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First off gut health? What in the world is that? Simply put gut health is the overall balance of your digestive system.
Is your digestive system breaking down and absorbing food as it should be? How do you know if it is not? Common signs of an unbalanced digestive system include: gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, skin irritations, some autoimmune conditions, food intolerances, allergies, sleep disturbances or constant fatigue, and unintentional weight changes.
Why is it important to care for the gut? Besides to avoid the above reasons, 70% of your immune system is in your gut. That means your gut is the front line for invaders that make it into the body. Hippocrates stated “All disease begins in the gut,” and many have seemed to have forgotten how important gut health is to the overall body.
Did you know one of the keys to taking care of your gut is to take care of the good bacteria that live there? There are anywhere from 300-500 different species of bacteria living in your gut. Germ-a-phobes do NOT worry! These bacteria are good and are important for helping your body break down your food. Interesting note on bacteria. One of the most important parts of ruminant nutrition I was taught in graduate school was to first feed the bacteria, then the animal. The bacteria literally feed the animals. Humans, while we have different stomachs and digestive tracts, still need to take care of the bacteria in our guts as well.
What can you do to care for your gut? Limit processed foods and sugars, especially refined sugars like corn syrup. These increase the inflammation in the body, and upset the bacteria balance, feeding yeast and increasing sugar cravings.
Second, lower your stress levels. I know, easier said than done. However, taking the time once a week to slow down and relax will help your body out immensely. Meditate, do yoga, go golfing, take a trail ride, whatever helps you unwind and relax.
Third and fourth, I talked about earlier, so I’ll let you go back and read them in detail. Get the right amount of quality of sleep and stay hydrated. These two things have a huge impact on more than just gut health. They improve the entire body function.
Fifth, feed the good bacteria. Start taking a prebiotic, feeds the bacteria, or probiotic, replenishes the bacteria. You can also consume fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, or kombucha (drink actually) to your diet.
Sixth, cleanse the gut. At least once a year do a cleanse. This helps to reset your gut. I do a colon cleanse in the fall at least once a year. This helps clear the junk that has been accumulating. The first time I did a cleanse I was skeptical. I was regular, I didn’t have food issues, but I did know I was off and my colon hurt (turns out this was actually scar adhesion pain). I was also 1 year postpartum, still not feeling right, and was done settling for “normal” whatever that is. I was on a quest for optimum and the colon was the first place to start.
Post cleanse, I realized just how much my gut was holding. Those extra few pounds I could not lose after the baby was gone. The pudge of bloating I had no idea I had was gone too. The most surprising came that spring and summer, when my apple trees blooming no longer caused me to sniffle and sneeze and the sunflowers no longer caused my eyes to water and my nose to plug!
Who is up for a cleanse? Let me know and I’ll help you get started! My fall cleanse time is coming up soon.
Wanting a community to lean into? Join the FREE Courageous + Purposeful Mommas group! This community is for the Mommas, mommas to be, in the midst of raising, and kids grown, looking for tips on building your family up and providing for them through natural methods. Tips include: gardening, bulk buying, caning,/preserving, livestock, homesteading, and home remedies. Your family is precious, and this group is to help you gain the knowledge and tools to keep your family well and not reliant on outside professionals. Remedies and tips are easy and simple for the busy momma, time is precious after all, including pregnancy, birth, young kids, and illness. Trust your Momma gut again! This community offers the resources + community you need to help get started on your journey and prepare for whatever future you envision.
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We’ve all heard the phrase ‘find your tribe’, but what does it actually mean? Is it really that important? It means finding the people who understand you, the people you can be real and raw with, the people who support you and lift you up. Yes it is that important for you to find your tribe. Why? Simple answer support. Let me share a story with you, then I’ll give you some tips on finding your tribe.
There was a church with several young new couples who had started to attend. One of those couples decided they wanted to get to know the other couples better and maybe start a small group study. Five couples began meeting, at first for game night, then bible study. It took about a year of meeting together, but those couples began to be comfortable enough with each other, they could be vulnerable. What that group didn’t realize in the winter of 2015, was how much they would need each other in the following year.
After one tearful night when hearts were laid open over the topic of pregnancy and the frustrations with people asking “WHEN”? Those women bonded. In the course of the next year, each of those couples would have a child, there would be 3 miscarriages, and one very scary NICU stay. After each of those miscarriages, those women leaned into each other, prayed with each other, supported each other, loved each other, and kept pointing them back. They celebrated with each pregnancy and birth. They cared for and prayed hard and visited during that NICU stay.
Those families grew even closer, during that time. Without those women in my life I would have crumbled that year and the year following. The years 2016/2017 proved to be some of the most emotionally difficult years for me to date. Did I grow? Oh yes! But not without the help of those women who have become my tribe. We still lean on each other, pray for each other, fight FOR each other, love each other, and do life together. 2020 has not been an easy year for any of us either.
So how do you find your tribe? First get out there and meet people! Find groups with similar interests and get to know the people in them. Facebook is an excellent place to meet people with similar interests. Just search Facebook for a hobby or interest. I have a group for women working towards internal healing, called Empowered Healing Women. Once you find people you understand and they understand you, continue to meet with them, start doing life with them. Pray for each other, ask how each other is doing. Finally, do not hide. Be vulnerable. Ask the hard questions, and answer them too!
The Facebook Group I mentioned:
Wanting a community to lean into? Join the FREE Courageous + Purposeful Mommas group! This community is for the Mommas, mommas to be, in the midst of raising, and kids grown, looking for tips on building your family up and providing for them through natural methods. Tips include: gardening, bulk buying, caning,/preserving, livestock, homesteading, and home remedies. Your family is precious, and this group is to help you gain the knowledge and tools to keep your family well and not reliant on outside professionals. Remedies and tips are easy and simple for the busy momma, time is precious after all, including pregnancy, birth, young kids, and illness. Trust your Momma gut again! This community offers the resources + community you need to help get started on your journey and prepare for whatever future you envision.
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Having a medical provider that matches your lifestyle and goals is imperative for a good long term relationship. Do you expect to live at their office? NO, but having an understanding with your provider on what you expect and your preferred choices will make the times when you need to see them (like with ill children) so much easier.
#1 Remember you are paying them. They work for you. They may be a professional, but it is called medical practice for a reason. The field is ever changing as new information is discovered. Some providers keep up on this way more than others. If what you are told doesn’t sit quite right, get another opinion.
#2 Do not walk into the office expecting a fight or disagreement over something. Expecting to be at odds makes everyone tense, and means you should really find someone else. If everyone is tense, no one is doing their best.
#3 Interview! Remember the ‘they work for you’? If you were to have someone to life coach you, you would interview them, right? Why do we not do this with our medical providers! It is totally ok to shop around! Come up with a list of questions and ask them all. Write the answers down and then compare away from the offices. I did this when I was pregnant with my second. Made a huge difference in the overall pregnancy and birth.
#4 Research. Yep I said it. Go to google. BUT select your sources wisely and find creditable sources for all sides. If I’m digging deep into research pick scholar.google. You get scientific journal resources, not a random sight. Look at the entire picture, not just pick lines out of the articles. Doctors cannot keep up with everything. Even if you agree with your provider sometimes it is good to ask questions.
#5 Compare different professionals. There is more than just modern medicine. There are chiropractors, massage therapists, naturopaths, homeopathic, or alternative medicine as well. Depending on what you are dealing, and your personal choices, with which provider might be best.
#6 Listen and ask questions. Never stop learning, never stop advocating. If your provider says something that contradicts what they said earlier, ASK about it. If they say something that you don’t agree with ASK about it, politely of course. Just ask for more clarification. Open the door for discussion and education.
Now you are ready to make the best of your provider relationships and find the one that is right for you.
Check out the YouTube link for the video!
Wanting a community to lean into? Join the FREE Courageous + Purposeful Mommas group! This community is for the Mommas, mommas to be, in the midst of raising, and kids grown, looking for tips on building your family up and providing for them through natural methods. Tips include: gardening, bulk buying, caning,/preserving, livestock, homesteading, and home remedies. Your family is precious, and this group is to help you gain the knowledge and tools to keep your family well and not reliant on outside professionals. Remedies and tips are easy and simple for the busy momma, time is precious after all, including pregnancy, birth, young kids, and illness. Trust your Momma gut again! This community offers the resources + community you need to help get started on your journey and prepare for whatever future you envision.
Click here to get the stories straight to your email:
For more on wellness tips click here:
For more on homesteading on your budget click here:
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