Your Gut: The Gateway to Health?
I watched a recent you-tube video on Debunking the Paleo Diet that clearly showed that our ancestors ate differently than the current Paleo culture would advocate.? It is a fascinating talk by archeological scientist Christina Warinner and worth the 22 minutes of your time.
However, this blog is not about the Paleo diet so if you are interested in my recommendations on it read this past blog.
This blog is about your gut and how important it is to overall health. For starters, your gut is the biggest organ in your body and approximately 30 feet long. Our intestines are the largest interface between the environment and us. One single layer of cells separates the blood stream from the intestines.
Since food and health is my job, I constantly think about how health is affected by what we put in our mouths. However, the last few weeks it’s really hit me how every morsel of food, where it comes from, and it’s integrity is key to overall health.
The gut is the organ that digests our food, is responsible for how it is processed for delivery to every organ and cell in our body. If one is eating a processed diet with suboptimal nutrients this affects one at the cellular level.
We all know that what we eat affects our health but do we really UNDERSTAND the ramifications of excess sugar, additives, preservatives, and toxic fats to our system, especially on a regular basis?
The take home messages from this video are sound:
We are evolved to eat fresh, whole foods. Our guts are full of good bacteria that regulate and protect your immune system, and inhibit bad bacterial growth. Whole foods have the complete package with fiber and roughage, which modulate metabolism and feed the good bacteria.
If we consume processed food full of preservatives we lose the connection and balance our bodies require. The loss of fiber exacerbates risk of diabetes, obesity and cancer. We lose the ability to know when we’re hungry or full. Our gut stops protecting us from disease and dumps toxic substances into our system and we wonder why we don’t feel good or have the energy we want.
It’s all so simple: eat whole real foods in season and stay away from the inside aisles of the grocery store. You’ll know what’s in your foods, which will provide the nutrients and fiber you need for health. Sounds to me like the gateway to better health!
