Imagine you have a pot of water boiling on your stove? You want to stop the boiling so you decide to throw some ice in the pot. What happens?
The boiling stops but only temporarily. The ice melts and the water will begin boiling again, right?
So you toss more ice in and then more; maybe you run out of ice and add cold water. The boiling stops but only briefly and then the water begins to boil, rumble, and steam again.
But what you really want is the boiling to stop so what do you need to do?
Obviously, turn off the burner on your stove, right!
So what does this have to do with your health?
If you are having chronic health issues including autoimmune disorders, then throwing some ice in may temporarily relieve your symptoms. But it’s not going to stop them long term.
Just like with our boiling water and ice analogy, your symptoms, whether that’s pain, hair loss, fatigue, trouble keeping weight off, bloating, etc. are symptoms – the warning lights telling you something’s wrong. There’s a root cause or several causes.
You need to turn off the burner, not toss ice in.
What do I mean?
Do you know what your microbiome is?
The microbiome is simply all the microorganisms and genetic material that live in your body like bacteria, fungi, and viruses. And although they’re so small – microscopic – they contribute in huge ways to our health and wellness. They can influence your metabolism, immunity, and whether you have pathogenic infections like parasites.
Let’s focus on your gut microbiome because the majority of the microbes reside there and how important it is to your health especially when you have autoimmune or other chronic health issues. Your microbiome helps digest your food, regulate your immune system and moods, and even helps produce some vitamins. Your gut is often called a second brain – it’s that important.
Did you know that 80% of your immune system is within your gut lining? Research is now linking autoimmune issues to the health of your gut microbiome.
According to Dr. Gabriella Safdieh, a board certified rheumatologist and pediatrician, any imbalance in your microbiome can contribute to the development of an autoimmune disease.
When we have an imbalance between the good bacteria and bad bacteria, that’s called dysbiosis. And this is associated with numerous diseases including Autoimmune Diseases such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, lupus, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and Multiple Sclerosis.
Your gut microbiome is not the only factor contributing to the development of an autoimmune disease, but it is extremely important. Other factors include environment, nutrition and diet, genetics, medication side effects, other medical conditions, and lifestyle.
So back to our analogy of the boiling water in the pot. If you knew your microbiome was key to your health but yet you didn’t do anything to help – you did not turn off the burner – or decrease the bad bacteria and increase the good bacteria, then what good is it going to do?
For example, let’s say you’re having a lot of pain due to a chronic health issue, maybe joint pains because I know how that is both personally and with clients. You’re taking NSAIDs often throughout the day which I do understand you may occasionally need. But you continue to take them every single day and numerous times. Plus, you continue to eat processed and sugary foods because you just like the taste and don’t feel like cooking even a couple times a week. But if I were to tell you those processed and sugary foods are actually causing more harm to your microbiome, creating more bad bacteria and hurting the development of good bacteria which is only going to make your pain worse long-term, then you’re really just tossing ice in the boiling water, right?
Maybe you’re fatigued or exhausted all the time. So you drink coffee or sugary sodas all day to give you energy. (Now I’m not talking about one or two cups of coffee in the morning.) That may help temporarily for just a few hours. But then the fatigue comes back. And what you’re really doing with the constant coffee and sugar is causing more the development of more bad bacteria and inflammation and preventing good bacteria and good gut health. Plus, you’re causing your cortisol levels and insulin levels to spike. All this harms your thyroid, your metabolism, and your microbiome which hurts your immune system. And remember, when you have an autoimmune disease your immune system is attacking your body by mistake – it’s a problem with your immune system. So wouldn’t you want to do everything possible to help your immune system and your gut microbiome?
So now you may be asking, what can I do to help?
Here are 3 simple strategies – you know I’m all about simple steps. Pick one of these this week:
- Eat nutrient dense and diverse foods – the more diversity you can eat, the more healthy microbes your gut will have which will help impact your health. An anti-inflammatory diet of less processed foods and more whole foods is the best. This week if you normally don’t cook at home at all, just plan to cook one or two meals. Keep it simple – a healthy protein, fat, carbs, and fiber. Maybe you cook chicken breasts in the oven or grill them, bake sweet potatoes with added coconut oil, olive oil, or avocado oil, and roast or grill asparagus. Have berries for dessert. That’s not too difficult to do. Just mark it on your calendar. Go to the store and do it.
- If you and your family don’t eat many vegetables, then just add one extra veggie per day this week. Look for what’s in season. I went to the farmer’s market this weekend and picked up some asparagus and purple sweet potatoes. Google your state for what veggies are in season (fresher and cheaper that way). You can prepare them however you want, but I love to chop and roast in the oven. Even if I’ve never had a veggie before, it tastes great this way. Click here for my roasted vegetables recipe.
- Instead of your daily after dinner sweet treat like ice cream or cake or cookies, simply pick one or two days you’re going to indulge. And the other 5 or 6 nights eat fruit or even an ounce of dark chocolate. Berries, apples, and bananas are sweet and will help satisfy that sugar craving. Some nights when I have an intense craving, I drink my healthy hot chocolate. Click here for that recipe. Or as it gets warmer, I’ll add ice and avocado and mix it in the blender for a cold treat. Click here for that recipe.
Now some people ask me about probiotics and those are needed for gut health – both prebiotics and probiotics. You can get those in foods or supplements, but I have had clients (plus myself) who have really inflamed guts and cannot take them initially. So you may have to proceed slowly while allowing your gut to heal. Other people have more compromised gut health and need some additional help to figure out what to do.
If that’s you, reach out to me. I do have openings and can help you. You don’t have to stay where you are with the symptoms of fatigue, brain fog, pain, gut problems, and weight issues. We will work together along with your medical practitioner to figure this out plus set up achievable goals and steps so you can learn how to live healthy and feel better in simple ways so you’re not overwhelmed. Click here to schedule a free 20 minute consult.
— Leah Cheshire, NBC-HWC
