Our overall health begins with gut health.  A healthy body, beautiful skin, luscious hair, our ideal body weight, abundant energy, and restful sleep is all benefited by a healthy gut and a healthy diet.  Today I want to share some tips for a healthy digestive system that has been literally life changing for me.  Having a wonderfully working digestive system is EVERYTHING that it’s cracked up to be!

1. Eat REAL Food + Incorporate Live Enzyme Rich Foods

I have watched so many documentaries on health and diet.  One thing that they all have in common is that processed foods are not your friend.  No one thrives on processed foods simply because processed foods have absolutely no nutritional value, and instead provide the body with 100% empty calories.  Processed foods also contain synthetic lab created chemicals and other toxins that actually kill the good bacteria in our digestive systems.  This later creates inflammation and becomes other body ailments and diseases.

I used to buy organic gluten-free quinoa/corn pasta.  That was until I realized that there were absolutely no nutrients in the pasta in terms of vitamin and minerals, only empty calories.  Although the pasta was organic and gluten-free, it added no nutrients to my diet and was therefore unnecessary.  Now I just make organic quinoa instead which has the calories, but also is protein rich with vitamins, and minerals.  I also stopped buying packaged food in general, and buy organic produce and bulk foods to create my meals from scratch.  It takes a bit of time, but it’s less time at the doctor’s later.  Learn how to become your own nutritionist!

2. Detox

There are many different ways to detox the body.  One of the easiest ways is to eliminate all processed foods and other toxins from ones diet, and replace them with live enzyme rich foods instead.  By simply incorporating raw foods into your diet, your body will naturally detox.  Also by eliminating processed sugars (meaning everything that is not fruit), as well as minimizing alcohol consumption will give your liver a major needed rest.  Other ways to detox are juice fasting, hydrotherapy, and using herbs.  In my opinion creating a healthy eating lifestyle is the best approach.

3. Your Best Food Lifestyle

Choosing the best way to eat for your body can be trial and error, but is worth finding out.  Unconsciously eating anything that is marketed as food just because you only live once isn’t going to honestly serve you in the long run.  I’m not going to tell anyone exactly how they should eat.  We are all so uniquely different.  Even those with similar curly hair don’t thrive on the same hair regimen, so why would all of our bodies thrive on the exact same diet.  No ones bodies thrives on crap though!

There are so many eating lifestyles such as paleo, raw, vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, etc.  Try whatever eating lifestyle which resonates with you, yet add tons of fruits and vegetables in with it.  My only advice is to leave anything packaged, bottled, and manufactured alone unless it is a single ingredient item.  You can learn to make your own sauces and dressings without the sugar, excessive sodium, and other unnessesary ingredients that your body does not need.  You can also make healthy desserts like this or this.  Plus it is so satisfying to create your own anyway.

4. Encourage Healthy Elimination

No one has time to be in the bathroom all day everyday, nor be worried about it.  Been there done that, and I have better things to do.  Changing my diet by eliminating all the cute processed foods and incorporating more raw live foods in my diet made a HUGE difference.  I also added two supplements which gave my other efforts an incredible boost without dependency.  These two supplements are systemic enzymes and food grade diatomaceous earth.

Systemic enzymes are anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrosis, blood cleansing, immune system modulating, and virus fighting for the entire body.  They definitely give all of the bodily functions a helping hand including the digestive system.  You can read more about systemic enzymes in detail here.

Diatomaceous earth is a naturally formed sedimentary rock that is extremely mineral rich.  It is composed of 85% silica which is vital to every organ in the body while promoting skin and heart health.  Diatomaceous earth is also an internal cleanser as it can remove harmful bacteria and parasites from the digestive system, as well as help to remove toxic debris from the lining of our digestive system.  With the walls of our digestive system free of debris, proper nutrients are better absorbed into the body.

(I usually take 1 tablespoon of diatomaceous earth in the morning with a glass of water usually 30-45 minutes before I take my systemic enzymes.  Please check with your physician before adding any new supplements.)

5. Hydrate Your Body

The easiest way to know if you are drinking enough water for your body is based on the color of your urine.  If your urine is dark yellow you are very dehydrated.  If your urine is a very light yellow to almost clear shade then you are hydrated.  Of course if you are eating beets or are taking a particular vitamin, the color will be obviously be different.  Yet drinking sufficient water is very important.

Hydrating your body properly can truly help with digestive health.  Eating fibrous enzyme rich foods without sufficient water only makes your body have to work harder.  It helps to drink the majority of your water in between meals versus with your meal.  When you drink water with your meal you are again making your digestive system work harder and diluting the digestive enzymes in your gut.

What is all comes down to…

When our digestive system is out of whack, inflammation and toxic impacted waste takes over.  Our body then gets bogged down and no longer assimilates the healthy foods we are eating properly.  Therefore the nutrients that we are eating are not being distributed to the rest of our body to provide optimal function.  Lethargy is a common symptom result.

True beauty is from a healthy lifestyle overall, not a prescription medication to treat acne, or solely a hair growth vitamin.  Beautiful skin and hair is an end result of a healthy body.  Chemicals in a bottle will not give you what you truly desire in the same way good health will.  When you change your lifestyle and focus on the full spectrum of health, your beauty naturally benefits.  Most importantly you will feel AMAZING and will be able to think clearly.

Your gut health is your beauty inside and out!

(Image by Dawn Michelle)

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