Picture this!
…an overworked mom of three with dark circles under her eyes who’s tired by midday, irritable, and suffers from achy joints, constipation, and extra weight around her midsection. She has also noticed the hair on her eyebrows isn’t as thick as it used to be, her libido is low, and she frequently has abdominal discomfort. Oh, and don’t forget about the weekly headaches that ruin her days and the mild breakouts she gets around her period.
This woman may have never noticed all these changes effecting her, because…well, between the kids and cleaning who has time to pay attention to themselves? Plus these symptoms usually sneak up over months or years and become normal parts of everyday life. However, when you lay it out on paper it’s apparent she really has quite a few complaints — signs from her body that something inside isn’t quite right — signs that often go overlooked or brushed off as a “normal” part of both aging and being a mother.
Guess what? — These signs are NOT normal! None of us should be suffering day in a day out no matter how small the symptom. Aches, pains, rashes, mood changes, weight gain, swollen ankles, bowel irregularities, etc are all abnormal — they are the only way our bodies can speak to us to warn that we better change something or chronic disease will soon set in. However, because many symptoms are often very subtle, and because being a mom we usually are last on the totem pole, so many of us suffer from much less than vibrant health.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. A key pillar to feeling alive, energetic, and healthy is our gut health. The GI system is one of the most complex, misunderstood, and intricate systems in our bodies. The medical community is just beginning to scrape the surface of how interconnected our guts are to our to the health of our brains, immune systems, hearts, and all organ systems. However, one concept we do have a pretty good understanding for is leaky gut Leaky gut can cause ALL of the symptoms the tired mom of three from above has. Let me repeat: All of the symptoms…so if you or your loved ones have any one of those symptoms I strongly urge you to take a look into leaky gut.
Honestly speaking, any of us that breathe air and eat food should understand it. Because ignorance is bliss, until you are diagnosed with a chronic illness. It’s important to know about it so that we can curb ourselves, children, and families from developing long term health problems. Because spending our days in doctors offices, on prescription pills, and in hospitals is an option most of us would never choose.
So, what is leaky gut?