OK ladies and gentlemen, I have a confession to make. I overdid it BIG TIME the past couple of weeks, and I could not be happier to get back to work, and my regular routine. Christmas and New Years were a complete whirlwind of calories and cocktails. On Christmas, we spent time with family friends who my mom grew up with on Long Island, and like my grandmother, they are Italian. The food was an endless parade of antipasto, pasta, fried meatballs and Tiramisu. Then the fun continued through New Years Eve. Heros from the Italian deli, and a tequila fueled Billy Joel concert with great friends. I really cannot complain at all because that night I got to see Gavin Degraw live. In college my friends and I had a mild obsession with him and his Chariot album. It brought me right back to being 17, surrounded by all my best friends, and it just made me thankful for another great year on Earth.
Jan 1 hit, and I woke up feeling less than stellar to say the least! Super lethargic, feeling like a parched salt shaker, vowing never to drink or eat again. Until that night when we went out with friends for Turkish food and a night at Fountainbleau. We didn’t get home until 2 AM, and by that point my acid reflux was knocking…no banging at my door. I work and preach living an active- healthy lifestyle, and I do for the most part, but I want to throw in a very important word: BALANCE.
By Saturday the 2nd I was supposed to go out on a fishing excursion with the hubby. I do not do very well on the open seas, but he loves it, and I just pop a dramamine and pray for a calm ocean. Saturday night I decided it was my last night to be bad since this week was shot to heck. I created popcorn, marshmallow squares. They are made just like rice crispy treats, but with popcorn, and OMG they should come with a warning label! Only make them if you will be going to a party with a lot of people or else you will end up consuming the entire tray. I do not usually crave sugar, but the endless parade of gluttony naturally led me to overindulge yet again. I woke up feeling sick to my stomach, unable to go on the fishing trip, and a hard realization that is was time to but myself back together!
A few weeks ago I downloaded the Kayla Itsines app, but haven’t really given it too much thought since I love going to my classes at Equinox. You may have seen Kayla on Instagram. If not search #BBG, and check out all of the glorious transformations. So, I decided why not give it a try? I start traveling again for work today, and Cory and I are heading to Europe for ten days next week. So this will be a great guide to get me back on track and through our trip without missing a beat. Sunday, after all the holiday decorations came down, and were put away, I decided to get my sweat on! After just one workout, I felt more energetic, sore, and ready to fuel my body properly again.
Like many people I talk to in their late twenties and thirties, digestion is a large concern for the majority of us. For me, digestion is my biggest health concern. Even while eating properly, I find myself feeling bloated and uncomfortable. I will take enzymes (which help), drink digestive tea, kambucha, and kefir to help with the discomfort. I accidentally stumbled upon this video by Dr. Cary Nelson on ‘Balancing Your Gut’ and ‘Four Foods You Should Throw Out Immediately’. I took the time to watch the entire video, but if you don’t have that time, I will sum it up for you in a nutshell.
I have taken probiotics for a long time. Why? Because they have become trendy, and Erin Andrews made me do it. I never knew what to look for or how certain foods were affecting my stomach, but after a few days with my new probiotics, and healthier habits, I am already feeling a big difference in discomfort without taking all of the aforementioned goodies, pills and potions. This is a long video, and there is also a part where they push their own probiotics, but it was also very informative, and I will be happy to break it down for you.
Your digestive tract is home to over 25 billion different bacteria. Some of which are very good for you because they aid in digestion and fight disease. Candida is considered a bad bacteria. Candida remains in your GI tract because, who wouldn’t want to be first in line to the buffet? It is normal to have some gut yeast in your stomach at all times, and as long as the ratio of 80% good bacteria to 20 % yeast is sustained you should be fine. So without further ado, according to this video the culprit of stomach discomfort is…
You guessed it! Overgrowth of gut yeast. Gut Yeast is fueled by sugar, including artificial sweeteners, and when gut yeast outnumbers the good bacteria in your stomach, your body starts to crave anything that will fuel it. When yeast numbers are high, they can even begin snacking on the good bacteria that your GI tract desperately needs. Diet sodas, sweets, pasta or pizza are a few of the foods that will fuel the Candida fire. Oh, and Preservatives are another yeast driver!
Four Foods You Should Stop Eating Immediately:
1) Azodiacarbonamide – A chemical used as a foaming agent in plastics, and also an additive in flour used in a lot of fast food chains. Subway just took the chemical out of their bread. They may have lost Jared to jail, but they no longer add the same chemical to their bread that yoga mat companies add to their mats! Kudos to them…’Eat Fresh’.
2) Diet Soda or Artificial Sweetener-Aspartame like we said before feeds the gut yeast, and in many clinically studies it has been found that people who drink diet soda gain weight around their midsection due to this fact.
3) Excessive sugar-In the form of sweets and processed carbohydrates that turn into sugar. In the video they say coffee, but it is more the added sugar people add to coffee. So try switching to green tea or black coffee. The American Heart association recommends 5-8 grams of sugar per day, but the American diet consists of way more because of the amount of added sugar and preservatives food companies add for taste and shelf life.
4) Alcohol– Limit alcohol consumption. Not because it turns to sugar in our gut, it doesn’t btw, but it does t kill the healthy bacteria, and usually leads to poor food choices, which fuel gut yeast. To cure a hangover we always we usually crave carb and sugar filled treats, but this will only fuel the yeast in your tummy.
Our guts contains 60 percent of all the cells in our body. Over time, consumption of the above foods increase gut yeast, and can lead to something called ‘leaky gut’. Which can then lead to a plethora of different issues from adult acne and weight gain to sheer exhaustion, ADD and brain fog.
Benefits of getting gut yeast under control:
1-Metabolism Speeds Up-You can digest food efficiently and usually lose weight
2- As leaky gut retreats you may experience increase in libido
3-More energy without coffee
4-Clear Skin
What to look for when buying probiotics:
1-Must be able to get through stomach bile and bacteria (Should say this on the label)
2-Large quantities of good bacteria (15 billion or more)
3-Contain at least 7 different strains
Probiotics today do not always have to be refrigerated. They have successfully freeze dried many options. So, go out and find yours today! I picked up Complete Probiotics by Dr. Mercola. I take them first thing in the morning, and if pills are too hard for you to take try drinking unsweetened Kefir 3-4 times a day or fermented veggies like sauerkraut or kimchee. Personally, I think popping a couple of pills is a tad bit more realistic. I hope you all had an amazing holiday season, and found this article helpful! Comment below with probiotics you love.
