Yes, I'm serious! (And don't you sometimes wonder anyway?) You already know that your poop can reflect your physical, and sometimes even emotional, health. You may get constipation or have diarrhea when you eat something that "doesn't agree with you," or when you're super-nervous about something. And what about fiber and water? If you’re not getting enough, it’ll probably show in your poop. What about the all-important gut microbes? If they're not happy, it'll probably show in your poop. Here’s a trivia question for you: Did you know there is an “official” standard for poop? I mean a university-created chart! One that is used to help diagnose conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)? Meet the Bristol Stool Scale The Bristol Stool Scale was created at the prestigious University of Bristol in the UK back in 1997. You can see the chart here The scale breaks down the type of poop into seven different categories ranging from type 1 which is very constipated, to type 7 which is diarrhea:
Other “poop” factors to consider You probably guessed that the shapes described in the Bristol Stool Scale are not the only thing to consider for poop health. Think about how often you go. At least once per day, up to 3 times per day is pretty good. Less than one, or more than three can mean there is something going on. What about how hard you have to try to go? You want it to be as effortless as possible. And the color? It should be brown from the bile that you need to break down the fats you ingest. And if it’s green after a day of massive veggies, or red after that large glass of beet juice, you’re just fine. But if you see an abnormal color, like red or even black, that you can't explain based on what you ate or drank in the last day or two, you probably want to get that checked out. What do you do when you have "imperfect" poo? Well, the first thing to consider is how imperfect it is, and how often it is like that? Once in a while, things aren't going to be perfect, and that's A-OK. If you know you need to get more fiber or water, then try increasing that. If you haven’t had enough probiotic foods, then try getting more of them. If you’re super-stressed, then try deep breathing, meditating, or having a warm bath. Oh, and don’t forget the two most basic pieces of nutrition advice:
These are good habits for anyone and everyone, even when you have perfect poop! Of course, long-term issues might require a more thorough review with a qualified health care practitioner. Don't suffer from poop issues for too long before seeking help. Recipe (dairy-free probiotic): Super-Simple Coconut Milk Yogurt Serves 6 2 cans full-fat coconut milk 2 probiotic capsules, 1.Open the probiotic capsules and empty contents into the blender. Blend with coconut milk. 2.Transfer to a sanitized glass jar (make sure it’s not still hot - you don’t want those probiotics to die). 3.Store it in a warm place for 24-48 hours. If it's not thick enough for you, you can let it ferment for another 24 hours. 4.Add your favourite yogurt toppings, and store the rest for up to a week in the fridge. Serve & enjoy! Tip: Fermenting food is not an exact science. If this doesn’t work out as you’d like it to, try different brands of coconut milk and/or probiotics.
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Food intolerance or "sensitivities" can affect you in so many ways.
And they’re a lot more common than most people think. I'm not talking about anaphylaxis or immediate allergic reactions that involve an immune response. Those can be serious and life-threatening. If you have any allergies, you need to steer clear of any traces of foods you are allergic to and speak with your doctor or pharmacist about emergency medication, if necessary. What I'm talking about, is an intolerance, meaning you do not tolerate a specific food very well and it causes immediate or chronic symptoms anywhere in the body. Symptoms can take hours or even days to show themselves. And symptoms can be located just about anywhere in the body. This is what makes them so tricky to identify. Symptoms of food intolerance There are some common food intolerances that have immediate and terribly painful gastrointestinal symptoms, such as lactose intolerance or celiac disease. These can cause stomach pain, gas, bloating, and/or diarrhea; symptoms can start immediately after eating lactose or gluten. On the other hand, other more insidious symptoms may not be linked to foods in an obvious way. Symptoms like: ●Chronic muscle or joint pain ●Sweating, or increased heart rate or blood pressure ●Headaches or migraines ●Exhaustion after a good night's sleep ●Autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto's or rheumatoid arthritis ●Rashes or eczema ●Inability to concentrate or feeling like your brain is "foggy" ●Shortness of breath If your body has trouble digesting specific foods, it can affect your hormones, metabolism, or even cause inflammation and result in any of the symptoms listed above. And these can affect any (or all) parts of the body, not just your gastrointestinal system. How to prevent these intolerances The main thing you can do is to figure out which foods or drinks you may be reacting to and stop ingesting them. I know, I know...this sounds so simple, and yet it can be SO HARD. The best way to identify your food/drink triggers is to eliminate them. Yup, get rid of those offending foods/drinks. All traces of them, for three full weeks and monitor your symptoms. If things get better, then you need to decide whether it's worth it to stop ingesting them, or if you want to slowly introduce them back one at a time while still looking out to see if/when symptoms return. Start Here: Two common food intolerances Here are two of the most common triggers of food intolerances: ●Lactose (in dairy - eliminate altogether, or look for a "lactose-free" label - try nut or coconut milk instead). ●Gluten (in wheat, rye, and other common grains - look for a "gluten-free" label - try gluten-free grains like rice, quinoa & gluten-free oats). This is by no means a complete list, but it's a good place to start because lactose intolerance is thought to affect up to 75% of people, while "non-celiac gluten sensitivity" can affect up to 13% of people. So, if you can eliminate all traces of lactose and gluten for three weeks, it can confirm whether either or both of these, are a source of your symptoms. Yes, dairy and grains are a part of many government-recommended food guidelines, but you absolutely can get all of the nutrients you need if you focus on replacing them with nutrient-dense foods. A reliable way to monitor how you feel after eating certain foods is to track it. After every meal or snack, write down the foods you ate, and any symptoms so you can more easily spot trends. And, as mentioned earlier, symptoms may not start immediately following a meal. You may find, for example, that you wake up with a headache the morning after eating bananas. You might be surprised what links you can find if you track your food and symptoms well! IMPORTANT NOTE: When you eliminate something, you need to make sure it's not hiding in other foods, or the whole point of eliminating it for a few weeks is lost. Restaurant food, packaged foods, and sauces or dressings are notorious for adding ingredients that you'd never think are there. You know that sugar hides in almost everything, but did you also know that wheat is often added to processed meats and soy sauce, and lactose can even be found in some medications or supplements? When in doubt you HAVE to ask the server in a restaurant about hidden ingredients, read labels, and consider cooking from scratch. What if it doesn’t work? If eliminating these two common food intolerances doesn’t work, then you can go one step further to eliminate all dairy (even lactose-free) and all grains (even gluten-free) for three weeks. You may need to see a qualified healthcare practitioner for help, and that's OK. I don't want you to continue suffering if you don't need to! Hey Good People, The truth is that we are all toxic messes! It is unavoidable. Some of us are more toxic than others but there’s a fix for that. What Is A Toxin A “toxin” is any substance that causes harm to the body. Basically, it is harmful matter. Harmful matter or toxins can be divided into 3 categories, Internal, External and toxic behavior. Internal Toxins As you may know, our bodies are super machines! It heals itself, it defends itself - given we provide adequate maintenance, and it also poisons itself. Our bodies naturally produce internal toxins just by functioning, but it will also cleanse itself of these toxins to prevent buildup. However, your body never gets a break; it is constantly creating and breaking down these toxins and, in the process, build up occurs and this is when the toxins become dangerous. Something as simple as taking Tylenol everyday will wreak havoc on this process because it leads to liver failure. Signs of internal toxicity include sinusitis, allergic reactions – both immediate and delayed. The most common sensitivities are to foods like wheat, gluten, corn, and dairy. External Toxins Some might question how we can become so toxic if our bodies are made to defend and heal itself. The answer is because the body is not the only toxic producing machine that we must deal with on a daily basis. External toxins are those outside of your bodies that we ingest or absorb daily. These toxins include processed foods, pesticides, cigarette smoke, car exhaust, heavy metals, chemicals from plastics, I could go on and on. Toxic Behavior It is important to note that your behavior has as much of an effect on your health as does the food you eat and the medicines you take. Your actions and behaviors increase your toxic load. For example, it’s obvious that contact with harsh chemicals are bad for us but so is not getting enough sleep. That might seem small but small things add up to huge problems. Exposing yourself to stressful situations is just as bad as taking Tylenol every day. The medical community, to include mental health community, reports that there is a huge connection between stress and chronic illness. In addition to stress and a regular lack of adequate sleep, other toxic behaviors include: Overeating Undereating Unhealthy eating Smoking (obvious by now you would think) Where Do Toxins Come From Toxins come from many sources. In fact, the world around us is saturated with toxins, many of which we are not even aware of. Pathogens, chemicals, and radiation are three of the most common categories of toxins.
How Are We Affected by Toxins? Some of the common symptoms of toxic overload include, but are not limited to:
Detoxing Now that we covered toxins, what they are and how they come to be, let’s talk about detoxing. The purpose of detoxing is to remove harmful matter from the body. The body has two main organs that are responsible for doing this – the liver and the kidneys. These organs filter out the toxins in the body. The liver is the first responder and the process involves two phases to detox the body. (Side note: science has now confirmed that there are in fact three stages, but for the purposes of this article, only the first two will be discussed.) Phase one is oxidation reduction and hydrolysis which is caused by enzymes that exist on the membrane of liver cells. In phase two the liver adds more chemicals to the toxic chemicals that were processed by phase one, to make them harmless. This step makes the toxins water soluble making them for easier to remove from the body. Phase three is where the toxins are transported out of the body. Because there are multiple phases, sometimes there can be an imbalance and the kidneys become involved. When this happens, things become a bit more complicated. There is also a backup system for the liver and kidneys. This system consists of the large intestines, the lungs, the bladder and skin. Your bodies do a lot a work and sometimes we can give it a little help by doing a detox. A detox helps by giving extra support to the liver and kidneys to help prevent buildup and imbalances. The most effective way to start is by working from the inside out by eliminating all or some of the foods that cause inflammation and other reactions in the body. Unfortunately, there are a lot of detoxes out there that require you to consume a bunch of pills, powders and premade drinks. I think this only adds to the problem at hand. In addition to costing 100’s of dollars. Detoxes don't have to hard, or financially draining. Neither do they require fasting for days, weeks or months to get good results. You can improve your detox system immediately by cleaning up your diet, eliminating stress and getting adequate amounts of sleep. Your body will love it when you do. I have created a 12day detox in which you will have total support throughout the 12 days and no pills, powders or drinks. Only whole foods, real foods. Nothing processed. No starvation.
During the 12 days you will decrease your cravings for sugar and other processed foods while helping your natural detoxification system function at it’s best. One side effect – you will likely loose a few pounds. To learn about the 12 Day Detox, click here --->>> www.bit.ly/hoh12daydetox |
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