How Apple Cider Vinegar Can Change Your Life!

While there are so many foods out there that are good for you, and have great health benefits, there are some that just don’t get the attention they deserve. Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is one of them! ACV can help you lose weight, lower your blood pressure and cholesterol, supports healthy blood sugar levels, and even helps the stomach by increasing probiotics and acid. And would you look at that, increased stomach acid and probiotics help heal leaky gut.

As with many foods that start getting a good reputation for their health benefits, many companies will try and jump on the bandwagon and start producing version of lower quality. When you are chosing an ACV look for cloudiness at the bottom of the bottle. This is called “the mother”, and it is actually all of the good probiotics and organic acids.

So what is so beneficial about Apple Cider Vinegar? I’m glad you asked! The organic acids balance the pH in the stomach and small intestines. This makes it easier for your body to break down proteins and carbohydrates, which will help your overall digestion. In this environment it is easier for probiotics to grow and thrive.

The best way to incorporate it into your life is to take one tablespoon in a small glass of mineral water before each of your three meals each day. Not only will it help balance your blood sugar, but it will get your stomach pH right so that you can better absorb nutrients and break down food.

In short, Apple Cider Vinegar is AWESOME! There are so many health benefits to incorporating it into your daily life. Give it a try, you’ve got nothing to lose… except maybe some weight.

Treating and Healing Leaky Gut

We have talked and talked and talk about leaky gut. I’ve talked so much about what it is that I’m blue in the face. I know that it bothers me when the media scares us all into thinking that we may have some illness or disease, but then doesn’t tell us how we can find out or make it better. Well, that’s what this blog is all about. We are talking about how to heal leaky gut.

The most important part of the healing process is reducing inflammation. This can be done by getting rid of all the foods that are causing constant inflammation in your gut.

This may sound like a daunting task; however there are triggers that most people should avoid in general. The first is, of course, gluten. In reality, all grain products should be avoided. There are other proteins that have gluten cross reactivity. Your body will recognize them as gluten and cause a reaction. These foods should be avoided as well.  These foods include, but are not limited to, coffee, chocolate, corn, egg, potato, rice, soy, yeast.

The second food trigger is excess sugar! This really should come as no surprise. All our lives we have been told that too much sugar is bag for you. This is just another example of how it can be doing damage to your body. There are microbes in your gut that feed off of fermentable fibers and sugars.  The preferred choice of yeast and candidia is sugar. Too much sugar causes and imbalance and too much bad bacteria, such as candidia and yeast, in your system. How do you gauge the amount of sugar that is too much? Anything more than a teaspoon of raw honey a day is too much sugar!  If you just can’t contain yourself, use stevia or raw local honey.

The third trigger is none other than our sworn enemy hydrogenated oils. These will cause inflammation throughout your entire body, especially your intestines. Get these bad fats OUT of your diet!

It should come as no surprise that the fourth trigger consists of fast foods and packaged foods, also known as processed foods. When you are shopping at the grocery store, get your food from the perimeter of the store. DON’T GO INTO THE ISLES!!! Avoid those packaged foods, head for the produce, fruits, nuts, seeds, organic meats, and fermented dairy products.

Here is where it gets tricky; the fifth trigger consists of foods that are specific to you. To find out what these foods are, you will want to get a food sensitivity or intolerance test.

Remove the triggers, and listen to your body. You will start seeing results in your leaky gut and how you are feeling. Believe me, it is worth it!

Have You Heard About Leaky Gut?

I am almost certain that there are two words you have never heard together, and they are… leaky gut. A couple of the first things that people want to know is what it is and how it affects them.

The most basic fact that we all have to understand is that all disease begins in the gut. So back the original question, what IS leaky gut? Aside from being at the root of the majority of health conditions; it is an issue that occurs when you get holes in the tight junctions of your gut. It is also known as intestinal permeability.

When these holes appear things start to leak into your bloodstream from your gut. These are things that should NEVER get into your bloodstream such as toxins, microbes, bad bacteria, or undigested protein. Once this happens it causes an immune reaction.

So how does this begin? It all starts with eating poorly. A poor diet leads to inflammation that over time will cause leaky gut. After this you will end up with problems like nutrient malabsorption, GI issues, food sensitivities, and autoimmune diseases.

Leaky gut is truly the first stage that leads to many other health problems.

Okay, so now we know that a poor diet can cause leaky gut. There are certain foods that should for sure be eliminated or monitored.

• Excessive sugar
• Dairy
• Grains (gluten)
• GMO foods along with those treated with pesticides and herbicides
• Hydrogenated oils
• Chemicals

One of the biggest factors that can cause leaky gut is emotional stress. It is imperative to take care of your emotional and stress.

What are some ways that you can get started on the right track towards prevention? Change your diet; now that we know what things to avoid, it’s easy! Start by removing one thing at a time.  There is no need to make it more difficult than it has to be. It’s never about “dieting”, it’s about changing your lifestyle!