October 31st thru January 1st feels like a holiday marathon often filled with day after day, weekend after weekend, of what I like to call the favorite F’s – friends, family, fabulous food, and fancy cocktails. While these F’s should be thoroughly enjoyed, they can take a toll on your mental and physical health making you feel sluggish, bloated, irregular, frazzled and maybe even a little sick. Why do the favorite F’s lead to these problems? Your gut.
The gut consists of your small and large intestine that all together can stretch out to around 15ft in length. That is a significant amount of mass in your body! The intestine is in charge of breaking down your food and is lined with microvilli that absorb the nutrients you eat. The gut has a direct nerve (the vagus nerve) that connects to your brain to communicate all day, controlling cravings and mood. The intestine also holds a huge portion of your immune system. All of this means that if your gut is not in tiptop shape you may not be getting the nutrients you need, prone to colds/viruses/infections, depression, and interestingly enough weight gain/fluctuations. Things in life that break down the microvilli in our gut is an abundance of sugar, animal products, processed foods, alcohol, stress, sedentary lifestyle, and antibiotics. The good news is there are also ways to help build a fantastic gut: pre and probiotics, fiber, water, exercise, meditation, and a decrease in all the aforementioned negatives. Did I just exhaust you?
A simple way to help your insides throughout the year is to follow the 80/20 rule where 80% of the time you mindfully choose foods and drinks that you know are good for your body (gut specifically) and 20% of the time you eat/drink whatever you fancy, whether that be an extra cookie, latte, and/or glass of wine. Add in at least 30 minutes of movement a day and the 15 feet of your intestine will be thanking you in no time.
If you feel that you are in need of a quick, and major gut reset, it is possible! Luckily, as long as you do not have any preexisting conditions such as SIBO, IBS, or Crohns, it only takes 4-7 days for the good bacteria in your gut to build back up if you put your mind to it. To help, Niche and Nutrition Preferred are holding a 7 day gut reset that entails daily menus with food/snacks/desserts, recipes, pre/probiotics (first 15 people who sign up*), a list of supplements that have been shown to promote gut health, daily gut healthy exercises, and daily motivation to keep you going strong all 7 days long!
Gut Reset starts November 29th right after Thanksgiving and right before the Christmas goodies start flooding in. The cost is $30 and *bonus* the first 15 people to sign up by November 21st will receive 7 days worth of a pre/probiotic supplements. Sign up here!