Hey there! Wake up - No more Summer Sleepeating

Did you know...

that many experts say all disease begins in our the intestines? Well, today we're going to talk about the root cause of intestinal issues. When new clients first knock on my side door, they are there because they wish to lose weight. However, more and more people are coming not out of vanity or unhappiness with their appearance: they are coming in droves because their doctors have scared them. People are beginning to see that their weight is not only an external issue, but it is also a detriment to their present and future health. The breakdown of the body is the inevitable result of bad eating habits. So, what are some of the signs of this breakdown? Is your weight the only clue? Well, of course not! It all started a long time ago, in the depths of your bowls!

Before I can go "there" again in any depth, it is important that you understand that which is the precursor to intestinal issues, and thus the precursor to many known illnesses: the lack of friendly intestinal flora, also known as acidophilus and bifidobacteria. Flora is necessary for a healthy gastrointestinal tract, to be sure, but it is also necessary for a healthy immune system! We are so lacking in this vital ingredient of intestinal health that the experts believe it is the cause of most illnesses. Maintaining a balance of the friendly flora, or acidophilus, that live in the digestive tract is crucial to good health because it trains the immune system to be competent, and not hyper-reactive.

Friendly flora has been known to improve skin conditions from adult acne to eczema. It alleviates allergies to all sorts of foods, reduces symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, leaky gut syndrome, acid reflux syndrome, ulcers, problems with Candida Albicans and other problems related to inappropriate and inflammatory immune system problems. Also, a lack of friendly flora will impede the absorption of calcium, magnesium and dozens of trace minerals, possibly leading to endocrine and other imbalances. We need friendly flora for healthy metabolism, and children who lack them are much more likely to become obese!

So, how did we lose it and how do we get it back? To be honest, it's a miracle that any of us have healthy flora left given the nature of the average American diet. Basically, any combination of the following when used over a long period of time will do it: antibiotics, steroids, salt, MSG, hard liquor, foods cooked at high temperatures or deep-fried, refined carbohydrates (white bread, pasta, candy, white sugar, corn syrup, etc.), and food preservatives (found in all lunch meats - ham, salami, hot dogs, etc). It's there in cheese, diet drinks and soda and many other processed foods.

Also, friendly flora cannot flourish when there is an absence of fiber in the diet. Lack of fiber occurs because we take perfectly healthy fiber-rich foods like whole grains, sprouted seeds, raw nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables, and boil them at high temperatures for long periods of time. Did you know that if you simmer high quality proteins like fish and legumes too long, the heat will destroy or suppress the growth of friendly flora in the intestines when you consume them? In addition, if you're in the habit of eating foods with preservatives daily, your flora is affected just as it is when you ingest daily antibiotics.

We should all assume that we are probably at risk in one way or another and plan to do something about it. But, what? You can purchase a good fiber and friendly flora supplement in a natural food store and possibly even at your local super market, but the better combination is a blend of fiber, pectin, and probiotic blends of Acidophilus, Bifidum, B longum, L Salivarius and L Plantarum. What? Not so hard! Just ask at a local natural food store, and they will hook you up.

Apart from the supplements, your diet should be free of hormones in meat or poultry, antibiotics, food preservatives and all antimicrobials that kill off the good bacteria. If you were to just buy organic, you would be fine. In addition, you should eat a serving of raw fruits and vegetables with each meal to provide live, active plant enzymes to help the digestive process. Parsley and raw ripe pineapple are great choices. Honey is also a healthy food and a good infection fighter; however, remember to eat it raw so it doesn't lose it's effectiveness. In other words, don't cook with it or use it to sweeten your tea. These foods are also great stress reducers!

Many people eat yogurt for the purpose of maintaining the balance of friendly flora, but to be honest, the yogurt isn't really sour enough. In fact, it is far too sweet. You would do better with kefir or buttermilk; both are much healthier for your colon. You might be wondering why I would suddenly change my mind and tell you all to eat dairy, and I would answer that this is the exception. Although yogurt and kefir both start out as milk, a live bacterial culture is added to induce fermentation, making it change into something that is actually good for you. The types of bacteria used to ferment each tend to affect the flavor and texture of the products, which we experience quite differently. Kefir is the better choice because it has a larger variety of bacteria in its culture. Yogurt often only contains only one or two acidophilus and or bifidus.

So how do you know when an improvement in the friendly flora in has been achieved? Well, unfortunately, one place it can be seen is in your stools. Sorry, but there is no real way to get around the fact that your stools are the window to your intestines and the proof of intestinal health or hardship. Here is what you want to see:
1) Your stools should be large in diameter, indicating no inflammation of your GI tract. They should generally be about one inch or larger in diameter and be medium brown in color.
2) Stools should be well formed and in one piece. Stools that are smaller in diameter could be an indication of an inflamed colon.
3) Your stools should float-well, most of the time! Floating indicates the presence of friendly flora in your colon. Please make sure that these are healthy stools that are floating. The loose ones that are barely formed and light in color are not the perfect floater you are looking for! If your stools sink more often than they float, this might indicate a lack of good flora in your intestinal tract.
4) You should not see undigested food-usually vegetables-in your stools.
5) Skin that is healthy and smooth with very few eruptions is also indicative of a healthy GI tract.
6) Urine that is light yellow in color and does not have a strong odor tells you that friendly flora is producing B vitamins in the colon.

So, just to sum up, foods that produce poor quality stools include white rice, white bread, pasta made from white flour, any product made from white sugar or white flour and meats cooked at high temperatures.

Foods that produce healthy stools include squash, pumpkins, carrots, yams, dark green vegetables (especially when eaten raw), whole grains cooked at lower temperatures, whole grain breads, hot breakfast cereal (oat bran), pasta from spelt, and raw garlic.

At all costs, avoid foods with preservatives!

Well, that is about all I have to say today on this topic, but I assure you there is more to come! It might at first seem embarrassing to discuss our bowels, but it shouldn't: they are vital to our ability to live long and healthy lives and an important indicator of our overall health.

When you get to "My Favorite Things to Eat," you will find two recipes to increase the friendly flora in your body!

Some of the information for this article came from Immune Restoration Handbook, 2nd ed. by M. Konlee and C. LeBeau.