WEED your gut to get LEAN pqtd

Yes, that’s right- “weed’ your gut, trimming back those bad microbes that swarm about your intestines, converting the food you eat into either energy, or FAT.  Do the microbes within our micro biome really have this much power over our bodies?

You bet they do!  The bugs break down complex carbohydrates in our food. They manufacture crucial vitamins and other nutrients that we wouldn’t be able to produce otherwise, like vitamin K and niacin. They help protect against pathogens (such as E. coli and Salmonella) and break down toxins. They also communicate with both the immune and nervous systems, sending signals that may influence whether we develop auto­immune disorders and how we regulate our appetite and mood. 

They also can determine whether we are Lean or Fat.

You probably are thinking that I will say now that you should ‘eat lots of probiotics’, supplements and fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut… and yes, I think you should!  But first, it is crucial that you weed your gut, getting rid of bad microbes like the Firmicutes: a group of gut bugs that has been associated with an increased risk of obesity.  

If you eat lots of starchy carbohydrates and sugars, you are encouraging these fat-making little bugs to proliferate, crowding out the Bacteroides, which is a group of gut bugs that is been associated with leanness.  So, the first step in improving the quality of your all-important gut bugs is to not feed- starve those firmicutes!  

This allows not only the bacteroides to have room to multiply, but if you also eat good foods to replace those bad, starchy sugary ones- replacing them with good real fats like olive oil, coconut milk, and full-fat, pastured dairy, you will be feeding desirable strains like the bacteroides and L. Acidophilus.  This bacterium colonizes most densely in the small intestine, where it helps maintain the integrity of the intestinal wall, ensure proper nutrient absorption, and support healthy overall digestive function, among other important functions, such as improving immunity.

There are many other strains of bacteria that are at home in our guts, and the more diverse the population, the better, as they all do different things, or have different functions.  We don’t know that much about many of them, but we do know that some are very beneficial, and others are actually indicative of bad health, from having to multiply to service an unhealthy diet; that is, one high in processed starchy foods and sugars!

I’ll leave you with this:  it has been determined that during bariatric surgery- bypass surgery, where the intestine is rerouted into a “stapled off” smaller stomach, which bypasses one part of the intestine, that the gut micro biome dramatically improves in its diversity, with many more of the bacteroides and other good types, with much less of the firmicutes and other bad, fat producing and disease encouraging microbes.

In my opinion, having this surgery, despite this good effect, which usually results in a formerly obese patient almost miraculously being cured quickly of diabetes, obesity, sleep apnea, and many other modern diseases of civilization- is a mistake!  For one, it is a life-threatening operation that costs tens of thousands of dollars…

But the main reason is this: simply by changing our diet NOW, we can achieve the same result, naturally- 

Without compromising our digestive tract

Without going ‘under the knife’ and imperiling our life

ALL JUST BY CHANGING OUR EATING HABITS!

  

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe #99 You're FAT, because you are STARVING!

I know, that sounds like a contradiction, but bear with me.

If you feed yourself nutrient poor foods, your body does perceive itself as starving.  It is not getting the nutrition it needs for optimal performance and for feeling great- and so, logically, the body cries out for real food- not processed, man made fake food like substances that so many of us subsist on.  The body only knows that it does not have the raw materials it needs to build and keep running the vital processes of the body, and so it calls out for more more more food.

But it you keep on feeding it with bread, and pasta, and soda pop, frozen dinners, pizza and fast foods... why, the body has no choice other than to take nutrients away from “minor” things like hair, skin, muscle, tendon and bone maintenance and rejuvenation, and use them for more vital processes: things like keeping the heart beating, and the brain limping along.  It will take needed protein and calcium away from your muscles and bones to use where needed, causing actual starvation conditions in much of your body!

And your body will take all of those empty, “poor” foods that you take in and, since they are not good for much else, use them to make and store body fat!

It is a triage process.  Where do we really need these nutrients, just to stay alive!?  We will take them wherever we can get them, says the body.  And, it must be really hard, starvation times, since we are not getting enough nutrients to thrive- so it is imperative to store the maximum amount of body fat to ensure survival through these lean times!

This is really how the logic of the human body works.  And so, how do we do the opposite, and encourage our own body and that of our family to function optimally, with the ability to build and restore lean muscle mass, glowing skin and hair, and just a wonderful bodily terrain that can fight off illness, and keep us strong, lean, healthy and feeling great and loaded with vitality!

First, you need to eliminate stressors- things like not enough sleep (this is a real fat encourager), too much stress without down time to regroup and process things, and of course the ultimate stressor of nutrient poor, man made fake foods.  Even too much exercise can be a really negative stress, as also is too little or the wrong kind of exercise.

Exercise such as long distance running will tear down your joints and waste your muscles, and heavy weight lifting will compress your spinal disks, and really do a number on your shoulders, knees, and elbows.  Stick with body weight, virtual and self resisted exercise- Perfectly Paleo Exercise!  Jump on a rebounder daily, do pushups and sit ups, chins and dips and body weight rows on a pair of gymnastic rings.  For maybe 1/2 hour, tops- you will feel invigorated and refreshed, as opposed to long sessions in a gym where you are depleted and worn down!

And above all- eat real, God made foods!  Foods where everything is just as it came from nature- not in a box or a bag, not pasteurized or homogenized, pasture raised not grain fed, and above all no “altered” grains like wheat, or GMO altered like most every other grain, like soy and  corn. Eat butter and cream, LOTS of green vegetables and some berries and citrus, and a limited amount of starchy items such as sweet potatoes, white potatoes, and white rice.  Avoid margarine, corn oil, soy oil, canola oil, and all of the other chemically extracted industrial seed oils that are all around us.  Go for the real deal instead- the butter, and the coconut oil!!  Eat liver from healthy, grass fed animals, and really load up your body with fat- shedding, health promoting, “feel good” nutrition.

Do the above, avoiding the unnatural, and eating LOTS of the natural foods, reduce stress, maximize sleep, and do intense, but brief sessions of exercise daily-

then your body will up-regulate your thyroid and burn fat, build muscle, skin, teeth, bone, and hair health at an amazing rate!

You will feel great, and be lean and fit, with a highly functioning brain and body, because now your body sees it is NOT starving!