Eat Empowered Gut Health

Are Your Healthy Habits Being Blocked By Digestion?

By Ashley Koff, RD

You are what you eat, well, not quite…

On your path to a nutritious life you’ve been learning about all the great foods you can and should eat. Keri and her team are amazing at coming up with fun and delicious ways to get these foods into you for a healthier, happier you (and family). Are you eating your kale and quinoa, drinking your water with lemon, and using coconut oil on your bod and in the pan? These things are amazing for you IF they get where they need to go in the body. And that, my friends, is where so many of us have problems these days.  Last week, as us RD gals caught up, I shared “I know they say ‘you are what you eat’ but I say ‘ you are what you digest and absorb’” to which Keri said “love it! Will you guest blog for me and explain why.”

So here I go:

Did you know our digestive lining is meant to be like mesh (think panty hose) but many of us have the start of a run or worse, have runs that aren’t just letting some skin show through – they are actually letting the nutrients we want in our digestive tract to “leak” out along with stuff we should be eliminating too – this is creating a hot mess of intolerances, skin irritation, bloating, and suboptimal nutrient absorption.

But if I eat right and exercise, why would this be happening? Stress – even the good ‘I did a triathlon’ or ‘I birthed a baby’ stress – is often the culprit, along with medications we took when we needed (antibiotics, steroids, birth control) and those unfortunately coming in by way of our adulterated food and water (we know today to choose antibiotic-free meats and dairy but most of us have been consuming it for far longer than not).

UGH! So what can I do and does it mean I have to buy a whole new digestive tract? LOL! No. But we do need to start today to add to all the smart Nutritious Life steps, the step called – repair work – as in ‘How to heal and promote a healthy digestive tract’.   This begins with an assessment – ideally monthly – to see how things are or are not moving, and how they are or are not smelling.   If there’s something going on all the time, you would do best to talk to an RD or MD who knows about digestive issues ASAP. But for all of us who just feel we need and want to optimize our digestion to get all the benefits that go along with it (better energy, healthy immune system, healthy skin, and better body composition results – think bye bye belly fat) when combined with optimal nutrition, fitness, and sleep, we can consider adding the nutrients that work together for optimal digestion.  Symbiotics combine nutrients such as Lactoferrin, Immunoglobulins, and Proline-Rich Polypeptides – which are big words for nutrients the body uses to promote a robust intestinal lining and healthy intestinal flora – net, net, think of it as beyond the nail polish you would use to stop a run, it’s the goods that deliver a whole new pair of pantyhose without you having to go to the trouble of getting a new pair!

So consider that while we love an organic kale juice and water with lemon, part of a Nutritious Life is making sure your body gets the great nutrition you are bringing into it.

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