When I Say “Micro”, You Say “Biome”

One of our favorite topics here at Let’s Get Crackin’ is the microbiome… aka your gut flora. It’s all of the good bacteria that is in your gut that is an integral part of your immune system. We under estimate its impact. Research has revealed that microbes of all kinds are instrumental in the functioning of our bodies.

Beneficial bacteria, also known as probiotics are known for their ability to help your body in many ways:

1. Counteracting inflammation and control the growth of disease causing bacteria.
2. Producing vitamins, aminoacids (protein precursors), absorb minerals, and eliminate toxins
3. Controlling asthma and reducing the risk of allergies
4. Benefitting your mood and mental health
5. Impacting your weight, for better or worse

Everyone’s microbiome composition varies. It is based on factors such as diet, health history, anti-biotic exposure, geographic locations, chemical exposures, hygiene, and other environmental factors.  It is becoming increasingly clear that destroying your gut flora with antibiotics and pharmaceutical drugs, harsh environmental chemicals, and toxic foods is a primary factor in rising disease rates.

This is why it is important to stress a diet rich in whole organic, unprocessed foods along with traditionally cultured or fermented foods and plenty of fiber. Also, a high quality probiotic supplement can also be helpful in restoring your gut flora (especially when taking antibiotics and eating processed foods).

We can’t stress it enough… PROTECT YOUR MICROBIOME!

Elimination Diets- Finding Hidden Food Allergies

It seems like everyone today is allergic to something. Most people assume that this means an immediate reaction such as hives or the throat closing up. What many people do not understand is that most people who suffer from a food allergy don’t have a reaction for hours or even days. These reactions can range from digestive issues, to skin-flare ups.

If you’re anything like me, you eat a variety of food items each week. It would be hard to figure out what which item, or ingredient, it causing you these problems. This is where the idea of an elimination diet comes in.

What is an elimination diet? It is a short term eating plan that eliminates certain foods that may be causing these allergic reactions. After the foods are removed from the diet, they are re-introduced, one at a time, to determine which foods are and are not well-tolerated.

Once you have decided that an elimination diet is right for you, you then need to determine which foods need to be cut out of the diet. Did you know that eight foods account for 90% of food allergy reactions? These foods are milk, eggs, peanuts, nuts, wheat/gluten, soy, fish and shellfish.

Most people will cut out those common allergens as well as refined sugar, corn, alcohol, and all packaged and processed or fast foods.

This is a great basic starting point. Clearly it’s not an exact science. After I tried my elimination diet, I called my doctor and he did a food allergy test that actually tested 96 different foods. I learned about a lot of foods that I needed to eliminate out of my diet, and once I did this  I noticed a change in how I felt, and also started losing some of those pesky pounds.  It was a win-win.

If you’d like some more information on the testing that my doctor did, check out loseweightstl.com