Reset the Digestive System, Naturally

Reset the Digestive System, Naturally

Ever feel like your digestion needs a reset? Or maybe it's your hormones and energy level...Do you have too much inflammation? If you're looking for a food-based way to help your body and digestive system from the ground up, start with a food-based Digestive Cleanse. During a Digestive Cleanse, foods that may cause inflammation are avoided and foods that provide nutrients to promote detoxification are encouraged.

When your body is eliminating toxins, those toxins pass through the colon, or large intestine, before they leave. If your colon is blocked or not fully functioning, the toxins and metabolic waste you are cleaning from your cells will be reabsorbed. This is true for excess hormones and cholesterol as well. A poorly functioning gut will work against your efforts at getting healthy. A healthy colon will typically have two to three bowel movements daily if you eat two to three major meals.

Besides its role in digestion and elimination, the gut also plays a role in mental health. The majority of serotonin and dopamine, important neurotransmitters for mental health, are made in the gut. Approximately 15 percent of the intestinal lining is composed of enteric endocrine cells, which produce over 90 percent of the serotonin and over 50 percent of the dopamine neurotransmitters. The brain does not produce most of its own neurotransmitters; the gut does! Because of this, the Digestive Cleanse will often provide improvements in cognitive and emotional wellness as well.

In addition to improving the functioning of the colon and gut lining in a Digestive Cleanse, we also need to improve the level and diversity of good bacteria in the gut biome to have optimal health. With all of these pieces at play, it helps to have a guide. For this reason, I wrote the Body Tune-up. The Body Tune-up starts with a 10-day Digestive Cleanse to lay the groundwork in understanding (and eating!) optimal foods for the gut. The book offers three additional cleanses totaling six weeks.

The paperback version of the book is available for purchase.  With the book, you can learn more and cleanse on your own. Or, check out the Body Tune-up workshop offered every fall (open to long-distance clients as well via Zoom).