With the New Year just beginning, most of us have at least one resolution for a goal we want to achieve for our diet or weight this year. When we think of weight management, we rarely consider gut health, however something as simple as the management of our gluten intake could be the key to solving your weight loss problems. Holistic health expert, Josephine Zappia, shares how we all have the ability to heal ourselves naturally when we work with our body rather than against it, and the importance of gut health in kick starting all of our diet and health goals.
Image Via HBF
Growing up in a family of fruit and vegetable providers, Josephine always intuitively understood the nutritional power of natural produce. It wasn’t until she decided to solve her skin issues that she discovered the power of natural remedies and their ability to treat and heal the body holistically.
Gut health is the leading cause of unsuccessful weight loss regimes. While it is a complicated system to understand, its importance to our overall health is a topic of increasing interest and research in various medical fields.
What we do know: Gut bugs help regulate metabolism, nutrient absorption, and weight management. Symptoms that have been linked to an imbalance in gut bacteria (aka Gut Dysbiosis) include:
- Bloating
- Gas
- Irregular Bowel Motions (IBS) and
- Weight management issues
Dysbiosis is most commonly reported as a condition in the gastrointestinal tract and is a microbial imbalance inside the body. Patients experiencing dysbiosis will also suffer from diarrhoea and constipation.
Anti-biotics & weight gain
Some medications can be linked to weight gain because they disrupt the microbial actions in your gut, either by preventing and slowing bacterial growth, or killing them.
Antibiotics will predispose individuals to gut dysbiosis by reducing the amount of beneficial gut flora, especially if you’re taking multiple courses. An observable long-term consequence of antibiotics is chronic intestinal candida. This is a common form of gut dysbiosis, which causes bloating; and is worse after sugar and starchy carbohydrates. It also causes intestinal, vaginal, rectal or oral thrush.
Luckily, homoeopathy is a useful practice for treating the consequences of antibiotics as it can help restore normal gut function after heavy antibiotic use.
Nutrition
Many Aussies don’t think twice about the gluten that is present in virtually every processed food they eat. What they don’t know is that Gluten could be causing them to experience a ‘leaky gut’, a cause of weight loss issues.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley but can be toxic to the body. Repeated consumption of these grains and processed carbohydrates causes water retention in the body, making you feel bloated. Thankfully, if you stop consumption of these foods, often your body will release the excess water and help you lose weight.
If simply removing the gluten does not help with weight management, it will help professionals recognise other problematic imbalances. Symptoms will now relate to you holistically and not created artificially by a toxic substance. You can then proceed with real treatment from a modality like homeopathy and watch as your body is transformed.
Without the water retention you will get to know your ‘real’ weight which will show you the real extent of your malnutrition. The digestive system will start absorbing foods properly and nourishing you, building healthy bones and muscles, this weight gain is beneficial to your overall health and ability to sustain your ideal weight.
Nature’s resources
There are many rich natural sources which can help balance your gut flora, these include:
- Garlic is a nutritional powerhouse that is a rich source of thiosulfinates and has been used extensively in medicine for thousands of years. Garlic is known to contain anti parasitic, antibacterial and anti fungal properties while not compromising the healthy gut bacteria.
- Black walnuts are another plant known to have antiparasitic, antifungal, and anti microbial properties.
Whether you’re trying to reverse leaky gut or improve other gut imbalances, educating yourself about gut health will help you be the healthiest you. You can learn more at josephinezappia.com.
