I was reminded at the start of this year of what can happen to your digestion during the festive season. Won’t go into details 🙁
It led me to this question – how often do we put up with digestive problems well past the point of where we should?
December is hard on your body – you bet! There’s Christmas parties, alcohol, not much exercise, busy-ness beyond our control, stress, late nights, eating too much, did I mention alcohol? – the list goes on.
It’s not till you get to January, after holidays and maybe back to work, that you begin to feel the real effects.
A common question from clients this month has been “do I need a detox?”
Well, perhaps not.
Most of the time you’re feeling less than ordinary because your digestive system has copped a pounding, not because you’ve stored up a zillion toxins in body tissues that need to be detoxed through your liver (that’s what a detox does).
If you’ve found yourself with any of the following symptoms after an over-indulgent holiday season, then you should think about improving your digestion, not a detox:
- Reflux/heartburn
- Indigestion
- Bloating/gas
- Diarrhoea/Constipation
- Nausea or feeling queasy
- Feeling tired/no energy
- Skin flare ups
- Bad breath
3 Easy Tips to Get Your Gut Back to Good Working Order
- Give it a break – try a 1 week hiatus from all the things that can upset your stomach. The main culprits are wheat/gluten, dairy, sugar and alcohol. Eat more fresh vegetables, especially leafy greens and cruciferous veges like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, small amounts of fruit, lots of water and good protein.
- Take a broad spectrum probiotic – get the good bugs back in there. Your lower intestine has possibly been party central to those unhealthy bugs which have bred like wildfire over December/January. Putting the good guys back in will help crowd them out.
- Get things moving – from “chew to poo”. The simplest way is to make a ritual of lemon & water first thing in the morning for a while. Squeeze about 1/4 of a lemon into a about 250ml of water – this will give your digestion a kick start for the day.
If things are a little too far gone and this doesn’t do the trick, there is a Plan B. You’ll need a little more support and intervention, so contact me for more details.
With your health in mind,
Catherine x
Learn more about how you can take back control of your health by subscribing to the iNaturally Newsletter here at www.inaturally.com.au
