Supporting the digestive system.


Sorry I have been absent for the last few weeks. Busy around here and then took a week vacation to California. I wanted to share some info on the gut because it is so important to have a healthy gut. Our gut is sometimes referred to as our second brain because it produces neurotransmitters.
Have you ever heard that if your gut isn’t healthy you aren’t healthy?  It is so true!

 Our health begins in our gut, if your gut isn’t working your body has a hard time getting daily toxins out,  and absorbing necessary nutrients. Our gut also produces neurotransmitters like serotonin which regulates appetite, mood, sleep, and relaxation. In fact 90% of serotonin is in your digestive tract. Also 30% of the nervous system is found in the gut and 70-80% of the immune system is found in the gut. The gut is often the first entry point for exposure to pathogens and your gut immune system needs to be thriving and healthy in order to avoid illness.Have you ever eaten a heavy meal and then experienced brain fog?  If your gut isn’t working properly your brain will not work properly. It is so important to have a healthy digestive system!  There is also a strong relationship between emotions in the brain and emotions in our “second  brain”. Think of nervousness and how it can make you feel like butterflies in your tummy or how about when you have a “gut feeling”.

So what are the organs in your digestive system?  The mouth, the stomach, the liver/gallbladder, the pancreas, the small and large intestines and the colon. Each of these organs plays an important part in nutrient absorption. The mouth has specific enzymes that break down carbohydrates, the stomach has hydrochloric acid which breaks down protein, fats are emulsified by the bile secreted by the gallbladder. There are also tons of good bacteria in the gut. These bacteria are often destroyed by the things we do like eating a bad diet, some prescription drugs like antibiotics which kill not only the bad bacteria but also the good bacteria that is in our gut to help keep us healthy. Stress is also not good on our digestive system, I know there’s that word again!  Stress is not good for any system in our bodies so if nothing else try your best to lower stress or work on changing how you react to it. I gave suggestions on dealing with stress in previous posts if you would like more info on it.

So how can you support your digestive system? Diet can play a big role fresh fruits and veggies, decrease sugar and processed gunk. Drink plenty of water to help our digestive system digest our food. Exercise is good in many ways, it helps to decrease stress which increases digestion.
Now let’s talk about Young Living products that can help our digestion. Omegagize is a supplement that is great for your cardiovascular system because it has essential fatty acids, omega 3s, but these are also essential for digestion. Life 9 which is a probiotic which helps replace all the good bacteria in our gut. Ningxia Red which helps control our blood sugar, Ningxia Red is a super food drink that I recommend everyone start with because it provides such overall support for our entire body. Our digestive system also needs enzymes to break down our food. There are four supplements that contain enzymes to help with this. Essentialzymes are slow acting, provide overall support and help to rebuild the necessary components of our digestive system. Essentialzyme 4 are fast acting and would be the one to use after a heavy meal. Detoxyzyme is also fast acting. We also have Mightyzymes made specifically for kids.
Multigreens help support normal Ph levels and increase oxygen.  Sulfurzyme supports your liver and stomach. Comfortone increases movement in the intestines. ICP is a product similar to Metamucil but without all the additives.

Oils that support a healthy digestive system are Peppermint vitality, Digize Vitality, and any of the Citrus vitality oils. Before Young Living when my kids were little I kept candy canes around for upset tummies.  There is something about peppermint that soothes the tummy!

If you want a great book on cleansing the body I highly recommend Inner Transformations Using Essential Oils. You can find it here https://www.discoverlsp.com/inner-transformations-using-essential-oils-2nd-edition.html  Three of my daughters, my husband and I have used this book and let me tell you the benefits from following her advice are amazing!
 
I also found a great article that talks about gut health and although not as thorough as the above book it is a great article. Here is the link http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/04/28/ultrawellness-lesson-4-gut-digestive-health/

Happy oiling,
Anna McElligott



0 Comments

Leave a Comment