The Fairy Gutmother blog will give you tips for optimized wellness and health. Find research on gut health, tips for improving your gut bacteria, and yoga and mental health tips.
As a nutritional therapist and certified GAPS practitioner, I know the importance of gut health and how it can affect your everyday life. By incorporating a few gut-health tips for digestion, you can start feeling better after eating without having to crash and take a nap or live with discomfort.
Read MoreIs your gut feeling off? Maybe you're feeling a little more fatigued, bloated, constipated, or the opposite. If so, you're not alone. Many of us struggle with digestive issues, especially in today's fast-paced world filled with processed foods, stress, and environmental toxins. With spring and summer coming up, now is the perfect time to take only three days out of your normal eating patterns and focus on nutritious foods that will not only reset your gut — but help you feel amazing in your body.
Read MoreThe Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) Diet is designed to heal the gut and restore the balance of beneficial organisms in the microbiome, or collection of good bacteria and fungi that reside in the gut. Developed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, a neurologist and nutritionist, the GAPS Diet recognizes the profound connection between the gut and overall health, particularly in relation to mental well-being.
Read MoreForget Junk Food: STRESS May Be WORSE For Your Gut!
I talk a lot about gut health being more of a lifestyle rather than a diet, mainly because of the negative impact of stress on the body. In fact, stress has been noted to be more damaging on the gut than junk food, making our lifestyle choices and stress management critical components in order to maintain optimal health.
The human body was not designed to handle prolonged periods of stress. Sure, it can handle the stress of a deadline at work or (most) family holiday gatherings, but the chronic everyday stress is the most important.
Read MoreEvery day I am faced with the choice of fear. After being diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2014, the doctor said to me: “Are you aware you can die from this?” and “You will live like this the rest of your life.” At that moment, I knew I had two options: I could either succumb to the diagnosis of my potentially deadly and dismal future, or, I could learn to live in harmony with the disease, taking better care of my body and ultimately regaining control of my life.
I started with healing my gut. Nearly the entire immune system resides in the gut and there is no better way to battle any illness then focusing on strengthening the immune system.
Read MoreI am excited to share with you a recent study of mine was just published in the Journal of Probiotics & Health!
The study, Effect of Mycobiome Diet on Gut Fungal and Bacterial Communities of Healthy Adults, shows that dietary changes lead to a positive shift in the microbiome, or collection of bacteria and fungi living in the gut. Basically, we found that a diet high in fiber from resistant starches (like beans, oats, whole grains, squash…) and cruciferous veggies reduces pathogens in the gut like Candida and E.coli. For 28 days, participants consumed a diet high in fiber with moderate amounts of protein and fats and each week we collected fecal samples to monitor the changes in the gut. It was truly amazing to see the results of the study—by the end, nearly every participant had little to no signs of Candida and E.coli in the gut.
For more information and to access the full study, click HERE.
Contrary to what many health advocates believe, I am actually a huge fan of grains and disagree that grains are the culprit for our health concerns. In fact, grains are incredibly beneficial for optimal gut health! The good bacteria in the gut (aka probiotics) thrive on the fiber and resistant starches that many grains provide. Without these vital nutrients, bacteria simply cannot survive in the gut. The problem with grains, however, stems from consuming them in their not-so-properly-prepared form, like highly processed grains laden with chemicals and toxins that absolutely wreak havoc on the gut. It is no wonder why we are gluten intolerant and have problems digesting these foods. Once you work towards healing the gut lining and repopulating the gut with a healthy balance of bacteria and fungi, you can likely tolerate grains and should incorporate them into your diet, as long as they are in their properly prepared form.
Read MoreFirst, I would like to preface this article by stating my intention is not to dissuade people from the vegan diet, rather, highlight concerns with inherent diet-related health implications. Instead, I encourage mindfulness and inquisitive label reading so that we avoid the same health pitfalls as we did from the elimination of fats in the 1990’s. I do not believe in shaming others for their health choices. At the end of the day, we are all trying to navigate through misinformation regarding health and wellness and I applaud anyone trying to take a step towards adopting a healthier lifestyle.
Read MoreProbiotics are all the buzz these days as gut health is rapidly becoming one of the most widely discussed topics when it comes to optimal health. Nearly the entire immune system is located in the gut making gut health foundational in achieving optimal health. It seems as though probiotics are popping up everywhere from beverages to cereals as this topic gains popularity and more people look towards improving the health of their gut.
However, two recent studies published in Cell have people questioning the effectiveness of probiotics. In one study, researchers studied the changes in the microbiome of a group of people over the course of one month that were given an 11-strain probiotic combination or a placebo. In the second study, researchers, studied the effects of the same 11-strain probiotic after antibiotic use.
Read MoreMaintaining optimal health is an interesting concept: it is either a fairly simple concept to grasp or an incredibly difficult task to manage. I am always curious about what differentiates the two for my clients. And what makes eating healthy so difficult?
Read MoreIn my final post about 4 Ways to Love Your Guts, we are talking stress. You may wonder; what does stress have to do with the gut? Well the answer is absolutely everything. Stress affects virtually all aspects of your health and can especially weaken the immune system and damage the gut. Stress lowers our digestive enzymes which help break down our foods. If undigested foods seep into the gut, it can cause many health problems like autoimmune conditions, leaky gut, allergies, inflammation, and much more. Likewise, if roughly 80 percent of the immune system is located in the gut, and stress weakens the immune system, gut health and stress are directly correlated.
Read MoreWhen you think about healing the gut, there are really two main areas of focus: healing and sealing the gut lining and repopulating the gut with beneficial bacteria. One of the best ways to heal and seal the gut lining is with bone broth, which we discussed the last couple of weeks in my post about how to make broth as well as my post on various soups to make with broth. In order to repopulate the gut with beneficial bacteria, you want to think about probiotics. Probiotics are bacteria that line your gut and support your body’s ability to fight infections and absorb nutrients.
Read MoreWe hear it all the time, protein is so important to our health and we need to eat more. But do we really understand why? And how much? And not all protein is created equal, either, some kinds are better for our bodies to digest than others. It can get confusing and often times we are not eating nearly enough protein as our bodies need.
Read MoreWelcome back to my series on Ways to Start Implementing the GAPS Diet now. In case you missed it, so far we’ve discussed Bone Broth and Ferments to incorporate into your daily routine to begin repairing the gut and healing the body. My third recommendation on ways to start implementing the GAPS Diet would be making your own yogurt or kefir.
Read MoreFor those that may have missed it, we’ve been discussing ways to incorporate parts of the GAPS Diet into your daily routine to begin repairing the gut and healing the body. Recall, last week we discussed my first recommendation, which is Bone Broth. You can check out the recent post here as well as read a little background on the GAPS Diet.
Read MoreI hear from a lot of people that they’re interested in implementing a healing diet such as the GAPS Diet but the stages are absolutely daunting and they simply do not have time to worry about the eliminations. Well there’s good news: you can start implementing parts of the diet now! Although you may not receive the full healing benefits of the stages of the GAPS Diet, incorporating these three important components of the diet are a great way to start. Over the next 3 weeks, I will be discussing 3 simple ways to start introducing some of the most healing benefits of the GAPS Diet.
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