Effect of Mycobiome Diet on Gut Fungal and Bacterial Communities of Healthy Adults

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I am excited to share with you a recent study of mine was just published in the Journal of Probiotics & Health!

The study, Effect of Mycobiome Diet on Gut Fungal and Bacterial Communities of Healthy Adults, shows that dietary changes lead to a positive shift in the microbiome, or collection of bacteria and fungi living in the gut. Basically, we found that a diet high in fiber from resistant starches (like beans, oats, whole grains, squash…) and cruciferous veggies reduces pathogens in the gut like Candida and E.coli. For 28 days, participants consumed a diet high in fiber with moderate amounts of protein and fats and each week we collected fecal samples to monitor the changes in the gut. It was truly amazing to see the results of the study—by the end, nearly every participant had little to no signs of Candida and E.coli in the gut.

For more information and to access the full study, click HERE.

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: Stress

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4 Ways To Love Your Guts: Stress

In my final post about 4 Ways to Love Your Guts, we are talking stress. You may wonder; what does stress have to do with the gut? Well the answer is absolutely everything. Stress affects virtually all aspects of your health and can especially weaken the immune system and damage the gut. Stress lowers our digestive enzymes which help break down our foods. If undigested foods seep into the gut, it can cause many health problems like autoimmune conditions, leaky gut, allergies, inflammation, and much more. Likewise, if roughly 80 percent of the immune system is located in the gut, and stress weakens the immune system, gut health and stress are directly correlated.

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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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Why I Hunt

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Why I Hunt

There is no better feeling than harvesting your own meat and being able to feed yourself, your family, and your friends. We truly are so fortunate for the gifts that Mother Nature provides but frankly, I think we’ve become a bit detached from our roots. I think the more work that we put into sourcing our food by actually getting to know your farmer and rancher or better yet, planting your own garden, hunting, and harvesting your own animals, the more appreciative we become.

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Fat is Your Friend

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Fat is Your Friend

One of my main goals in life is to change the way we think about fat. It is such a common misconception that fat is bad and due to this conflicting information; we’ve cut out all sources of healthy fats in our diet. This has unfortunately led to an increase in health issues since our bodies now not only have an impaired ability to digest fats but also has led to a deficiency in fat soluble vitamins. Yes, you need fat in order to digest fat and you also need fat in order to absorb nutrients.

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3 Reasons Why You Should Be Drinking Bone Broth…NOW!

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3 Reasons Why You Should Be Drinking Bone Broth…NOW!

The bone broth craze: It’s trending in all the restaurants, hitting grocery store shelves, and abundantly appearing in various news articles. It seems so innovative yet it’s something that has been around for many years, now suddenly resurfacing as the new super food. However, unlike other health food crazes, this one you can trust. In fact, bone broth is here to stay (did it ever really leave?) and should be implemented in everyone’s daily routine starting…now! Here’s 3 reasons why:

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Why You Should Be Eating Cholesterol

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Why You Should Be Eating Cholesterol

Get ready for your mind to be blown.

I am going to tell you that cholesterol is actually GOOD for you, contrary to what you might believe. I know, you still don’t believe me, right? It’s ok, it was hard to me to understand at first, too. However, the more I researched, the more I learned, and the more I began implementing these dietary changes in my life, the better I felt. After all, it wasn’t until I truly started changing my diet that my Lyme disease symptoms started to improve. Although healing is a practice and I still have a ways to go, I am nowhere near as sick as I used to be and I attribute so much of this to the changes I’ve made in my life, specifically dietary changes.

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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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3 Simple Ways to Start Implementing The GAPS Diet Now: Part 2

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3 Simple Ways to Start Implementing The GAPS Diet Now: Part 2

For those that may have missed it, we’ve been discussing ways to incorporate parts of the GAPS Diet into your daily routine to begin repairing the gut and healing the body. Recall, last week we discussed my first recommendation, which is Bone Broth. You can check out the recent post here as well as read a little background on the GAPS Diet.

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