So many of us have digestive issues, apparently at least 1 in 3 of us, which makes gut health a fascinating subject as well as being an important one. Really important. Hippocrates said that “all disease begins in the gut” and nowadays, with life being lived at great speed, with less sleep than ever before, both leading to chronic stress, and with a modern western diet, we need to find a way to deal with the health of our guts to avoid problems now, and in the future.
The gut, its health or otherwise, controls so many things in our make up, and is referred to as our second brain. We have up to 2kgs of microbes inside us, including both good and bad bacteria, known as our microbiome. Our microbiome affects our immune system, our mental health, the balance of our hormones, our likelihood of ageing well or badly, getting arthritis, and so on. The microbiome obviously is crucial, too, in breaking food down, absorbing nutrients, making vitamins etc. It does this well when in tip top condition and badly when not. Therefore, maintaining balance in the gut where the bad bacteria is being wonderfully dominated by the good, is vital to help create, or restore us to, good health.
What causes things to go wrong in the gut:
Stress, bad sleep patterns, antibiotics, lack of exercise, processed foods, lack of fibre, too much sugar, alcohol, and even coffee.
What keeps a gut healthy:
Reducing stress (maybe by practising yoga, deep breathing or meditation), getting 7/8 hours of good quality sleep (see Matthew Walker’s best selling book where he says we are all under-slept), regular exercise, eating a diet rich with a huge variety of plants, legumes, nuts and seeds and olive oil and if eating meat or fish making sure they are of the best quality you can afford. Reducing sugar (fresh fruit is good, cakes, sweets and white carbs aren’t really), and alcohol and even coffee, particularly if it affects your sleep. Including prebiotics in your diet ie leeks, onions, garlic, artichokes etc and increasing your probiotics, found in fermented foods, which can hugely contribute to the healthy bacteria in our gut. And drink bone broth. So, so good!
What will the result be? Lowered cortisol levels and less stress, better hormonal balance, clearer skin, stronger hair and nails, better sleep, more energy, less inflammation, less risk of disease and so on……
So, one of the best things to have to fill us up with good bacteria is KEFIR! I have been making my own for over a year now as I mentioned in an earlier post. It is so much cheaper to make your own and so simple, and you’ll know exactly what’s in it, unlike some of the shop-bought ones. Jeanette Hyde, the author of the excellent The Gut Makeover, got me started on all this (along with Liz Earle) and talks about kefir thoroughly on jeanettehyde.com.
I bought my live grains from the Live Kefir Company. Happy Kombucha is very good too. Both websites carry lots of information. With care the grains will last and last…. They will arrive with instructions. All you need is a plastic sieve, full fat milk, (organic and preferably from grass-fed cows), and a large, sterile 1 litre kilner jar or an equivalent glass jug. When you get the grains, follow the instructions, basically leaving them to soak in the advised amount of milk where the grains eat up all the sugar in the milk and ferment it. This leaves you about 24hrs later, after having strained it, with a slightly fizzy, slightly tangy yoghurt-type drink teeming with a huge, enormous variety of good bacteria. You can either drink it like that (you’ll get to crave it eventually!) or add it to your smoothie. My usual smoothie is made up of kefir, spinach, blueberries and half a banana – maybe with some flaxseeds (very good for perimenopausal and menopausal women) and pumpkin seeds. Then you start all over again with the strained grains in a fresh lot of milk. You can also get water kefir grains, which you can mix with coconut milk, or almond, rice etc, if you don’t want to use cow’s milk.
Happy kefir drinking and happy microbiomes for us all!! xxx
Things to be grateful for:
My eldest daughter being able to fix herself, after a super horrible bout of food poisoning, with kefir, bone broth and healthy food choices!
Our still beautiful hedgerows so I can make an autumnal garland, even with dried out and fading foliage. Not all things have to be fresh and young to be lovely!
Dog walking in the sunshine, alone or with friends.
Podcasts. My car radio is broken.
Raindrops On Roses 