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Jul 06 2015

How Gut Health Equals A Happy Gut Mind

To Have A Happy Gut You Have To Understand The Gut Brain Connection

By Maya Cordova

Have you ever felt “butterflies” in your stomach? Do you recall ever having a “gut wrenching” experience or a “gut feeling”? These terms are often used to describe sensations that are paired with emotional responses. They are created by the interaction between the gut and the brain! In the following I will define the gut, describe the gut brain connection, and finally, explore the influences of food, how to manage cravings, and how to make healthy nutritional choices.

The gastrointestinal tract, also known as the gut, begins at the mouth, draws down into the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and ends at the colon. Within the intestinal sheaths of our digestive tract we each have over 100 million neurons that are in constant communication with our brain. This means there are more neurons in our belly than in our in our spinal chord and our peripheral nervous system! These digestive neurons make up the Enteric Nervous System, and are directly affected by the emotions we experience moment by moment. Some common emotions that influence the gut are Exhilaration, Happiness, Sadness, Anger, and Anxiety. The particular experience of Stress and Anxiety impacts the function of the GI tract by causing an inflammatory response and increased acidity. This causes poor nutrient absorption and higher risk for disease. According to a study done by Harvard Medical School, “a person’s stomach or intestinal distress can be the cause or the product of anxiety, stress, or depression.” This is why it is extremely important to become aware of certain stressors in our lives, and learn how to manage them in healthy ways.

Great strategies for relieving stress are: Exercise, Listening to Music, Engaging in Creative Expression (Art, Writing, Dancing, Music etc.), Going for a Walk in Nature, Meditation, Deep Breathing, Yoga, and Counseling.

Nutrition For Gut Health!

Peer-reviewed science is also making clear to us that the foods we choose to put into our body actually cause specific emotional responses. What we eat determines our mood and plays a huge role in determining the health of our brain. According to Dr. David Perlmutter (a leading global speaker and author on nutritional health), eating a high carbohydrate and low fat diet is actually one of the leading causes of brain disease! In order to prevent diseases such as Parkinson’s, Dementia, Alzheimer’s, M.S., Autism, Schizophrenia, ADHD, Coronary Artery Disease, and Diabetes, it is important to eat a diet that is low in carbohydrates (gluten, processed sugar, and alcohol), and high in organic healthy fats and proteins, vegetables, and fermented foods. More than half of our brain is made of fat! Therefore, it is essential to consume healthy fats that will continue to nourish the brain.

Just like the emotional experience of Stress and Anxiety, having a high-carb diet causes increased acidity and inflammation in the body…not to mention making it incredibly challenging to lose weight. The physiological response of inflammation actually changes the bacteria that line the walls of the GI tract. This gut flora, also known as our good “helper” bacteria, aids in the digestion of our food and helps boost the immune system. It is possible to balance the acidity in the gut by eating fermented foods, and incorporating live pro-biotic supplements into your daily dietary routine. This not only allows the body to become more alkaline, making it challenging for microorganisms causing illness and disease to survive, but also soothes the inflammatory response, and replenishes the gut flora that is essential for our overall health.

Foods to avoid: Sugar, artificial sweeteners, gluten, alcohol

Foods to savor: Nutrient dense and organic fiber rich veggies and fermented foods with probiotics such as Kimchi, Tempe, Adzuki Bean Miso, Sauerkraut, Kefir, and Kombucha. Live probiotic supplements, grass fed beef, wild caught fish, free range eggs, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, seeds, and avocado.

Mind Set For Gut Health.

Retrain Your Brain!! You Can Do It!!

Now that you know what is good for your body, it is time to change those unhealthy eating habits and make your brain and body happy and healthy. This means connecting to your true emotional and nutritional needs, making healthier choices, and managing your cravings. When you begin to feel a strong craving towards food, important questions to ask yourself are:

Am I stressed out right now?

During a stressful situation, your brain releases a hormone called Cortisol. According to Dina Aronson (a registered dietitian and nutritional author), excess levels of Cortisol can cause weight gain, high blood pressure, high blood glucose levels & suppressed insulin (aka. Diabetes!), inflammation and acidic blood, insomnia, poor memory, constipation, osteoporosis, diminished sex drive, muscle weakness, depression, anxiety, and irritability. High levels of Cortisol can also cause pre-mature aging and suppresses DHEA, aka “youth” hormone. Cortisol prepares the body for the fight-or-flight response, making it very challenging to make rational decisions.

Since glucose becomes high in the blood after the release of Cortisol, but is not absorbed into the cells, the body thinks that the cells need more glucose…more sugar…more carbs!! The body thinks that it is hungry, and the appetite is stimulated.

Comfort foods that are high in sugar actually blunt the release of cortisol. This provides temporary relief in symptoms of stress. Meanwhile, the brain is becoming conditioned into believing that it needs sugar to feel good and that carbs are the solution to unpleasant emotions and experiences! When you reach for that cupcake, your leftover pasta, that bag of chips, or those brownie bites, ask yourself “Am I stressed out?” Then stimulate your own happiness by putting on your favorite CD, exercising, taking a deep breath or meditating, calling a supportive friend, or going for a walk outside. You can even distract your brain by writing someone an email or engage in reading an interesting book. Retrain yourself to partake in activities that make you feel good, but don’t cause the gut and brain to suffer. Then you can begin to address the causes of the present stressors, make necessary changes, and empower yourself to keep living the healthy life you want to live.

Am I getting enough sleep?

Diminished sleep actually causes an increase in the hormone Ghrelin, an appetite stimulator, and decreases the hormone called Leptin which tells the brain when you are full! Allow at least 7-10 hours of sleep per night. A great strategy to overcoming your cravings is to take a quick 10-minute nap.

Am I drinking enough water?

Remember it is important to drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day! If you do not consume enough water then the body may confuse the thirst response with the hunger response. When a food craving occurs, it is beneficial to drink at least one full glass of room temperature water before consuming any food. This may diminish the craving completely.

Another technique that will assist with overcoming food cravings is the practice of affirmation and visualization. In the moment of a food craving immediately tell yourself “Stop!” Then visualize yourself healthy, fit, and happy. Feel the sensations of that vision with all of your senses. Repeat a supportive affirmation such as “I am healthy…I eat healthy and I am fit…I love veggies” etc. Eventually, you will be able to manifest your vision and will no longer crave the foods that do not serve your highest good!

All human beings are capable of breaking patterns and cravings, and you can do it too!! May your gut and brain be forever happy and healthy! Happy gut health!
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Jun 22 2015

The Weight Loss Killer

Stopping this one thing will drastically help your weight loss

Is this stopping your weight loss?

“Just one can’t really hurt too much, can it?”

In his book Eat More Weigh Less, Dr Dean Ornish cites a study that found drinking three ounces of alcohol reduced the body’s ability to burn fat by one third. (Other studies have shown that alcohol can hinder fat burning up to 73%.)

So if you’re looking to get rid of that beer belly or unwanted fat around your midriff, you’ll have the best results if you totally eliminate alcohol from your diet.

If that’s not incentive enough, here’s something else…

A recent study found that men consume an additional 433 calories on the days they drink a moderate amount of alcohol (61% of that comes from the alcohol itself.)

The study also showed that on the days when alcohol was consumed, more meat and other foods containing high levels of saturated fat were also eaten (and less fruit and milk were consumed.)

Quote:

“Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy.” – Frank Sinatra

It seems pretty clear that if you have a weight loss goals the first this you must stop/severely moderate is your alcohol consumption.
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Jun 22 2015

Personal Training Success Story

Personal Training Success Story- Mary Brown

I find Mary very interesting, so it was a great pleasure to interview her this month for our member of the month segment. So before I even got into the pre-determined questions I wanted to find out more of just who she was and what made her tick. Turns out Mary has a very diverse background. She was born in Iowa, but through her interest in genealogy found out she has Native American and African American in her blood lines. This ethnically diverse woman also has a talent for art, and took her talents to the Big Apple to pursue her passion. Unfortunately as she said was a “starving artist” and moved to Santa Fe and became a fourth grade teacher. She loved teaching her kids and has since retired and is now in search of more ways to challenge herself. One of these ways to keep improving her body and her mind was to start taking the Posture Perfect classes. Since we share a space with another gym I get to meet people outside of SolCore Fitness while at work. One of these people was Mary. She was always so friendly and was always working hard. She had her routine and she stuck with it. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when she jumped in with two feet and rocked the classes. Anybody who meets Mary would feel the sense of strength that she exudes, and it is that strength of will that has made Mary this month’s

Personal Training Success Member Of June.

What made you decide you wanted/needed to start a program? I didn’t want to shrink! I had also seen a lot of my friends start to have a lot of physical issues. They were also starting to have a lot of mental issues as well that were a direct result of their physical issues. I absolutely did not want that to happening to me. I also really enjoy challenging myself.

What did you try before? I have always been active. I especially love hiking. Most recently I had done Olympic lifting and was on a machine workout when I started your class. I was not fond of the machine workout because I didn’t feel like I was being challenged.

What results have you achieved since starting your program and are proud of? I have gotten stronger, have lost inches, have more energy and much better balance, but most of all I have much more confidence in my body and in myself.

Do you have a favorite exercise? Least? What do you like or don’t like about them? The ones where you are on all fours with your arm up are the hardest for me (Upper Thoracic ELDOA’s). I don’t like the way they feel while I am doing it, but I do like the results. I actually like the Frogs (What!). Again they are really tough, but I feel great afterward. And any of the spine work we do is great.

What are some challenges or goals you are currently working on? I want to continue to get stronger.

What do you like best about our program/having a trainer? I love the people that I take class with. They are so motivating to me. I know that each and every one of them is working on something really tough, and the effort that they put into it puts me in awe of them. I love how patient you guys are, how skilled and intelligent.

What advice would you give to the other SolCore Fitness members? Keep it up!!!***

What would you say to someone on the fence about joining our program? Join!!!***

***She told me to put the exclamation points in there***

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Jun 12 2015

Holistic Personal Training- Say No To GMO’s

SolCore Fitness Santa Fe practices Holistic Personal Training.

What does that mean “Holistic Personal Training.” It means that the program that you are on should take into consideration diet and lifestyle factors as well as a complete exercise program. So if you are one of those people who is on the newest diet craze or fitness craze, I implore you to take a little more consideration in what you are doing to yourself.

Below is an article that we believe in. To us practicing holistic personal training means that we need to be aware of how much “bad” stress we are putting on our body. It is not just about one thing that causes people to get sick, it is about the totality of what we are doing or not doing to ourselves. Eating to much non organic food means that we are ingesting to many chemicals and compounds that our body doesn’t know how to deal with.

“By 2025 One in Two Children will be Autistic.”

The above quote — and shocking prediction — was said recently by Dr. Stephanie Seneff a senior researcher at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Her “one in two” prophecy is based upon the following pattern…

In 1975, 1 in every 5000 would develop autism. In 1985, it was 1 in every 2,500. In 1995, it was 1 in every 500, in 2005 in was 1 in every 166 and today it is approximately 1 in every 68 children.

In her June 5th 2014 report called Is Roundup the Toxic Chemical That’s Making Us All Sick? she presents a chart that shows the correlation between the use of Monsanto’s Roundup (which contains the active ingredient glyphosate) on crops and the rising rates of autism.

If that were her only proof it would be easy for critics to dismiss as one could overlap a chart of anything that has gone up over the years on the autism chart and make a similar case, but her case against Roundup (specifically the glyphosate found in Roundup) is well founded.

She notes that the well-known bio-markers of autism –low serum sulfate, disrupted gut bacteria, inflammatory bowel, serotonin and melatonin deficiency, mitochondrial disorder, zinc and iron deficiency (and more) “can all be explained as potential effects of glyphosate on biological systems.”

From 1995 to 2005 the use of glyphosate in pesticides rose 1,500 percent. Every year a 100 million pounds of glyphosate is used on more than a billion acres in the United States alone according to an article published in Science in Society in 2010.

In the summary of her Is Roundup the Toxic Chemical That’s Making Us All Sick? report she says that we should be very worried about glyphosate contamination of our food supply and recommends that it be banned from agriculture. She also suggests that, in addition to autism, its use can be linked to the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, celiac disease and other intestinal disorders.

So how do you protect yourself against the effects of glyphosate? Avoid consuming GMOs (At 13 parts per million, GMO corn contains more than 18 times the safe level of glyphosate set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and support GMO labeling efforts.

Quote:

“It is commonly believed that Roundup is among the safest pesticides… Despite its reputation, Roundup was by far the most toxic among the herbicides and insecticides tested. This inconsistency between scientific fact and industrial claim may be attributed to huge economic interests, which have been found

Very interesting and thought provoking info. I realize some objections may come saying “I’m to busy to cook all these meals.” Well don’t stress because as long as you are 80 to 90% good at home you don’t have to worry if you go out to eat at your favorite restaurant and they don’t use organic ingredients.

Another objection: “Organic food is to expensive!” With the rise in popularity in people wanting Organic food grocers now have to compete for business and this means discounts. Also going to the farmers market cuts out the middle man and now you get a better price and the farmer keeps more of the money. And if you are really money conscious know that cancer treatments are not cheep.

Don’t just perform random acts of movement for your workouts and don’t throw up your hands because eating organic is “hard.” Take control of your health with a Holistic Personal Training Program.
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