Carley Smith, aka Fairy Gutmother, demoed a couple tasty summertime dishes that also support the gut, like her Cucumber Onion Salad and a couple Kombucha Floats. So tasty and refreshing!

I was excited to be featured on the Next to Madison Podcast talking all about gut health from foods to eat and avoid, how to tell if you have gut issues and how to fix them, the best supplements, and the latest (and not so greatest) trends in the microbiome world. Check out the full podcast HERE!

Tune in and hear about all things gut health from foods to eat and avoid, how I break down gut health from bacteria to fungi as well as biofilms, and talk about my healing journey with Lyme disease, plus so much more!

It’s back to school time and that’s also when parents ask almost daily, “what’s for lunch?” Carley Smith, our very own Fairy Gutmother is here to share a few healthy lunchbox ideas and how to keep our little one’s immune systems up through food.

Today, it is estimated that one out of every five American adults suffers from a mental-health condition (43.7 million Americans--more than the combined populations of New York and Florida), and the statistuc only seems to be worsening. Additionally, from 2011 to 2014, rates of youth depression increased 8.5% to 11.1 percent; many youth are unable to access adequate treatment.

The medical establishment blames brain-based imbalances for this epidemic. But could it be due to gut dysfunction?

Meditation: the art of skillfully taming the mind, bringing intention inward and inviting relaxation and ease into the body. There are countless health benefits of meditation, primarily its proven ability to help reduce stress levels, combat anxiety and depression and lower blood pressure, to name a few. Gut health, I would imagine, is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about the health benefits of meditation. However, our thoughts, feelings and emotions significantly influence the overall wellbeing of our microbiome which is home to nearly eighty percent of the immune system! Before we dive into more detail on the relationship between our emotional state and the gut, let’s first define what constitutes gut health.

Check out the Articles section of my website HERE for more of my posts that I've contributed to MindBodyGreen, Paleo Magazine, CO Yoga + Life Magazine, and more!