saliva starts the digestive process) means we have these chunks of food sitting in our gut rotting instead of being digested properly. Mindful eating is a thing!
It is now known that gut health is the key to overall health. What exactly is your gut? Well, let me break it down in case you forgot. I damn sure did.
Your gut is the gastrointestinal system also referred to as the digestive system. It starts with your mouth and continues through the esophagus (where food gets lubed up) the stomach (where enzymes, hormones and acids are released) small intestine (where food is digested and absorbed into the bloodstream) the large intestine (absorbs water and helps with final stage of digestion), the colon and finally the rectum and of course, we all know what that does.
So, heres the part for the grown folk! As women age stomach acid declines, pancreatic enzymes decline, which causes digestive issues. Now I know why Jamie Lee Curtis was hawking Activia. Jamie Lee was constipated! Jamie had digestive issues. Many of us do, young and old! (poor diet, toxins, stress….. I could go on) Tell me I’m not the only person that is constantly a bubble waiting to burst!
So we have aging which often brings poor digestion, but to make matters worse, many over the counter meds and prescription drugs can also be harmful to gut health and digestion. (and sadly I cannot currently brag about being prescription drug-free, but I’m working on it!) They mess up the pH. Remember those pH test strips from science class? I know. I barely remember what I ate yesterday. It’s not just you.
So as I said, acids and digestive enzymes are necessary for digestion. Without sufficient stomach acid we are unable to properly digest and more importantly to ABSORB the nutrients. So you may be paying for premium fuel and it’s never reaching your engine!
You have trillions of bacteria in your gut. The bacteria, which has been studied extensively, make up what is called your “micro biome.” This micro biome has a significant role in health and wellness. Improvements to your micro biome been shown to not only improve, but reverse some illness and conditions. I am actually taking a really exciting online course on micro biome offered by UC San Diego. I lied, it’s not exciting.
“All disease starts in the gut.” – Hippocrates
So, it appears that we finally understand that gut bacteria is vital to our health even though we were told this a jillion years ago. (Hippocrates, the greek physician known as the founder of medicine, who told us this, died in 370 BC.) In addition, we also need to maintain the proper ratio of friendly, life-enhancing bacteria to the bad stuff. So, how can do this? Here are the top five ways:
5 ways to improve gut health
- Eat Probiotic foods such as fermented foods, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar and/or Take a probiotic supplement
- Consume Antioxidant rich foods
- Manage Stress (Stress just screws up your entire body. It affects your microbiome and everything else!)
- Avoid Sugar, Avoid Processed foods & Bad fats
- Eat Organic
BUT READ LABELS!
Looked for Live Cultures or Naturally Fermented
“Let food be thy medicine” – Hippocrates
When we fail to balance the ratios of good to bad bacteria in the gut, we become vulnerable to infections, malnourishment and degenerative disorders. Once again, a healthy gut IS your health.
And finally, although absolutely necessary at times to save lives, Antibiotics (Anti!) take away of probiotics. They kill the good and the bad bacteria in your gut, so if you can avoid them, do so. But as always, consult with your doctor. In my opinion they are overprescribed, but that’s just my opinion, which means absolutely nothing to anyone but me. If we can get our guts (where most of our immune system lives) in check, there will be less need for them. The idea is to get our #*it together so that we won’t need medications of any kind, or at least we can limit the intake!
The gut is the engine that runs the machine.The machine is brilliantly designed, but we still have to maintain it and that means providing it with premium fuels and maintenance. And it doesn’t matter if you are an 19 year old athlete or not. I told her, pay now, or pay later. (I have my work cut on with her!)
Are you feeding your machine premium fuel? Are you maintaining your engine?
Interested in reading more? A great place to find great detailed recipes and more information is: https://homesteadandchill.com/category/food-ferment/ferment/fermented-foods/
Here are some helpful links with some great information on improving immune function. And during these times, more important than ever!
https://atlasbiomed.com/blog/16-easy-hacks-to-enhance-your-gut-health-every-day-in-2020/