Category: finances

It’s January-turn off the sugar?

Do you beat yourself up for caving into bad food cravings? Do you blame yourself for lacking will power? Understanding why you have those annoying cravings for sugar, fat, salt and so on, may be just how you can curb them!

In 2008, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) formed the Human Microbiome Project (HMP). Microbiome is defined as “the collection of microbes or microorganisms that inhabit an environment, creating a ‘mini-ecostystem.’”¹

The human microbiome, located in the gut, is made up of trillions of bacteria that send messages to the brain. This communication is known as the “brain-gut connection.” Because approximately 70 to 80 percent of the body’s immune tissue is located within the digestive system, boosting your immune system really requires a healthy gut.²

The good news is that you can actually help manage your microbiome and influence the brain-gut connection as well as strengthen your immune system. You can increase the good gut bacteria that sends the brain positive messages and decrease the bad bacteria that causes bad food cravings. In this way, “you are what you eat.”

Getting Started

How to manifest a positive brain-gut connection is relatively simple, but the challenge is getting started. Since good bacteria thrives on fiber and nutrient-dense food, eating that type of food consistently is the key to a healthy brain-gut connection. Good bacteria feeds on fibrous food, digests it and releases a gas up to the brain, telling it that the body is well nourished. When the brain is told that the body is well nourished, it doesn’t think there’s a need to fill in the gaps created by a lack of nutrition. It’s a healthy cycle where nutrient-dense food that is fibrous creates more good bacteria.

On the other hand, bad food leaves nutritional gaps. The gaps are what lead to those unhealthy cravings. Sugar and processed foods contain empty calories rather than useful nutrients and the bad bacteria feeds off of it! In other words, when you avoid foods that generate negative messages from the gut to the brain, you’ll minimize cravings.

Fiber does more than curb cravings. It also helps your mood. The Human Microbiome Project has shown that serotonin, the “feel-good” chemical the body generates, is actually created in the gut, not the brain. More fiber and nutrient-dense food in the gut therefore influences our emotional health as well as our physical well being.

You may be surprised how quickly a healthy gut helps the brain minimize unhealthy cravings and also helps improve your overall health. If you currently don’t eat lots of fibrous foods, integrate them into your daily regimen slowly so that your body has time to adjust. Incorporate it into each meal or snack. The fiber will give a sense of fullness to help you cut back on sugar and processed food.

• Eat leafy greens, asparagus, any type of bean and root vegetables.
• Try not to peel apples and pears. Well-scrubbed potato and carrot skins are also fibrous and edible.
• Do you throw away stems? For example, broccoli stems are full of healthy fiber and taste great in soups and stir-fries. The same is true of kale and spinach stems.
• Add variety to your diet. Be adventuresome and try vegetables you haven’t had. Or, try new ways of preparing your favorites. Many vegetables are delicious raw while others are easily steamed or sautéed.
• Be generous in your use of garlic, onions, herbs and spices. They are also sources of fiber and add so much flavor.

The happier your microbiome, the fewer bad food cravings there’ll be. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but the important thing is to get started in helping your gut converse positively with your brain! Best of all, you will discover how delicious these nutrient-dense and fibrous foods are!

 

I recommend to help jumpstart your microbiome, take Kenzen® Digestion Complex 4-20 to assist in processing the additional fiber you eat. Containing a combination of ingredients that tackles fats, proteins, carbohydrates and fiber, Kenzen® Digestion Complex 4-20 supports the assimilation of all types of nutrients.* And to help your circulatory and immune systems work optimally with your gut, I suggeset taking Kenzen® Immunity and Kenzen® Lactoferrin 2.0! I start everyday this way!

* This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

1 https://www.hmpdacc.org/hmp/overview/

2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515351/ 

Your Choice

Last month I was in an all-day personal development workshop. We had just finished an exercise on making a choice between two scenarios. There were 4 sets of questions. I found three of them to be easy to answer and one took extra thought. It became interesting when the others in the workshop shared their responses. Although I didn’t always agree with them; I found new understanding by hearing their perspective.

One of the keys to the segment was that we DO have the choice to decide the direction we take each and every day. It is up to us to choose… or not choose and live with the consequences.

I never realized that this exercise would play out in real life within 15 minutes after we finished. It was time for a lunch break. We were asked to eat with the small groups that we were in. The event was being held at the Conference center connected to the Florida Mall in Orlando. Imagine – Sunday – lunch in the food court. Yes, it was beyond loud – many children crying, screaming, people yelling, music….deafening.

My group had found a table right in the middle. They had gone outside, but had decided to come in because of the bugs. I was in a long line waiting for a great salad at Ugrean. I wanted to go outside and not eat inside the havoc of the mall.

It was a choice – and it was up to me.

I sat down with the group. I couldn’t eat. I was so preoccupied with the noise and what I wanted to do. I was encouraged to eat with the group….but on the other hand, I was reminded of the exercise….it was my choice.

I quietly explained that I was sorry, but needed to go outside. I said I understood if they didn’t want to join me. I stood up and headed for the door.

Did you ever do something and KNOW it was the right decision?? I knew as soon as I stepped outside….Pharrell Williams “Happy” was playing! A coincidence?? I don’t think so. That is the song I listen to in the morning while I read my affirmations to set my day on the right path!!! As the song played, I smiled… and before it was done the group had joined me at the table!

What have you been putting off? Not making a decision IS a decision. It takes courage sometimes to take that first step. Remember, this is NOT a dress rehearsal…this is your life….it’s the only one you’ll live….so, I want to encourage you to make the most of everyday…make those important choices to create the life you want!
Are you ready to make that change and create the life you have been wanting? Click on the staircase below: