Your health = Your gut health.

How to keep you gut healthy, fit and happy.

6 min readSep 14, 2017

The more I read about the connection between our gut, our microbiome, our gut bacteria and everything we are, everything we feel, think and do, the more fascinated I become with this intricate network of life, that exists inside of us, connecting us to what exists outside of us.

While reading the book, The Mind-Gut Connection, I had the wildest theories about how our gut might be that link, that connects all of us, connects us to our planet and our environment.

This mind-gut connection, we are learning more about, explains so much in our behavior, in our feelings and decisions — all our gut feelings, gut decisions.

Did you know, that at least 40% of your biochemistry (different molecules, circulating inside of you, that create physical sensations, emotions, that drive us (neurotransmitters and hormones) to do anything), 40% of that is created on a daily basis by our gut bacteria, that are not even us! And the processes, that biochemistry affects — it’s everything we do, everything we are.

Next time you feel more inclined to make a certain decision — stop for a moment and think, who is making that decision and why, why you might be feeling a certain way about a particular outcome.

I always knew, that certain foods make me feel happy or sad, full of energy boldly going after my dreams or barely getting out of bed — I just didn’t understand why! Now I do understand — my best moments are the moments, when I take the best care of my gut, and my weakest moments are the ones, when I fail to take care of my gut through my nutrition, poor stress/self management, poor control of my environment.

There is no magic anymore.

You see, we are only 10% human. 100 trillion cells in our body are not even us! It’s all the bacteria in our gut, on our skin — everywhere in and on our body. If those bugs do not like something or someone we expose them to, they will make us feel that dissatisfaction through stomach issues, bad mood and depressions, pains. And it’s not like they have anything against you, or they think, or plot their and your actions — they just want to live a good life, they want to thrive! And we, you and me, happen to be the home for them, home, that they will make sure we take good care of, or suffer the consequences of our improper property maintenance.

The book has many examples, studies, real-life stories about: how what we feel is created by biochemistry, that is largely created by our gut. Our thoughts and decisions are influenced by our gut too through biochemical cocktail our bugs contribute to. Auto-immune conditions, degenerative diseases, inflammation and obesity, the drive to eat, sleep and procreate, even our entrepreneurial or athletic pursuits or the lack of — it’s all driven to some extent by our gut. I even got to think, how we might be choosing our partners, friends, by “gut” feeling… Who is in charge there? And who is REALLY choosing our social circle?

Just something to think about…

In the meantime, since what we are, what we think, what we do is so largely affected by our gut (This starts in your mom’s womb by the way, before you can even make a decision), it just makes sense to get familiar with healthy-gut lifestyle.

Here are the recommendations from the book, you must start applying today, to keep your gut health, fit and happy.

Keep your 100 trillion friends happy — and they will take care of you, protecting you, nourishing you, giving you energy and happy feelings. Attracting people you want to be around.

HOW AND WHAT TO FEED YOUR GUT MICROBES:

Aim to maximize gut microbial diversity by maximizing regular intake of naturally fermented foods and probiotics.

Reduce the inflammatory potential of your gut microbiota by making better nutritional choices.

Cut down on animal fat in your diet.

Avoid, whenever possible, mass-produced, processed food and select organically grown food.

Eat smaller servings at meals.

Be mindful of prenatal nutrition.

Reduce stress and practice mindfulness.

Avoid eating when you are stressed, angry, or sad.

Enjoy the secret pleasures and social aspects of food.

Become an expert in listening to your gut feelings. Even though we humans are fascinated by the exploration of the frontiers in space and in the vastness of the oceans, it seems that until recently, we completely ignored the complex universe within our own bodies. While much is still to be learned about the influence of this system on our health and well-being, the emerging science is already having a major influence on our mind and body. The brain-gut-microbiome axis links our brain health closely to what we eat, how we grow and process our food, what medications we take, how we come into this world, and how we interact with the microbes in our environment throughout life. Now that we are beginning to fully understand this marvelous complexity of universal connectedness, in which we as humans represent only a tiny fraction, I am convinced that we will view the world, ourselves, and our health with very different eyes.

If you miss my Daily Bite of Health in your inbox some days, and have no idea how to live healthier today, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube for Daily Bites of Health — you’ll find everything you need there to live healthier, fitter and smarter life (upgraded with your own SIX PACK).

Healthy living trivia

My WOD 9/14/2017

My staples I always have in the fridge: lots of greens and herbs, good salad dressing I love, fatty fish and sauerkraut.

Chocolate = Pleasure + Health (We are raising our seed capital to launch the product to the market. In the meantime, if you are in NYC and want to get a healthy chocolate delivery — say so! Angela at CreateYourself.Today)