Did you know that many experts say all disease begins in the intestines? Well, they do, and today we're going to talk about it because when most people first knock on my side door, a myriad of reasons have brought them there. Obviously, they wish to lose weight, but more and more people are coming not out of vanity or unhappiness with their appearance: they are coming in droves because their doctors have scared them. They are beginning to see that their weight is not only an external issue, but also a detriment to their present and future health. The breakdown of the body really is the inevitable result of bad eating habits. So, what are some of the signs of this breakdown? Is your weight the only clue? Well, of course not! It all started a long time ago, in the depths of your bowls!
But before I go "there" again, I want to speak about the precursor to intestinal issues, the precursor to many known illnesses: the lack of friendly intestinal flora. Flora is not necessary solely for a healthy gastrointestinal tract, but for a healthy immune system, as well! Many experts believe that the lack of friendly flora is the reason for most illnesses. Maintaining a balance of the friendly flora, or acidophilus, that live in your digestive tract is crucial to good health because for one, it trains your immune system to be competent, and not hyper-react.
Friendly flora has been known to improve skin conditions from adult acne to eczema. It alleviates allergies to all sorts of foods, reduces symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, leaky gut syndrome, acid reflux syndrome, ulcers, problems with Candida Albicans and other problems related to inappropriate and inflammatory immune system problems. Also, a lack of friendly flora will impede the absorption of calcium, magnesium and dozens of trace minerals, possibly leading to endocrine and other imbalances. We need friendly flora for healthy metabolism, and children who lack them are much more likely to become obese!
So, how did we lose it and how do we get it back? To be honest, it's a miracle that any of us have healthy flora left; so, don't take it personally! It is just a result of the average American diet. Basically, any combination of the following when used over a long period of time will do it: antibiotics, steroids, salt, MSG, hard liquor, foods cooked at high temperatures or deep-fried, refined carbohydrates (white bread, pasta, candy, white sugar, corn syrup, etc.) food preservatives (found in all lunch meats - ham, salami, hot dogs, etc). It's there in cheese, diet drinks and soda and many other processed foods.
Also, when there's an absence of fiber in the diet; and that often happens because we take perfectly healthy fiber-rich foods like whole grains, sprouted seeds, raw nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables, and boil at high temperatures for long periods of time. And, if you simmer high quality proteins like fish, and legumes too long that will destroy or suppress the growth of friendly flora in the intestines when you consume them. In addition, if you're in the habit of eating foods with preservatives daily, your flora is affected just as it is when you ingest daily antibiotics.
We should all assume that we are probably all at risk in one way or another and plan to do something about it. But, what? Friendly flora is also known as acidophilus and bifidobacteria. You can find and purchase a good fiber and friendly flora supplement in a natural food store and possibly your local super market, but the better combination is a blend of fiber, pectin, and probiotic blends of Acidophilus, Bifidum, B longum, L Salivarius and L Plantarum. What? Not so hard! Just ask at a local natural food store, and they will hook you up.
Apart from the supplements, your diet should be free of hormones in meat or poultry antibiotics, food preservatives and all antimicrobials that kill off the good bacteria. If you were to just buy organic, you would be fine. In addition, you should eat a serving of raw fruits and vegetables with each meal to provide live, active plant enzymes to help the digestive process. Parsley and raw ripe pineapple are great choices. Honey is also a healthy food and a good infection fighter; however, remember to eat it raw so it doesn't lose it's effectiveness. In other words, don't cook or sweeten your tea with it. These foods are also great stress reducers!
Many people eat yogurt for the purpose of maintaining the balance of friendly flora, but to be honest, the yogurt isn't really sour enough. In fact, it is far too sweet. You would do better with kefir or buttermilk; they're much healthier for your colon. You might be wondering why I would suddenly change my mind and tell you all to eat dairy, and I would answer that this is the exception. Although yogurt and kefir both start out as milk, a live bacterial culture is added to induce fermentation, making it change into something that is actually good for us. The types of bacteria used to ferment each tend to affect the flavor and texture of the products, which we experience quite differently. Kefir is the better choice because it has a larger variety of bacteria in its culture. Yogurt often only contains only one or two acidophilus and or bifidus.
So how do you know when an improvement in the friendly flora in has been achieved? Well, unfortunately, one place it can be seen is in your stools. Sorry, but there is no real way to get around it, your stools are the window to your intestines and the proof of intestinal health or hardship.
Your stools should be large in diameter, indicating no inflammation of your GI tract. They should generally be about one inch or larger in diameter and be medium brown in color.
Stools should be well formed and in one piece, stools that are smaller in diameter could be an indication of an inflamed colon.
Your stools should float-well, most of the time! Floating indicates the presence of friendly flora in your colon. Please make sure that these are healthy stools that are floating. The loose ones that are hardly formed and light in color are not the perfect floater you are looking for. If your stools sink more often than they float, this might indicate a lack of good flora in your intestinal tract.
You should not see undigested food-usually vegetables-in your stools.
Skin that is healthy and smooth with very few eruptions is also indicative of a healthy GI tract.
Urine that is light yellow in color and does not have a strong odor tells you that friendly flora is producing B vitamins in the colon.
So, just to sum up, foods that produce poor quality stools are white rice, white bread, pasta made from white flour, any product made from white sugar or white flour and meats cooked at high temperatures.
Foods that produce healthy stools are squash, pumpkins, carrots, yams, dark green vegetables (especially when eaten raw), whole grains cooked at lower temperatures, whole grain breads, hot breakfast cereal (oat bran), pasta from spelt, and raw garlic.
At all costs, avoid foods with preservatives!
Well, that is about all I have to say today on this topic, but I assure you there is more to come! It might at first seem embarrassing to discuss our bowels, but it shouldn't: they are vital to our ability to live long and healthy lives and an important indicator of our overall health.
Berta Prevosti is a weight loss counselor known for transforming the lives of overweight women who have previously given up on losing weight. She has counseled hundreds of women losing thousands of pounds using emotional support and healthy common sense methods.
Berta's expertise has grown to such a point that she can articulate points in a way that she hears at least weekly "I never had it explained to me that way - it all makes sense now". At her clients requests, and as a result of her growing waiting list, she is shifting her practice to the Internet to share her transformations and help more women reclaim the lives and dreams they had given up on. Please go to [http://www.justloseit.com] and sign up for her FREE weekly e-zine packed full of great information and loving support.