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Surprising Benefits of Eating Kimchi

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Today we’re going to dig into an awesome gut healing food called kimchi. Kimchi is a world-famous traditional side dish in Korea.This food has rich historical roots: It is mentioned in many ancient Korean journals dating back thousands of years ago!


 
From being incredibly sour to crazy spicy, accompanied with that pungent odor–kimchi has a unique and delicious taste. In addition, kimchi is a fermented food and is therefore helpful to the friendly bacteria in your gut.

And your gut is 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. 
 
So it’s great to know about different foods that you can eat to add to the diversity of friendly bugs in your gut…like kimchi! So, kimchi is made from fermented Napa or Chinese cabbages along with other veggies, onion, garlic, spring onions, and gochugaru (ground Korean chili powder).
 
Let’s look at some benefits in the research of regularly eating kimchi:
 

Improves Digestion

Improved digestion is the first obvious benefit of regularly eating kimchi. The lactobacilli (one of your good gut bugs) gets depleted when you are stressed and have an unhealthy lifestyle (eating processed foods, not drinking enough water, not getting enough sleep, not exercising regularly) causing you to have indigestion or diarrhea. Kimchi is rich in fiber and lactobacilli that help restore proper digestion.
 

Boosts the Immune System

Did you know that 75% of your immunity is found in your gut?! Your gut, which is home to countless microorganisms, is your very first defense against disease-causing microbes that enter your body through the mouth.
 
Eating fermented foods, such as kimchi, strengthens immune system
 

May Slow Down the Aging Process

Kimchi is rich in antioxidants–the secret to slowing wear and tear on your cells resulting in fewer outer and inner signs of aging. Think of oxidative stress like this: you know when you cut open and apple and shortly afterward it turns brown? That’s oxidative damage/stress.  Antioxidants fight this rapid aging brought on by stress and pollution from the environment. 
 

May Help With Weight Release

Kimchi is created with ingredients that are densely packed with nutrients: Napa cabbage itself contains vitamins A and C, at least 10 different minerals, and more than 34 amino acids!
 
What makes the vegetables in kimchi good for weight loss is that they are low in calories but high in satiating fiber–meaning you get full more easily. The lactobacillus in kimchi may also support weight balance.
 

May Fight Inflammation and Cancer

The ingredients in kimchi have anti-inflammatory properties and, as mentioned, are full of antioxidants. They promote your overall health and fight inflammatory illnesses and cancer. Cabbage in particular contains indole-3-carbinol, a powerful drug against colon cancer.
 
I did a little search and found this easy recipe on how to make kimchi. If it interests you, head over to this blog and learn to make kimchi on your own. It is also sold in many stores (look for organic and preferably in glass jars).
 
It is my passion to work with people like you whose health symptoms are getting in the way of you living life fully and with a sense of freedom in your body. I can help you to regain your health so you can feel great and free to enjoy life fully.
 
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

How to Choose the Best Probiotic

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Would you believe that not all probiotics are good?
 
Though probiotics have received a lot of attention over the years for their gut-friendly benefits and overall impact to well-being, it is unfortunate to say that some brands are not only not helpful, but may even make your symptoms worse.
 
According to the World Health Organization, probiotics are “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host.”
 
If you have been reading my newsletters, you know how much I recommend customizing gut support. This may include probiotics because of their ability to keep support a diverse gut bug environment and in turn make your immune system and digestive system strong. A healthy gut gives you more benefits than any other area of health which is why it is considered to be the root of all health (or disease if it isn’t working well).

So in this newsletter, I will shed some light on how you can find a probiotic that actually works for your gut, so you get the maximum benefits.
 
First, in order for a probiotic to be effective, it must be “alive.” It sounds funny that I should emphasize that because, by definition, probiotics are, in fact, live microorganisms.

Probiotic Essentials

Here’s the gist:
 
Some probiotics are not bottled in a way that they can survive supplement production or resist the acidity of the stomach. So they are dead even before you take them or by the time they reach the colon, and you have wasted your money on something that you thought could benefit you.
 
Second, for a probiotic to be effective, it must contain identified strains of bacteria that were proven to provide health benefits to humans. It’s not just about taking something that has a high level of bacteria per serving (in probiotics, this is called CFU or colony forming units). More CFU’s doesn’t mean it’s better or more effective.
 
Remember that each species of bacteria has thousands of strains. Some have no proven benefits to human health, while others remain unstudied.
 
All you need are the bacterial strains that have proven benefits and that can survive bottling preparations and the acidic journey towards the colon.
 
I recommend spore-based probiotics because they are specifically designed to make it through the acidic environment of the stomach. Spores are the building blocks of a new cell and they can remain dormant for a long time and “hatch” or “come to life” in the intestines where they can colonize, increase the diversity of the microbiome, and boost your immune system.
 
Again, they are more effective than ordinary probiotics because they have an endospore or outer shell that keeps the strains highly resistant to stomach acid.
 
I also recommend specifically the spore form of the bacillus strains. The benefits are powerful!

  1. One bacillus strain, Bacillus Indicus HU36(TM), produces important nutrients at the absorption site of your intestines. These nutrients are lycopene, astaxanthin, zeaxanthin, beta carotene, and lutein. It’s considered to be the most effective antioxidant probiotic strain on the market. 
  2. Bacillus strains keep bad bacteria away. According to studies, bacillus strains stop the growth of disease-causing bacteria in the intestines.
  3. Bacillus strains can fight SIBO or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. SIBO causes diarrhea, bloating, stomach pain among other symptoms. Other probiotics might increase SIBO, but there are specific bacillus strains that don’t such as Bacillus Clausii.

Overall, spore-based bacillus strains are helpful if you are on the journey to healing your gut so that you can reap the maximum benefits of a healthy microbiome.
 
I pick brands that I believe are worth the price and get the best health benefits. So with probiotics, I choose MegaSpore Biotic by Microbiome Labs. They have tons of legit research to back up their claims and I’ve seen great results with it.

It is recommended that you ease in with new probiotics rather than starting at the full amount on the label and I doubly recommend working with a practitioner to get the most out of your supplementation.

It is my passion to work with people like you whose health symptoms are getting in the way of you living life fully and with a sense of freedom in your body. I can help you to regain your health so you can feel great and free to enjoy life fully.
 
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