I love Fall! There is something so warm about Autumn colors and invigorating about the cooler temperatures. There must be a reason that squashes and pumpkins are in season in the Fall. The orange colors promise loads of beta carotene, which our bodies use to make Vitamin A. One of the many benefits of Vitamin A is respiratory health, needed just in time for winter. Squashes also have lots of fiber, so helpful for the gut.
We should probably all be ramping up our immune support right now. And that includes making sure that the gut biome, which is 70% of the immune system, is strong. I suspect that individual responses to the crazy flu’s and covid virus in the last few years had a lot to do with the gut biome. And the more I study about it, the more I realize that mood and weight are also influenced by the gut biome.
Kefir is a better choice for probiotics than yogurt and has a much greater variety of helpful organisms. Traditionally prepared sauerkraut may be the king of fermented foods. Kombucha and Kimchi are other options.
Studies show that we should be getting 20-30 different plant foods every week to have the best bio-diversity in our gut. Plant foods provide the nutrients and fiber that feed the good bugs. There tend to be more unhealthy bugs with less variety of foods. This gives us the best shot at having the right bugs to handle all the buggy-jobs that our gut biome is supposed to be doing for us, from making some B vitamins, fighting off pathogens, guarding the lining of our gut wall, making neurotransmitters like Serotonin, just to name a few.
20-30 varieties of plants sure sounds like a lot! This doesn’t mean big servings. Just small amounts can help, such as a chopped salad. If you take the challenge and aim for the 20-30 variety goal let me know how it goes! Your good bugs are going to love you, and this might make a difference for escaping any circulating flu’s or viruses this year.
This microbiome world may turn out to be the most important new frontier of medicine ever discovered. And our modern world, with its toxins and chemicals and deficiencies and heavy-handed drugs is all an assault on the gut biome.
There are gut biome tests that you can do and some are not very expensive. There are gut biome tests that you can do and some are not very expensive. They are kits you can do at home and you send it to the lab to get a snapshot of your personal microbes, healthy and unhealthy. It’s a great way to see what you can do for your health, and changes can occur quickly when you change how you eat.
Gut bacteria modify food and weight, as well as the immune system. So, this really can be a game-changer for feeling better and being stronger. Let me know if you want to test.
It’s a kit you can do at home and gives you a snapshot of your personal microbes, healthy and unhealthy. It’s a great way to see what you can do for your health, and changes can occur quickly when you change how you eat.
Contact me to find out how to get your kit and improve your personal microbiome and immunity.