It’s that time of the year when holidays and festivities are upon us and perhaps it is also a time when we have indulged in eating a variety of foods or drinking beverages that may not be so good for us- or should I say for our stomachs? With that being said, it is most likely not the beginning of your gut not feeling so good.
Your “inner gut” is the hardware that digests, absorbs, and transforms what you eat into fuel and nutrition, allowing you to have energy to live life. You may be surprised to learn that you could have an enemy living deep inside you, inside your gut.
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
• Do you lack energy on a frequent basis, regardless of how much sleep you get?
• Do you ever have any muscular or connective tissue injuries?
• Are you frequently injured?
• Does your stomach bloat or feel irritated often?
• Do your muscles seem weaker more often than you’d expect from your training?
• Do you often feel like no matter how good your diet is, you still don’t feel as energized as you think you should?
• Are you experiencing hair loss or thinning?
• Do you eat wheat/bread products or sugary foods?
If you answered “yes” to a few of these questions, read on. Or maybe you know someone, a friend, your partner, or your child that falls into this category. You may be able to help yourself, and someone else too.
Your gut is the driver of optimal health. It is where foods and fluids are processed and then through proper digestion become the fuel your body relies on. If this magical engine is failing, you will suffer. How do you know if this is a problem? Did you answer “yes” to any of the questions above? Have you tried everything else?
Many of us have trimmed our diets down to perfection, and still haven’t had positive results. The reason is because inside the lining of our intestines is where we also carry bacteria. We have friendly bacteria, and then we have “not-so-friendly” bacteria called Candida. If you’re anything like me, Candida loves to rampantly take over the digestive tract time and time again.
The first signs of Candida are usually fatigue, no matter how much rest or sleep you get, and then bloating. The gut begins to swell and no matter what you eat or drink, even after drinking water, you never feel energized from the food source, and then you often crave sugars and caffeine for an instant pick-me-up.
Overtime you can begin to experience tissue injuries. Why? Because optimal nutrition is dependent on the absorption of the food and if you are no longer absorbing the nutrients you consume, your body becomes depleted and eventually will shut down.
There is a simple test you can do to find out if you have Candida. After trying this test for myself, I was surprised to learn I had it because I don’t eat dairy, gluten or wheat. It is important to do this test first thing in the morning before you eat, drink, or brush your teeth. Collect some saliva in your mouth and after you have a fair amount, gently spit into a glass of water and watch what it does. If your saliva stays afloat for 10-20 minutes, congratulations, you’re fine. If it begins to sink, either quickly or slowly over the next 10-20 minutes, you have Candida. Often it will be in tiny amounts that begin to break off and start to trickle down to the bottom.
What can you do to remedy Candida? A colleague and health practitioner friend of mine turned me on to a great product to combat Candida called Three Lac. To learn more about Three Lac visit www.ThreeMax.net, call (716) 373-0983, or contact Mike Winicki, Three Lac’s founder at mwinicki@yahoo.com.
Once you get started with removing Candida, you will begin to feel much better. Your energy will return and your physical, emotional and mental states will begin to become strong again. Often we don’t know how bad we are feeling until we start to make changes. We often think what we were experiencing is normal. From here you will improve your capacity to absorb proper nutrients, so you will get the most out of your diet, hydration and exercises. You will experience fewer injuries, have better recovery after your workouts; feel stronger, faster and leaner from your workouts as well.
Once you take this step of taking care of your insides, indulging won’t have such negative impacts on you. There is no time like the present to get your on track, to have a healthy and enjoyable season.
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