Did you know your gut creates 80-90% of your serotonin? It’s true. So if you eat foods that block your gut, you are also blocking the feel good systems of the mind.
And it’s not just the brain in your head that’s affected. The gut biome is a second brain for the entire bodily system—regulating and processing everything from our food, to our emotions, to our ability to sleep well. Most importantly, the gut biome of a woman is vastly different from that of a man, and our microbiota plays an integral role in the regulation of our cycle and hormones.
How do we make sure our gut is supporting the lifestyle we want? We need to pay attention to what we are feeding our bodies. When we choose ingredients that will improve our hormone health, foods that are anti-inflammatory, and foods that help fight disease, we can actually repair and rejuvenate the gut.
Let’s look at how to craft your own path to vitality by learning a little more about the importance of your gut biome.
Food either “Blocks You” or “Heals You”
Your gut contains the largest collection of microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, in the body and this is known as the microbiota or gut biome. It’s also the storehouse for around 500 million neurons (brain cells).
Breaking this down, your brain is like a circuit board and the neurons are like circuits. These circuits allow the brain to communicate with other parts of the body. Because the gut contains neurons, it also influences your nervous system.
How does food factor into the equation? Food is what either disrupts the circuitry or creates fluid connections in the gut. Food, like probiotics, can feed and fuel the beneficial microorganisms in your gut aiding in digestion. On the flipside, foods that are heavily processed, like grocery store energy bars, can create an imbalance allowing “bad” bacteria to take over and overwhelm the gut.
If you suffer from a crappy mood, sleepless nights, and intense hormonal swings, you may have an imbalance in your gut. Once you understand these connections, though, you can learn how to shift and change food intake to improve gut health and rebalance your hormones.
A Chain Process
In addition to improving your emotional state and making you feel better overall, gut health can actually affect your child’s emotional well being. This is yet another reason why women especially need to pay attention to their gut health. The gut biome is a chain process between mother and child.
I began my search for a healthy gut after my first pregnancy when my child was born with a cognitive disability. The situation inspired me to learn about the connection between gut, mind, and child—and how deeply the gut can affect life as we know it.
I discovered that my gut biome became the gut biome of my baby. So, yes, the gut biome of your mother is the basis of yours and in turn, what you pass down to your children and future generations. Healthy eating habits aren’t just good for you, they also ensure that your kids are born with strong gut health ensuring that their immune system is supercharged as they begin to grow and develop.
What Can You Do?
The most important thing you can do to heal your gut in this moment is shift the focus to foods that fuel the gut, instead of foods that burn fat, build lean muscle, or diet foods. Often, the more processed the food is, the more blocking the effect it will have on the body.
If you take a look at my blog, you will find a number of amazing recipes that focus on feeding your gut to bring vitality and health to your entire bodily system.
My other tips:
- Prioritize fruits, vegetables, and water in your diet.
- Watch out for “on-the-go foods.” These are often made for the masses and are the leading cause of disruptions in the body because they are not specifically designed for your female body.
- Look at your skin. The skin is the largest sounding board to know what is happening within the body. Pay attention to break outs, oily skin, dryness, or redness and track it back to what you ate the previous day.
- Eliminate sugar, alcohol, dairy, soy, and gluten for 30 days.
- Meditate, sit with the body, move inward, and be with how you feel.
- Know you have all the power to make the change.
You can take charge of how you feel every day. All you have to do is focus on eating well and listening to your body. Instead of trying to fit into a man’s world, let’s craft our own path to vitality today!
Yvette Rose is a Certified Holistic Gut-Brain Coach and the CEO of Joule Goddess focused on female health and nutrition. After 11+ years of research and development, Yvette created the first of it’s kind nutritional bar for women’s hormonal and digestive health. Get 10% off your first order here: https://joulegoddess.com/collections/all
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