How Stress Weakens Your Gut Lining (and what to do about it!)

Today I want to talk with you about something really important involving your gut lining.

Why?

Because your gut is truly at the ROOT of your health.

Your gut is where you take all the good stuff you eat and drink and transform it into the many building blocks your body needs to make energy, think clearly, sleep well, maintain a healthy weight, build muscle, fight infections, and clear out toxins that need clearing out daily so you can thrive. 

It is my passion is to work with people like you whose health symptoms–like low energy, gut/digestive issues, excess weight, mood imbalance, chronic infections, and skin & sleep problems–are getting in the way of you living life fully and with a sense of freedom in your body. I help you to regain your health so you can feel great and free to enjoy life fully.

Part of what protects you is a part of your immune system called Secretory IgA (or SIgA). This is a substance that your gut makes and it acts as your first line of defense against toxins and microorganisms (like unfriendly bacteria, yeast, and other pathogens). Think of SIgA as your powerful gut warriors! You want to keep these warriors happy (functioning well and in the right amount).

What Disrupts Your Gut Lining

Some things that can get in the way of your gut and SIgA levels from doing their best are:

  • Highly processed foods
  • Pesticides and insecticides
  • Poor sleep
  • Sugar
  • Refined carbohydrates
  • Gluten
  • Parasitic infections
  • Fungal infections
  • Imbalances in your gut flora
  • Heavy metal toxicity
  • Chemical toxicity
  • GMO’s
  • Hormonal imbalances
  • Stress!

Common symptoms you might experience are:

  • Gas and bloating
  • Constipation or diarrhea
  • Indigestion or heartburn
  • Thyroid problems
  • Low or inconsistent energy
  • Food sensitivities
  • Chronic skin problems
  • Joint pain
  • Anxiety and Depression
  • Poor sleep

How to Support Your Gut Lining

You can do a lot to support your gut lining and reduce or eliminate your symptoms through diet and lifestyle. Don’t underestimate the value of stress management!!! It can make a world of difference in your gut health and quality of life. There are lots of ways to help manage your stress including breathing and meditation, but I’m an especially big fan of things that you can do on the go, during your day, to nip the damaging effects of stress in the bud and break out of the habit of stress (yes, it can become a habit!).

Here are some things that you can do to support your gut:

  • Avoid vegetable/industrial seed oils (like soy, cottonseed, corn, canola, and safflower) 
  • Get to bed by 10:30-11pm
  • Move your body
  • Reduce or phase out processed foods, refined carbs and sugar
  • Increase whole, unprocessed foods that are right for YOUR body
  • Hydrate
  • Use stress management tools DURING your day to reset your stress hormones (like HeartMath tools)

Beyond these basics, there are TONS of ways to create a customized self-care plan to help you take your health to the next level and feel great.

If you’re ready to discover where your best health has been hiding, I’d love to connect with you!
Apply for a complimentary Unstoppable Health Discovery Session. http://bit.ly/schedulinghealth (subject to availability).

Until next time, I’m wishing you unstoppable health!

~Rebecca

Brain & Gut Boosting Benefits of Phosphatidylcholine

Foggy thinking? Support Cellular Health in Your Brain!


Have you had a head or brain injury like a concussion? Do you experience foggy thinking or reduced ability to focus? We’re going to talk about how you can use an important molecule called Phosphatidylcholine to support your brain!

Phosphatidylcholine is a big word that can look intimidating, but basically, it’s a fatty building block of your cells. It’s a chemical that makes up part of your cell membranes and allows helpful fatty acids to travel around your body where they are needed. Your cell membranes are super important! They are the gate keepers of your cells. Inside your cells is where the magic happens and that magic won’t happen if nutrients can’t get into your cells because the outer membrane isn’t working. 



Without enough phosphatidylcholine, your cells will get damaged by oxidative stress (think of when you cut an apple and it turns brown: that’s oxidative stress). This damage causes dysfunction throughout your brain, digestive tract (aka your gut), and your liver.

Your gut is truly at the ROOT of your health.

Your gut is where you take all the good stuff you eat and drink (like phosphatidylcholine!) and transform it into the many building blocks your body needs to make energy, think clearly, sleep well, maintain a healthy weight, build muscle, fight infections, and clear out toxins that need clearing out daily so you can thrive.

It is my passion is to work with people like you whose health symptoms–like low energy, gut/digestive issues, excess weight, mood imbalance, chronic infections, and skin & sleep problems–are getting in the way of you living life fully and with a sense of freedom in your body. I help you to regain your health so you can feel great and free to enjoy life fully.

Brain Benefits of Phosphatidylcholine

Your brain is nearly 60% fat! And guess what? Most of that fat is made up of phosphatidylcholine. So you can see that it is essential to get enough phosphatidylcholine from your foods or supplementally.
Research supports that phosphatidylcholine can help people recovery from traumatic brain injury and protect against cognitive decline.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is brain dysfunction caused by an outside force to the head such as a blow or jolt.  1.4 million people suffer a TBI per year, but get this: 3 out of 4 are mild injuries that are not detected by MRI’s, yet still induce brain inflammation and dysfunction!

Symptoms of TBI’s include mental confusion, chronic headaches, mood changes, and an increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Multiple Sclerosis.

Phosphatidylcholine appears to support recovery from TBI by promoting the growth of new neurons and decreasing brain inflammation.

Phosphatidylcholine may also protect against dementia, improve depression, reduce anxiety and promote good sleep. It is a precursor to the brain chemical acetylcholine, which supports memory and clear thinking.

Energy, Gut, Liver & Detox Benefits of Phosphatidylcholine

Your mitochondria (where you make energy in your cells) are made from phospholipids including phosphatidylcholine. When your mitochondria get damaged, your energy production is going to go down. Phosphatidylcholine gives your mitochondria what they need to replace what gets damaged day to day from food and environmental toxins and other stress so that you can keep your energy production up.

Your gut lining (aka brush border of the intestine) also has a lot of phosphatidylcholine in the cell membranes. Inflammatory foods and exposure to pathogens can damage and destroy this lining. TO repair it, your body needs phosphatidylcholine. Are you noticing a pattern here?

Phosphatidylcholine supports your body in getting rid of toxins and helps your liver to do its job well.

Foods with Phosphatidylcholine

Phosphatidylcholine is found in egg yolks, beef liver, fish roe, sunflower seeds, beef, chicken, pork, soybeans, peanuts, and krill oil. Many fruits and veggies have some as well. However, research implies that most of us aren’t getting nearly enough phosphatidylcholine from our diets. If you continue to struggle with low energy, gut issues, foggy thinking, and poor detoxification, then you may need more phosphatidylcholine.

Supplement?

If you want to support your brain and gut health, reduce fatigue, and support detoxification, then phosphatidylcholine is one nutrient you should seriously consider incorporating into your diet and lifestyle.

There are many phosphatidylcholine products on the market. Micellized Pure PC by Quicksilver is a very high quality one that is very well absorbed because it’s broken down into small droplets. This is available through a practitioner. You can use this link and the code 1159 if you’d like to try it out.

Until next time, I’m wishing you unstoppable health!

~Rebecca

Keto Shepherd’s Pie

This recipe is SOOOO delicious! If you feel more satisfied, sustained, and lean when you eat a lower carb (but plenty of veggies), higher fat and moderate protein diet, this recipe is for you. If you’re not sure what your best “fuel mix” is, give it a try (and also, reach out to me to talk about how to test for the best foods for your body).

I used the recipe from this site: https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/keto-shepherds-pie with slight modifications (noted below)

Ingredients

Cauliflower mash

  • 1½ lbs cauliflower (can also use riced or frozen)
  • ½ cup crème fraîche or sour cream (I used sour cream)
  • 1 egg (I’ve made it with and without the egg and there isn’t a taste difference that I could tell–the mash holds together a little better with it)
  • 3 oz. butter, melted
  • ½ leek, finely chopped (I included this with the meat rather than in the cauli mash)
  • 5 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
  • salt and ground black pepper

Meaty Goodness

  • 1¾ lbs ground lamb or ground venison or beef (if you are a Santa Cruz local, Staff of Life has a blend of venison and beef that is AWESOME)
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (I like Lea & Perrins)
  • 2 tbsp tamari soy sauce (wheat free)
  • ½ tbsp tabasco (I omitted this)
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp butter, for frying

How to:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F
  2. Wash and cut the cauliflower into smaller pieces (or use riced OR frozen cauli to make it even faster and easier). Steam until soft. Drain thoroughly.
  3. Mash the cauliflower with a hand mixer or food processor. Mix in crème fraîche or sour cream, egg (if using), butter, leek and half of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Fry the ground meat in butter. Add the sauces and the spices.
  5. Spread the meat out in an oven-proof dish, cover with the cauliflower mash and top with the rest of the cheese.
  6. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!!!

In health, Rebecca