Simple Ways to Reset Your Gut Health for the New Year

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Simple Ways to Reset Your Gut Health for the New Year

After the holidays, it is common to feel like your gut needs a reset. Between indulging in rich foods, holiday treats, and festive drinks, your digestive system might feel a bit off. The good news? Your gut is incredibly resilient. Research shows that the microbiome can start to shift and rebalance in just 24 hours. So, while it might feel like you’ve overdone it, it's never too late to hit the reset button and get your gut health back on track for the New Year.

Here are some simple, effective ways to reset your gut and start the year feeling your best.

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Staying Gut Healthy During the Holidays

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Check out my segment on Arizona Family News, where I shared my top tips for staying healthy this holiday season. The holidays don’t have to derail your health goals! You don’t need to wait until the new year to prioritize your well-being. By incorporating a few simple strategies into your daily routine, you can mitigate the effects of holiday indulgence and set yourself up for a healthy start to the new year!

Check out my gut-healthy online meal delivery to make eating healthier throughout the holidays easier. I ship my freshly prepared, gut-healthy meals and bone broth nationwide!

Eating for Digestive Health: Tips for Relief

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Eating for Digestive Health: Tips for Relief

In this month’s guest blog series for US Wellness Meats, I’m sharing my top tips for alleviating digestive issues like bloating and belly discomfort. Many of my nutrition clients frequently struggle with these concerns, especially after meals. It’s no surprise, considering that approximately 60 to 70 million Americans are affected by digestive diseases, according to the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA). This includes conditions such as acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). For more insights, be sure to read my full article on the blog!

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High Healthcare Costs May Have Saved Me

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High Healthcare Costs May Have Saved Me

Like many Americans, I also feel we need some medical reform. It does not seem fair that healthcare, our basic life foundation, comprises astronomical prices, subpar care, and unreliable coverage. However, as someone who tries to find the silver lining in every situation, I feel that high healthcare costs may have been advantageous. Perhaps the dysfunction of the healthcare system saved me rather than hindered my ability to heal.

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MindBodyGreen: 3 Yoga Poses For Your Healthiest Gut Ever

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MindBodyGreen: 3 Yoga Poses For Your Healthiest Gut Ever

With nearly 80 percent of the immune system located in the gut, gut health is rapidly becoming a widely discussed topic as it relates to optimal health. It is estimated that virtually 30 to 40 percent of the population suffer from digestive-related issues, making digestion and gut health a critical component of overall well-being. When you think of supporting gut health, yoga, I would imagine, is not the first thing that comes to mind. However, healing is an integrative approach, and it is as important to nourish the physical body as it is to incorporate other modalities.

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Yoga + Life Magazine: The Benefits of Bone Broth

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Yoga + Life Magazine: The Benefits of Bone Broth

Bone broth is the newest health trend brewing up quite the buzz. Unlike the buzz from your morning long shot double espresso or perhaps your hand crafted, muddled old fashioned, this particular buzz resonates within your core, leaving you glowing from the inside out. The reason is simple and can be explained in two words: gut health.

Nearly your entire immune system is located in the gut, making gut health a primary concern when considering optimal health. Gut health is defined as a healthy balance of bacteria, or microbiome, and fungi, or mycobiome, in the gut as well as a healed and sealed gut lining.

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Preparedness is in the GUT: How Lyme Disease Helped Me Transform Fear into Trust

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Preparedness is in the GUT: How Lyme Disease Helped Me Transform Fear into Trust

Every day I am faced with the choice of fear. After being diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2014, the doctor said to me: “Are you aware you can die from this?” and “You will live like this the rest of your life.” At that moment, I knew I had two options: I could either succumb to the diagnosis of my potentially deadly and dismal future, or, I could learn to live in harmony with the disease, taking better care of my body and ultimately regaining control of my life.

I chose the latter of the two.

I started with healing my gut. Nearly the entire immune system resides in the gut and there is no better way to battle any illness then focusing on strengthening the immune system.

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Just Eat The Bread: How Good Grains Benefit Gut Health

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Just Eat The Bread: How Good Grains Benefit Gut Health

Contrary to what many health advocates believe, I am actually a huge fan of grains and disagree that grains are the culprit for our health concerns. In fact, grains are incredibly beneficial for optimal gut health!  The good bacteria in the gut (aka probiotics) thrive on the fiber and resistant starches that many grains provide. Without these vital nutrients, bacteria simply cannot survive in the gut. The problem with grains, however, stems from consuming them in their not-so-properly-prepared form, like highly processed grains laden with chemicals and toxins that absolutely wreak havoc on the gut. It is no wonder why we are gluten intolerant and have problems digesting these foods. Once you work towards healing the gut lining and repopulating the gut with a healthy balance of bacteria and fungi, you can likely tolerate grains and should incorporate them into your diet, as long as they are in their properly prepared form.

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Are Alternative Foods The New Low-Fat Craze?

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Are Alternative Foods The New Low-Fat Craze?

First, I would like to preface this article by stating my intention is not to dissuade people from the vegan diet, rather, highlight concerns with inherent diet-related health implications. Instead, I encourage mindfulness and inquisitive label reading so that we avoid the same health pitfalls as we did from the elimination of fats in the 1990’s. I do not believe in shaming others for their health choices. At the end of the day, we are all trying to navigate through misinformation regarding health and wellness and I applaud anyone trying to take a step towards adopting a healthier lifestyle.

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Probiotics ARE Beneficial: A Response To The Recent Probiotic Studies

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Probiotics ARE Beneficial: A Response To The Recent Probiotic Studies

Probiotics are all the buzz these days as gut health is rapidly becoming one of the most widely discussed topics when it comes to optimal health. Nearly the entire immune system is located in the gut making gut health foundational in achieving optimal health. It seems as though probiotics are popping up everywhere from beverages to cereals as this topic gains popularity and more people look towards improving the health of their gut.

However, two recent studies published in Cell have people questioning the effectiveness of probiotics. In one study, researchers studied the changes in the microbiome of a group of people over the course of one month that were given an 11-strain probiotic combination or a placebo. In the second study, researchers, studied the effects of the same 11-strain probiotic after antibiotic use. 

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3 Reasons Why You Should Attend A Wellness Retreat

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3 Reasons Why You Should Attend A Wellness Retreat

Retreats seem to be popping up everywhere and becoming increasingly more common. Wellness retreats are quickly replacing the standard vacation as more people look to take charge of their own health. After leading a recent wellness retreat of my own and seeing the positive impacts on health that these getaways have, I was encouraged to write a post in hopes of inspiring others to attend more retreats. Here are my top reasons for why you should attend a wellness retreat:

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4 Ways to Love Your Guts: Ferments & Cultured Dairy

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4 Ways to Love Your Guts: Ferments & Cultured Dairy

When you think about healing the gut, there are really two main areas of focus: healing and sealing the gut lining and repopulating the gut with beneficial bacteria. One of the best ways to heal and seal the gut lining is with bone broth, which we discussed the last couple of weeks in my post about how to make broth as well as my post on various soups to make with broth. In order to repopulate the gut with beneficial bacteria, you want to think about probiotics. Probiotics are bacteria that line your gut and support your body’s ability to fight infections and absorb nutrients.

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4 Ways To Love Your Guts: Bone Broth

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4 Ways To Love Your Guts: Bone Broth

I truly believe bone broth is the most nourishing and healing resource for your body. Bone broth is rich in gut healing nutrients like L-glutamine and collagen, which is important since nearly 80% of the immune system is located in the gut. I have written a blog post about the 3 Reasons Why You Should Be Drinking Bone Broth for more details on the many health benefits.

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3 Simple Ways to Start Implementing the GAPS Diet Now: Part 3

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3 Simple Ways to Start Implementing the GAPS Diet Now: Part 3

Welcome back to my series on Ways to Start Implementing the GAPS Diet now. In case you missed it, so far we’ve discussed Bone Broth and Ferments to incorporate into your daily routine to begin repairing the gut and healing the body.  My third recommendation on ways to start implementing the GAPS Diet would be making your own yogurt or kefir.

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