HEALTHY GUT, HEALTHY MIND

Hi There! Now that I got your attention with these cute otters, let me ask you…How cute are you feeling? How are you feeling physically and emotionally lately?

I hope you are feeling great but if you happen to be feeling tired, sluggish or have no energy to start your day, one of the best ways to help yourself feel better, is to work on your body from the inside out! And that starts with finding something to help your gut health.

Something that will help you feel lighter, aid digestion and help you to eliminate toxins. One of the most important things you can do to help your body rid itself of toxins is to take care of your liver, and that means focusing on a healthy lifestyle and foods and drinks you consume, so this important organ doesn’t get overwhelmed.

“The liver is our detoxification machine. It’s made to do this,” says liver cancer specialist and surgeon Thomas Aloia, M.D. “Detoxifying the normal things we eat, breathe and ingest is part of its job and keeps us alive.”

However, ideally, we don’t always eat healthy and often times, we may drink too many alcoholic beverages, which also causes stress on the liver. When this happens, there are solutions to help your body in a holistic way.

If you have been reading my blogs or following me on social media for a while, you know that I am all about finding the best natural remedies. Truth be told is that medicines do work but often they come with many side effects and a very high price tag, even with health insurance. It’s the nature of the animal of healthcare in the United States.

With that said, I have personally started using plant-based alternatives that may help to heal your body from the inside out. One of those powerful things is a powder from a plant called, Moringa. I used to hear about this plant from one of my Cuban grandmothers, who is 96 (G-d bless her!) and has a wealth of knowledge and personal experience with ailments, diseases and home remedies. But let’s forget what my grandmother has to say and let’s look at the facts on the benefits of Moringa.

This Moringa (Moringa Oliefera) powder that I am taking is organically grown from the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. It is packed with 7x the Vitamin C of Oranges, 4x the calcium and 2x the protein found in milk, 4x the vitamin a in carrots, 3x the potassium in Bananas, 25x the iron of spinach gram for gram! Now that is a lot of nutrients!

Moringa is also very rich in antioxidants.

According to an article in Healthline, “There are several antioxidant plant compounds found in the leaves of Moringa oleifera. “Moringa leaves are an excellent source of many vitamins and minerals. One cup of fresh, chopped leaves (21 grams) contains:

Protein: 2 grams
Vitamin B6: 19% of the RDA
Vitamin C: 12% of the RDA
Iron: 11% of the RDA
Riboflavin (B2): 11% of the RDA
Vitamin A (from beta-carotene): 9% of the RDA
Magnesium: 8% of the RDA”

In addition to vitamin C and beta-carotene, these include:

Quercetin: This powerful antioxidant may help lower blood pressure
Chlorogenic acid: Also found in high amounts in coffee, chlorogenic acid may help moderate blood sugar levels after meals (14Trusted Source, 15Trusted Source).

We also have a detox tea for those times when you really overdo it with eating and drinking in an unhealthy way. Occasionally, we need to cleanse our system. By taking this natural (vegan, soy free, dairy free) tea, it can help to make you feel lighter and flushed out. The high dietary fiber content may aid digestion and is the perfect solution to cleanse your body, if needed.

Most importantly, my point is that all of these natural products I am using and referring you to, play a vital role in gut health. If you haven’t been keeping up to date with the connection of gut health and the brain, you can read more about it here (after you finish this article.) You may be surprised to learn about “one type of bacteria found in the gut that may contribute to the development of Type 2 diabetes, while another may protect from the disease, according to early results from an ongoing, prospective study led by investigators at Cedars-Sinai.”

The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Diabetes, found “people with higher levels of a bacterium called Coprococcus tended to have higher insulin sensitivity, while those whose microbiomes had higher levels of the bacterium Flavonifractor tended to have lower insulin sensitivity…The microbiome is thought to be affected by medications and diet. Studies have also found that people who don’t process insulin properly have lower levels of a certain type of bacteria that produce a type of fatty acid called butyrate.”

So, whether you want to focus on gut health, increased energy, weight management, reduced inflammation, increased energy, hair and nails growth, better sleep, focus and mental clarity, or nutrition, there is a way to do it holistic way to do it!

Remember, like I always say (and mention in a lot my articles,) life is about balance. It doesn’t mean that taking supplements or going green will be the end all be all to your health woes, but it will definitely be a good start to your healing journey. Keeping your life in balance by eating right, exercising (even if that means walking,) and committing to a healthy lifestyle is the best way to activate your best life and get to a fit place: mind, body & soul.

You always have the power to be happy and to be healthy – you just have to make the commitment and start!