It’s Time For A Gut-Check

I hope you’re having a great summer so far (if you’re in this hemisphere!) and enjoying some much deserved fun! I’ve been traveling a bunch the past few weeks – from Brooklyn to Vail with my girls, back to Brooklyn for a day, then off to Ibiza for five days sans kids with Scott and some friends, back to Brooklyn again for just a day and then to Upstate NY as a family! We’re nuts, I know. 

While all this travel has certainly filled my cup for adventure and living life boldly, I’m ready to be a lot more chill and come back to basics for the next few weeks and focus on my favorite topic – GUT HEALTH!

A double rainbow in Vail  /  Thrilled to be in my favorite place on earth

If you’re an OG community member you probably know this by now, but for those of you who are new (and those of you who could use a reminder), the gut is important for so many reasons:

• 80% of your immune system is located in your gut
• 90% of serotonin (feel good neurotransmitter) is produced in your gut
• It’s the center of you!

Here are a few fun foods and tips for boosting your body’s gut health:

1. Eat fermented foods. Why fermented foods? They help you digest your food better, extract more nutrients from what you’re eating, help with bloating, plus they’re delicious! You can check out this blog post about WHY fermented foods are so important and how to incorporate them into your diet.
2. Build your plate according to my Good Gut Rule of Five. The purpose of this formula is to get you eating those good for your gut ferments, but also to eat more during actual meal times. Most of us diet through our meals and eat through our days. Yet when you focus on eating plenty of gut friendly, nourishing foods, you’re not reaching for as many snacks or quick sugar hits because your body is satisfied. This allows you to better understand your body – to know when you’ve had enough food or when you’re actually hungry versus tired, bored or stressed. Plus, giving your body a real break between meals allows your body to better digest the food you are eating. You can learn the exact formula for the Good Gut Rule of Five here.
3. Hydrate, but not during your meals. We are not designed to drink water with meals, as it dilutes our gastric juices and messes with our digestion of food. When you can, stick to water before and about 15-30 minutes after meals. If you must have something with the meal itself, try hot water with lemon, hot tea, or room temperature water.
4. Bonus: Soothe your gut with aloe. Aloe vera is soothing, calming and cooling – it’s called “The Plant of Immortality” because it is a master healer. In traditional Chinese herbal medicine aloe vera is used to promote a healthy stomach, help heal ulcers, and treat constipation. Whether I’m needing to get my digestion back on track after my summer travels, or looking to give my gut some extra TLC, I turn to aloe when I am feeling that internal sunburn (inflammation) coming on. Read more about aloe + a few different ways you can incorporate it into your diet here: Aloe for Gut Health.

What’s one thing you’re doing or want to try to help get your gut healthy for summer? Reply to this email or let me know over on Instagram.​​​​​​​ 

Xoo,

Robyn