Raise your hand if you’ve ever experienced that feeling of “butterflies” in your stomach, or you’ve had a “gut-feeling” something just wasn’t right.  My guess is, a lot of you are nodding your head.  Those feelings, the “butterflies” and “gut-feeling”, are signals coming to us from our Second Brain.

YUP, that’s right, I said Second Brain.

You see, our gut is responsible for far more than the just processing food.  The digestion process is just the tip of the iceberg.  Maintaining a healthy gut is vital to one’s overall health.  Believe it or not, the food we consume, what we drink, the environment we live in, the jobs we either love or hate, worry or constant stress, day in and day out can greatly affect how healthy our second brain is.

Wow!

Pretty amazing, don’t you think? 

Having a healthy gut involves many things, far beyond the foods we chose to fuel our body with.  I’m continually amazed how incredibly smart the gut is.  To improve our overall health, first we must examine a few things about our lifestyle.  

No, you don’t need any fancy, expensive tests for this. 

Ask yourself these things:

• Does your diet consistent of highly processed “fake” foods?
• Are the foods you eat filled with artificial flavors and sweeteners?
• Do you eat foods filled with artificial dyes and ingredients you can barely pronounce let alone know what they mean?
• Does your diet mainly consistent of fast food?
• Do you eat a lot of packaged frozen meals?
• Do you chose quick-on-the-go meals?

When you go grocery shopping, what aisles do you typically shop in: the middle or outer edges of the store?

At the checkouts do you grab a soda or a few candy bars to snack on in the car?

Yes, at many points I have been guilty of saying YES to every single one of these questions.  And not just for a short period of time either… YEARS!

Examining our lifestyle and what we eat is a crucial step in understanding our overall health, wellness, and even happiness.

Unhealthy Diet = Unhealthy Gut

As an example:

Let’s say you consistently fuel your vehicle with bad gas.  What do you suppose happens?  The obvious answer is, it won’t run efficiently.  You’ll have poor gas mileage and certainly require more maintenance/tune-ups.  That will result in money out of your pocket.  Let’s face it, who wants to spend their hard earned money on their vehicle?  Not me!  I’d much rather spend that money on a vacation. So, because we made a poor choice in buying gas we end up spending more on maintenance.  But, since we have to get from point A to point B, we must do what’s necessary to keep our vehicle running as smoothly as possible.

This metaphor can be extended to our gut.  The food (fuel) we consume will either help us run at peak efficiency or we’ll run poorly.  

Plain and simple, there is no gray area here.

If your diet consists of highly processed, sugar foods, day after day, you’ll likely experience one or more of the following:

• Digestive issues – diarrhea, constipation, reflux or heartburn, flatulence and irritable bowel syndrome.
• Weight gain
• Fatigue
• Joint pain
• Skin issues – eczema, psoriasis, skin rashes
• Headaches
• ADHD
• Anxiety or depression
• Concentration and memory issues
• Overall mood and mental health

WARNING!

These are all potential signs your body is trying to tell you what you are eating is just plain wrong. 

These are just the physical affects we actually feel.

What about the ones we can’t see like, high cholesterol, high blood pressure or Type 2 Diabetes?  These health conditions have serious consequences when left untreated.  Our bodies are just like the vehicles we drive, when they run poorly, we need to spend more money to keep them running normally again.  

Immune System

Did you know two-thirds of our immune system lies within our gut?  When there is an imbalance in our gut, our immune system also takes a big hit. 

Your diet, the way and what you eat, is crucial for a healthy gut.  “Leaky gut” is a condition which the lining of the small intestines become damaged, allowing undigested food particles, toxic waste products, like – Viruses, Yeast, Parasites and other gut flora organisms, to “leak” through the intestines and flood the blood stream.   This damage is caused by eating poor quality food.

What you suppose happens when those foreign bodies end up floating around in your body, outside the digestive tract?

Your body screams, ATTACK!

No kidding, your body is at war… Your body is fighting against itself.  Your immune system jumps into high gear, trying to neutralize the situation by increasing inflammation to the area of the gut and throughout the entire body.

Over time, as your gut continues to leak, chronic inflammation builds up resulting in more issues such as autoimmune diseases. 

Healthcare Spending

When it comes to our health, we spend thousands of dollars on medication, frequent doctor visits and treatments to keep us moving from day to day.  Unfortunately, these only treat the symptoms.  They do not address the root cause.  It’s like slapping a band-aid over a wound and calling it good. 

Folks, that is one of the worst things we can do for our bodies.

People diagnosed with diabetes spend an average of $13,700 on medical expenses per year. About $7,900 is directly linked to diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.

If you’re not pre-diabetic or diabetic, GREAT!  However, think about all the other medications and treatments you might spend money on – maybe you only have a couple of the following: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, chronic skin issues, frequent headaches or constant aches and pains.  How are you treating those conditions? 

With your money AND your time.

Wouldn’t you love to spend that money on things that truly matter to you?  How nice would it be not to have to take a handful of medication every morning?  Wouldn’t you much rather to go through your day feeling amazing?  How about using that extra money by taking that long, overdue vacation.

I’m picturing myself sitting on a beach, feeling the warmth of the sun, a gentle breeze, listening to the ocean waves.  Maybe that’s not your ideal “happy place”, but picture your own happy place and how you’d feel –   Relaxed, no stress or worries.  Remember what we told you about Stress a short time ago? If not, click that link, and read that post!

Dr. Bert 

I’ll reference one of my favorite health and wellness authors, Bert Herring MD: 

“The average American has 23 pounds of surplus fat, which is over 80,000 calories’ worth of surplus fuel.  If all adults with a fat surplus were to start losing fat a rate sufficient to lose the surplus within a year, they’d each save at least $37 on food that year. That money saved means the food industry would lose $8.6 billion or more in retail sales that year. If the food industry is not getting the cash, where is it going?  It’s yours!  Yours to save or spend on something else!”

As a side note, his book: AC: The power of Appetite Correction is AMAZING!

Conclusion

Taking care of our second brain is just as important as taking care of the brain in your head.  It needs to be nourished and maintained to function properly.  From all my years of researching weight loss, mental health and gut health, I have chosen to make healthier decisions because I WANT to feel and function as best as I possibly can.  This is one reason why I have chosen to live an Intermittent Fasting lifestyle.  This way of eating (WOE) that makes me feel the best.  My gut is happier.

Here at T2D Adventures our mission is to empower you with knowledge, so you can make healthier choices.

What kind of fuel will you continue to run on?  

Good health begins in the gut…  The next time you have a gut feeling, you should probably listen to it.

-Nicole

Please check out our other posts:

1.  No More Diets!
2.  The Power of Gratitude
3.  No More Yo-Yo Dieting!

And our Recommendations Page!