Facts, Fads, Fiction and Fluff: Mysteries of the Gut

70% of your immunity (and some scientists argue more than that) is in your gut. So it's one of those simple things really: what you put in your mouth affects how healthy your immune system is by at least 3/4. How many other things do you do in your day-to-day that can have such a huge impact on your well being?

Becoming choosy with what you put down the cake hole is a good start. And here's the big question: what's good, what's bad, what's best? From veganism to full meat eater and everything in between, a discussion on food and nutrition is always bound to cause a heated debate. Official guidelines are at best lukewarm and at worst, well, let's not go there. So' it's left up to you...

The talk I gave at Emerson College separated fact from all the fiction and the fads surrounding eating and gut health. From the amazing response I had, it hit home with a bang. So, here is a summary of what we talked about. And if you become a member of my website you can have a free copy of the presentation, too!

Gut problems are treatable and reversibleIt is important to remember that one size does not fit all and we are all individuals with individual Source organic, local, seasonal food

Chew well

Avoid drinking water with meals

Take a good friendly bacteria supplement (probiotic) or better still, eat fermented foods

Include plenty of good fats and oils

Avoid sugar in all its forms, artificial sweeteners, processed foods, preservatives, additives and toxins

Test for food intolerances and toxic burden (tests like hair mineral analysis and urine organic acids can be very informative)

Eat a varied diet and don't fall for food myths/fads/advertising - better still:

If it has a TV commercial, don't buy it

If it has more than three ingredients on the packet, especially if you can't pronounce them, leave it on the shelf

"Natural", "farm-fresh", "home-made" and other such unclear terms mean absolutely nothing; they are designed to evoke warm, fuzzy feelings and obscure the quality (or not) of what you're buying

Anything "lite", low-fat, fat-free, "toothkind", low-sugar, sugar-free: all these mean highly processed, nutrient poor, bad-value-for-money items masquerading as food

Address stress

Move!

So what to make of all that? Simply put: