3 Cleanses to Get Your Brain-Gut Connection Back On Track
What signs did your body give you to let you know that it was under distress in 2020?
Have you ever taken a step back to listen to your body regarding warning signs? You have likely heard about the gut-brain connection and have a basic understanding of the concept - butterflies in your stomach, pit in your stomach, or nausea to name a few.
But, do you know a barrier to being able to feel the more subtle warning signs is a leaky, inflamed, or improper functioning gut? This may seem daunting and overwhelming - but there are ways to work toward healing the gut microbiome and one of our favorite recommendations is through detoxing and cleansing your system so that it may run optimally. A clean system performs at peak performance so when you take time out to cleanse your body system, you are allowing your body to reset.
What better time to reset than the start of a new year?
To welcome in 2021, we have our 3 favorite cleanses that get your brain-gut communication back on track.
Fasting
There are several ways to fast including time restricted feeding, intermittent fasting and water fasting. We highly recommend you do some research on which is best for you. While fasting, you will restrict calories for a specific amount of time and can consume just water or eat only certain days of the week or times of the day. This break from digestion allows your gut to take some time off from doing work and possibly reset in order to run optimally.
Juice Cleanse
Adding calories in through fruit and vegetable juices gives your gut reset it needs while still consuming calories. During a juice cleanse, you juice fruits and vegetables that provide specific nutrients and have properties that meet the specific needs you are seeking. Many people visit local juiceries to purchase their premade juice cleanses - but you can definitely juice from home with equal success.
Elimination Cleanse
Sometimes your body just needs a reset from specific, hard to digest foods. In an elimination cleanse, you specifically eliminate all foods from your diet except the blandest, easily digestible foods so that you are able to continue eating while giving your body foods. During elimination cleanses, it is a great time to give your gut kimchi, sauerkraut, and kombucha to flood it with probiotics and add onion and garlic to your foods for flavor and prebiotics. Most people eliminate the heavy hitters like gluten, sugar, dairy, and animal protein during an elimination cleanse.
On the other side of whichever cleanse you choose, we highly recommend adding some overall great gut health changes to your lifestyle.
Drink lots of water - aim for 0.5 ounce for every pound you weigh (so, if you weigh 150 pounds, drink 75 ounces of water minimum daily)
Add more prebiotics and probiotics - some of our favorite fermented foods/ drinks (probiotics) include kombucha, kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickles. Some great natural ways to include prebiotics are eating garlic, dandelion greens, onions, leeks, and asparagus.
Eat foods high in fiber - you want to have regularly moving bowels - like 3-4 times daily - and eating foods high in fiber helps make that happen. Some great options include whole grains, of course, but nothing gets you filled with fiber like fruits and vegetables! Some favorites include: apples, potatoes (skins on), and greens.
And our favorite recommendation - FIND WAYS TO DECREASE STRESS! We recommend yoga, meditation, ceremony, and connecting with your tribe.
What cleanse do you plan to try in 2021?