How To Improve Your Gut To Live Well
Uncomfortable bloating? Embarrassing farts? A tummy that gets rounder despite the number of workouts you do? As you age, your nutritional needs evolve. By upping the quality of what you eat, limiting carbs whilst increasing fats and actively cultivating a healthy gut you can limit you digestive troubles and live well for longer.
Eat 100% Natural Food To Stop Losing Money Down The Loo
Buying good quality natural food can make eating simple and allow you to have more money to enjoy on the things you love doing.
Eating naturally is often seen as less convenient and more expensive. But, this is a mistake. It’s the chronic health issues that arise from a crapped out digestive system that mean you end up spending more time and money on doctors, health practitioners, tests, supplements and medications.
If your food has a nutrition label then it is not ‘natural’. Natural food does not come in a box, can, sealed bag or have a best before date. It’s fresh and will go bad if it is not refrigerated.
The more altered your food is - exposed to pesticides, manipulated, injected, refined - the more problematic it can be to your immune system and your entrie body. It should not be lite, reduced calorie, low fat, low salt, fat free, with no added sugar or any other marketing term.
The fresher and cleaner your food, the better it is at delivering the micro and macro nutrients your body needs. Your diet should be high in non-starchy vegetables, greens, legumes, fruits, raw nuts and eggs, wild fish, meat and dairy from animals allowed to roam and fed clean grass. It should be full of variety.
Here are some tips to help you eat a diet focused on natural foods:
Emphasize whole foods: Base your diet on whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. These foods are minimally processed and provide essential nutrients in their natural state.
Choose organic options: Opt for organic fruits, vegetables, and animal products whenever possible. Organic farming practices avoid the use of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Cook from scratch: Prepare meals at home using fresh, natural ingredients. This way, you have control over the ingredients and cooking methods. Utilize whole grains, lean proteins, and plenty of vegetables to create nutritious and natural dishes.
Preserve and ferment: Explore preservation techniques like pickling, and fermenting. These methods allow you to preserve foods without the need for artificial additives or preservatives.
Drink water and natural beverages: Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day. Choose natural beverages like herbal teas, fresh fruit juices (without added sugars), and homemade smoothies instead of sugary drinks or artificial juices.
Practice mindful eating: Pay attention to your body's hunger and fullness cues. Focus on enjoying and savoring the natural flavors of the food you eat. Eating mindfully can help you make healthier food choices and develop a better relationship with food.
Plan and prepare: Plan your meals ahead of time and prepare snacks to have on hand. By doing so, you can avoid relying on processed or convenience foods when hunger strikes.
Educate yourself: Learn about different foods, their nutritional benefits, and how they are grown or produced. Stay informed about sustainable farming practices, organic certifications, and local food sources.
Remember that achieving a 100% natural diet may not always be feasible. But the times when you can’t should be the exception rather than the rule. It's about making informed choices and incorporating natural, whole foods into your eating habits as much as possible. Practice for a weekend and note how often you are tempted to reach for a box, bag or can of something.
More Fats and Less Carbs is a Health Game-Changer
To keep your health improving you need to adapt your diet to your age. After the age of 45 or so most people are less able to tolerate carbohydrates. That is, we don’t metabolise carbs as efficiently as we once did.
Starchy, refined carbs like bread, snack foods, sugar, rice pasta, potato, corn are contributors to weight gain and that bloating, bulging belly. They are not particularly nutritious and create surges of energy that can leave you feeling tired and drained.
So, from 45 it’s good to get into a habit of using fats for energy rather than carbs. You can do this by eating lots of leafy greens, healthy natural fats and some protein. Eg nuts, salad, eggs, avocado, non-starcy veggies, grass-fed meat, fatty fish.
Fats burn slowly and evenly. They keep your blood sugar steady. And, they mean you eat less whilst feeling fuller for longer. This helps your body function more smoothly.
It takes a few weeks to adjust to having smaller meals higher in natural fats. But you’ll find that after a while your cravings for them fade or disappear and you’ll feel less hungry and have more steady energy.
Try replacing your dinner time starch with some slices of avocado, a dollop of full-fat yoghut or mozarella. Replace rice with cauliflower rice.
Enjoy Yourself More With A Happy Gut
The gas and bloating that causes embarrassing sounds and smells is not something to ignore. It’s a sign your digestive system is a mess. If you consciously feed your gut bacteria you’ll be able to enjoy yourself around family and friends without feeling embarrassed.
As you age your digestive secretions decrease. This makes digestion more difficult and can mess up your microbiome. Tending to your gut bacteria is one of the most important ways to keep your whole body and life functioning well.
We’ve all heard of probiotics but have you heard of prebiotics? Like protein, fibre is a huge part of a healthy diet for living well. The parts of raw vegetables and fruits that your body can’t easily digest, and you usually cut off, are actually gold for your microbiome because they are prebiotics. They are cellulose or insoluble fiber which gets down to the large intestine and makes a healthy feast for your bacteria.
Examples include the end of carrots, stump of the lettuce head, stemmed tips of green beans, kale ribs, hard stalks of broccoli. They are great cut up and put into stirfrys, added to salads, dipped in hummus and added to smoothies. Onions, garlic, asparagus, dandelion greens and chicory root are all great sources of prebiotic material too. Most people do not get enough prebiotics.
Getting probiotics through yoghurt, kefir, kimchee, sauerkraut and other fermented foods or by taking a quality probiotic is also important.
Your gut bacteria perform hundreds of essential tasks that incluence how your food is broken down, what nutrients are extracted and have a huge influence on your brain chemicals and mood. Keep your microbione happy and your delicate gut wall nourished and strong to improve and maintain your overall health.
Shiatsu Massage for Gut Healing
In Shiatsu diet therapy we look at the energetics of food. How they warm or cool the body, how they impact qi and blood and, what organ systems they support. If there are digestive issues we never blame the food. We always look to see what the system is doing and work to support it.
For example, if there is constipation there may be to much internal heat, if there are loose stools the qi may be deficient, if there are food intolerances, tiredness after eating, an erratic appetite it is likely the spleen qi in particular is depleted. Bloating after eating can indicate the yang is deficient and if the stools feel dry then possibly the yin is deficient.
By understanding the whole body we can make a diagnosis to work out which meridians and acupressure points are best to use plus whether we need to use cupping on the intestines or moxa on particular points.
“I was referred to Marian by a friend as I’ve been experiencing gut issues and low energy after many rounds of antibiotics. Having never experienced Shiatsu before, I’m so grateful to have found it! Marian’s caring treatments are not only reducing my symptoms, also helping me understand the physical and emotional energy connection. Taking the time to understand my history and holistic health view, Marian tailors treatments each session and checks in to see how I’m travelling.” ˜ Jodie, Consulting Manager
If you would like to understand more about eating well from a Shiatsu perspective then click here to request our Eating Well Guide.
If you’re ready to get some direct gut healing then book in for a Shiatsu.
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Yours in health and wellbeing
Marian
Disclaimer: The auther of this blog will receive commission from any products purchased through links on this article.