Whenever my immune system is weakened for some reason (stress related, lack of vitamin sun, mama burn out…) 😵 I notice a resurgence of symptoms that indicate my gut health needs a little love...
For me, it could be anything from skin inflammation, a few pimples, bloat, gas, or some stubborn extra pounds that won’t come off….but this is going to look different for everyone and often times inflammation in any capacity is a key indicator that the gut microbiome needs attention.
I try to look at these times as opportunities to give my whole system a refresh, rather than being hard on myself with the list of ways I could have better taken care of myself.
Let’s be real, sometimes as a parent or a busy, driven person in any domain we are going to need to amp up our own self-care in order to continue to be a resource to others to the same capacity.
What's growing in our own gut microbiome will largely determine our metabolism, autoimmune conditions, the strength of our immune system, skin health, and even daily mood.
Want to get a snapshot of your belly microbes right now? Take the Gut Check Quiz
Just like with any garden we need to make sure the pH of our microbial soil is just right, so that our crops have all the nutrients they need to grow, and of course, that no pesky weeds start dominating too much internal space.
When these weeds start to grow the diversity in our gut biome will decrease. This is dangerous because we need biome diversity in order to cool down our bodies natural inflammatory responses (check out Chapter 3: A Secret Microbiome Garden in my book to learn more about inflammation and gut health.)
It’s times like these when it's most important for me to take care of my own internal soil and clear out any weeds. I like to do this by switching to a clean, whole foods diet by replacing store-bought items like dressings/sauces/drinks with gut-healthy ones I make at home.
In the summertime especially, I love to get creative with homemade salad dressings because the heat makes a cold salad the perfect meal everyday😋
Here’s a recipe for my dairy-free, gluten-free, blood-sugar and cholesterol stabilizing, gut-healthy Ranch Dressing! Also tastes great as a veggie dip:
Creamy Ranch Dressing (makes 7-10 servings)
1 package of organic firm tofu
2 TBS water
2 TBS avocado oil
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp onion powder
1 -2 tsp sea salt
2 TBS apple cider vinegar
1 TBS chicken or veggie bouillon powder
2 TBS fresh oregano, dill, or parsley (or 2 tsp dry)