Aiding Recovery and Prevention of Cancer

Hi Everyone! This post is about an anti-cancer diet and lifestyle that may aid in the recovery and prevention of cancer. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 30-50% of all cancer cases are preventable.

WHO has stated that dietary and lifestyle factors, physical inactivity, and being overweight significantly contribute to cancer.

Even people with ‘cancer genes’ may not develop cancer without dietary and lifestyle insults that turn healthy cells into abnormal cells that thrive in an inflamed microenvironment.

You can help yourself and your family to be more protected against cancer by living in an anti-inflammatory, gut-healthy way. By reading on, you can learn why an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle may help you prevent and reduce an environment for tumor cells to survive and grow.

What Diet Helps Prevent Cancer?

How Is Inflammation Linked to Cancer?

Are Genetic Cancers Common?

How Can You Reduce Cancer With a Diet?

How Can Lifestyle Change Gut Health?

Infections and Cancer

Weight Loss Will Protect Against Cancer

Stress and Cancer

Personalized Advice for Cancer Prevention and Recovery

What Diet Helps Prevent Cancer?

An anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle will not only encourage weight loss (obesity is one of the leading causes of cancer) but may help prevent and reduce the chances of tumor growth because tumor cells survive where chronic inflammation exists.

Targeted at gut health, an anti-inflammatory diet promotes good bacteria diversity, regulates inflammation, and provides anti-tumoral effects in gut bacteria.

For instance, as one example, some bacteria can stimulate cancer formation by blocking immune cells that usually inhibit the growth of tumors.

Unhealthy food, chemicals, additives, lack of exercise and sleep, being overweight, stress, toxins, alcohol, smoking, and pollutants are some factors that increase pro-inflammatory cytokines, inflammatory enzymes, adhesion molecules, chemokines, and so on.

Read: Why Aspartame Is Linked to Cancer.

Living an anti-inflammatory lifestyle will provide you with more protection; the sooner you start, the better. We need to educate our younger loved ones!

How Is Inflammation Linked to Cancer?

Inflammation has powerful effects on not only the development of cancer but also the spreading of cancer because it allows tumor cell survival.

A chronic inflammation microenvironment causes DNA damage and cell mutation, allowing tumor cell survival and growth.

Microbial pathogens are known to drive the growth of tumors, and many malignancies are associated with gut health imbalance.

Inflammation can exist in the body without symptoms for a long time. You may be interested in reading Signs of Inflammation That May Surprise You and How to Silence Hidden Inflammation.

Are Genetic Cancers Common?

According to Cancer Research UK, it doesn’t mean you have a cancer gene if you have relatives with cancer.

Cancers from inherited genes are less common than you may think (5-10%). Most cancers develop because of our environment, diet, lifestyle, and chance, not because of specific genetic inheritance.

Inherited genes usually have a pattern. The more relatives with the same or similar cancer, and the younger they were at diagnosis, the stronger the chances of a family history of cancer are.

Inherited genes mean you have a higher risk of developing diseases, but further gene changes need to happen for cancer to develop.

I always advise making your body less inflammatory, even if you don’t have apparent symptoms or non-communicable diseases that run in the family. 78% of deaths are linked to chronic inflammation.

How Can You Reduce Cancer With a Diet?

According to The Lancet, more than 19 million new cancer cases were diagnosed in 2020 worldwide. By 2040, that burden is expected to increase to around 30 million new cancer cases annually. 

Cancer is a disease caused by many factors, including diet, lifestyle, immune response, hormones, stress, genetics, and environment.

When you consider WHO’s statement that 30-50% of cancer cases are preventable, you can better bolster against cancer by looking at the factors of diet, lifestyle, stress, etc. It is hard to escape chemicals and toxins because they are everywhere, but tobacco, alcohol, and obesity remain the leading causes.

What we feed ourselves has a significant impact on the risk of disease.

Focusing on gut health to reduce inflammation and boost immunity is a great place to start if you don’t smoke and drink in moderation.

Obesity is a chronic inflammatory condition, which is treated with this anti-inflammatory lifestyle, as well as better protection from cancer.

If you think about tumor cells needing an inflammatory environment to grow, reducing inflammation gives them less chance of survival.

A powerful anti-inflammatory technique involves the bacteria in your gut.

The bacteria in your gut have the unique ability to reduce inflammation, as well as strengthen your immunity, and reduce metabolic, infectious, and chronic diseases. The bacteria in your gut can even lessen genetic expression (epigenetics) if certain cancers do run in your family.

Gut bacteria also promote regular, quality sleep by producing serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitters, which assist your body in optimum health! (The production of serotonin and dopamine will also aid your mental health). 

It’s astonishing what balancing your gut bacteria will do for you mentally and physically! The power of those microbes in your gut should not be underestimated!

Plus, eating a wide variety of the proper nutrients daily in your anti-cancer diet that work synergistically together will prevent cellular stress, boost immunity, and reduce fat cell composition, as they aid in inhibiting inflammation and optimizing health.

If you eat anti-inflammatory foods predominantly, you can get away with having pro-inflammatory foods occasionally. A more detailed anti-cancer diet and recovery protocol are in the personalized advice. You can access that section here or click on the link below.

In case you missed these posts: What Foods Help With Cancer Prevention and Recovery?, How Can You Prevent and Treat Cervical Cancer?

How Can Lifestyle Change Gut Health?

Of course, the bacteria in your gut cannot change your lifestyle, but your lifestyle can change your gut bacteria.

(However, those bugs in your tummy have the power to let your brain know what it needs to survive. Good food or junk food, feed it, and it will grow and want more! Yet, you can soon change it around).

So, your gut bacteria changes if there are any stressors, and it becomes less diverse, increasing inflammation and dysregulating the immune system. If you are exposed to smoke, pollution, or lots of chemicals, these will change your bacteria, reduce immunity, and keep inflammation high.

Diet, lifestyle, and immune system are among the factors that influence microbiota composition and activity.

You may enjoy the post: The Benefits of Sun Exposure, which includes how to sunbathe safely to avoid skin cancer. Did you know that too little sunshine can be detrimental to other cancers?

Infections and Cancer

Cancers are linked to infections like hepatitis, H-pylori, and HPV.

During infection and bacterial overgrowth, bacterial pathogens can expand and release toxins when the gut is affected by dysbiosis (imbalance).

These toxins cause DNA breakdown, which can contribute to DNA mutations, tumor initiation, and the progression of cancer cells.

Your immunity is improved with less inflammation in your body because chronic inflammation is a dysregulation of the immune system.

You may be interested in reading How to Recover From Virus Infections.

Members, reduce bacterial overgrowth by following the advice for candida and h-pylori here.

Weight Loss Will Protect Against Cancer

Cancer Research UK states that obesity is the cause of 13 different types of cancer, and having a healthy diet overall, which will reduce weight, can reduce the risk of cancer.

Members, you can kickstart weight loss on the 6-week Reset. Large amounts of weight can be lost initially, and then weight reduces continuously, daily, as optimal health returns. The beautiful thing is that it is safe and nutritious and heals your chronic inflammatory condition and symptoms. There are no health risks, and it isn’t temporary. Not many weight loss schemes can say the same!

Read: Low-calorie Foods for Weight Loss & How Can You Lose a Lot of Weight Fast?

Stress and Cancer

Chronic stress over some time can cause gastrointestinal disorders, which lead to gut dysbiosis, which leads to inflammation and dysregulation of the immune system.

It can cause anxiety and depression and increase the risk of developing diseases, including cancer.

Excessive stress hormones also prevent immune cells from effectively controlling cancer cells by increasing inflammation and suppressing immunity.

Not all things that cause stress are controllable, I know, but there are many ways to reduce stress that will aid in dealing with uncontrollable stress-related incidences.

For instance, stress worsens if you don’t eat or drink well, get little sleep, and exercise. Have you heard my conversation with Dr. Tamsin Lewis on the links between mental health and physical health?

Personalized Advice for Cancer Prevention and Recovery

New members, check the Lifestyle Guide on how to navigate this lifestyle, which will aid in stress reduction profusely. Also, check the personalized advice on depression and anxiety.

Please check the Personalized Advice section on what else to do for Cancer Prevention and Recovery.

Or, if you would like to have a confidential 15-minute Zoom consultation with me, please book it here.

Non-members, here are some taster recipes: Egg Muffins: Sweet Potatoes, Carrots & Chives & Asian Chicken Soup With Konjac Noodles.

You may also like to visit the podcasts section. A host of subjects are covered with my wonderful guests, including cancer survival, stress reduction, food additives and your microbiome, mental health, mindset tips, and the immune system.

While the evidence continues accumulating about cancer protection and reduction with an anti-cancer diet and lifestyle, following the Eat Burn Sleep way of eating, moving, thinking, reducing stress, and sleeping will likely help (check the reviews)!

After all, there is a strong correlation between not paying attention to what we eat and how we live, which causes chronic inflammation and cancer risk. Taking into account that cancer cells love an inflammatory microenvironment.

Please look after yourself.

As always, I wish you well.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Diet

Hello Everyone! Chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), has been a somewhat mysterious disease since the 1930s. Still, recent scientific studies connect the dots and reveal what may help restore chronic fatigue.

For this post, I refer to the studies by Montoya et al. (2017), Williams et al. (2021), and Missailidis et al. (2019), as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If you have (or know anyone with) ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I am sure you will feel some relief knowing there’s been some headway in identifying underlying causes. Spread the word!

Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Real?

How Does ME Develop?

Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

How Do You Treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

What Do Changes in Tummy Bacteria Do?

What Is a Good Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME Diet?

Support for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME

Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Real?

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), is real.

It’s been around since 1930, and its prevalence is rising. The disease incidence at the beginning of the 20th Century was around 2 cases per 100,000 population. The 21st Century brings an estimated 30-50 cases per 100,000 population.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME can be found in all ages and races, and according to many international studies, it seems more prevalent in women.

For some, it may be chronic and disabling, with numerous symptoms like sleep problems, depression, and malaise.

How Does ME Develop?

Countless studies have been conducted to ascertain how Chronic Fatigue Syndrome develops. They are continuing, as it is not yet fully understood. Still, the links with inflammation, gut bacteria, stress which increases inflammation, and autoimmune disease, a chronic inflammatory condition, are increasing.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention lists possible causes:

Immune System Changes – ‘It is possible that ME/CFS is caused by a change in the person’s immune system and how it responds to stress. ME/CFS shares some features of autoimmune diseases, as they are more common in women and characterized by increased inflammation.’

Stress – ‘Cortisol levels lead to an increase in inflammation and chronic activation of the immune system.’

Infections, changes to energy production, and genes have all been linked by scientists.

This study by Montoya et al. (2017) links inflammation:

Cytokine measures from people with and without the condition were undertaken to determine whether inflammation could be associated with ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and correlated with disease severity and fatigue duration.

‘Of the 17 cytokines that correlated with severity, 13 were found to be proinflammatory, likely contributing to many of the symptoms experienced by patients and establishing a strong immune system component of the disease.’ 

More research links to evidence of common denominators of disturbances to immunological and inflammatory pathways, heavy stress on the body, autonomic and neurological dysfunction, shifts in metabolism, and gut physiology or gut microbiota disturbances, as well as a wide range of mitochondrial dysfunction. Missailidis et al. (2019).

Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Profound fatigue is a significant symptom, of course.

Still, there are always more symptoms like sleeplessness, IBS, migraines, fungal infections, swelling, water retention, lymph pain, muscle and joint pains, low blood pressure, depression, attention deficit, lightheadedness, brain fog, memory problems, anxiety, and lack of well-being.

Many people have developed chronic fatigue syndrome after Covid-19.

Have you heard my chat with Dr. Tamsin Lewis about Long Covid, immunity, and energy in Podcasts?

How Do You Treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

If a doctor has ruled out possible other causes, they tend to treat symptoms with anti-inflammatory medication, sleeping pills, antibiotics, muscle relaxants, autoimmune suppressants, and painkillers.

Medical treatments for chronic fatigue seem to target the symptoms since the entire understanding of the disease is still evolving, as mentioned above.

The trouble with medication, from my knowledge and experience, is that it is often life-saving but doesn’t treat the cause at systemic levels. It can overload the liver, irritate the gut lining, and create dysbiosis.

Gut dysbiosis (changes in tummy bacteria) is a change in gut physiology and microbiota disturbances.

What Do Changes in Tummy Bacteria Do?

Gut dysbiosis (changed tummy bacteria) dysregulates the immune system, and chronic inflammation kicks in. These will cause susceptibility to developing other conditions.

In an already inflamed and immunocompromised body, more health challenges may arise (joint pains, IBS, migraines, depression, memory loss, fungal infections, and lack of well-being, as mentioned above).

Gut health is connected with mental health. Chronic inflammation extends to neuroinflammation. This is why depression, anxiety, and cognitive dysfunction (brain fog) can run alongside many health conditions.

Many people have high cholesterol with chronic fatigue, so if you are looking to lower your cholesterol, please check this article.

Does Gut Health Affect ME?

Recent studies have linked gut bacteria to chronic fatigue syndrome/ME. Drs Williams, Lipkin, and Snow, along with their collaborators, analyzed the genetic makeup of gut bacteria. The results showed critical differences in microbiome diversity, quantity, metabolic pathways, and interactions between species of gut bacteria. Williams et al. (2021).

Many studies show that people can recover from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME. The length of time is dependent on treatment.

What Is a Good Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME Diet?

An anti-inflammatory, gut-healthy diet and lifestyle may help you reduce the recovery time tenfold. 

If you do one thing today towards improving your condition, make it a focus on gut health.

When you don’t have the energy to make a cup of tea on some days, the thought of doing anything right now may sound too much, but what you eat on Eat Burn Sleep may make a huge difference.

It will improve your gut health, reduce inflammation naturally, and boost your immune system. Eating nutrient-rich, gut-healthy food regularly is undoubtedly good for promoting restorative and regular sleep.

Support For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME

There is a personalized advice section for extra support when you join a Premium Membership. You may experience conditions alongside ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, like depression, migraines, candida, IBS, bloating and bowel issues, Long Covid, weight loss, weight gain, water retention, and hair loss, for instance, are all listed here. Plus more.

There are guides on what to eat, what not to eat, supplements (our own supplement will be ready soon – so exciting!), therapies, inspirations, neuroplasticity exercises, and much more!

You can join EBS here or book a 15-minute Zoom call with me.

It could be life-changing.

I hope so.

Wishing you good health!

Treating Knee Osteoarthritis Early

Hello Everyone! If you are experiencing the early stages of knee osteoarthritis (OA) or have been told to lose weight to qualify for surgery, this post is for you.

Knee osteoarthritis can come with age, excess weight, repetitive movements, and injury. It also accompanies many non-communicable diseases, and the rate of progression differs for everyone. Chronic inflammation is the culprit of so many conditions!

If you catch it early enough, you may be able to stop the progression of knee joint issues (as well as treat your noncommunicable disease). Doctors often recommend lifestyle modifications for the nonsurgical treatment of knee osteoarthritis. Of course, prevention is key.

Here are some ways that may help you prevent knee osteoarthritis, reduce inflammation around your knee joints, and reduce knee pain risk. Protecting your joints as you age and aging beautifully and with ease is possible!

What Causes Knee Osteoarthritis?

What Foods Are Best for Osteoarthritis?

Can You Improve Osteoarthritis?

How Can You Stop Knee Joint Pain Getting Worse?

What Exercise Is Best for Knee Joint Pain?

Do Fascia Stretches Help Knee Pain?

Is It Okay to Keep Taking Painkillers?

What Causes Knee Osteoarthritis?

According to The Lancet, their study from 2020 recorded 654 million people over 40 with knee osteoarthritis worldwide.

With the rise in obesity, these figures are set to be exponential.

CRP is elevated in knee osteoarthritis compared to healthy individuals and is correlated with rheumatic disease signs and symptoms, including HAQ (health assessment questionnaire) disability, joint count, and pain. Wolfe (1997).

CRP is C-Reactive Protein.

The liver makes this, and we have low levels in the blood.

When inflammation runs high, your liver releases more CRP into the bloodstream.

High inflammation running in the body is harmful because this is when chronic inflammatory diseases can develop.

The immune system is dysregulated, too.

Inflammatory cytokines are associated with osteoarthritis. Sohn et al. (2012).

Cytokines (proteins that, when released, tell the immune system to do their job), leptin (a hormone made by fat cells), and mechanical forces are all pathogenic factors of knee osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is multi-factorial. Aging and wear and tear on cartilage, old injuries that didn’t heal, genetics, obesity, diabetes, repetitive use of joints, muscle weakness, bone density, and lifestyle all come into play.

Of course, your orthopedic doctor will advise you on your joint pain since they will have your x-rays and medical history but below are some suggestions to reduce inflammation, which will aid in healing your knees.

What Foods Are Best for Osteoarthritis?

Embark on eating anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense foods and eliminating pro-inflammatory foods.

Keep your gut from dysbiosis, look after your immune cells, and keep chronic inflammation at bay through good tummy bacteria diversity.

This will aid in continued and sustained weight loss, too. Obesity is a consistent main factor in knee osteoarthritis. Blagojevic et al. (2010). It will assist you if you have been advised to lose weight for surgery, too.

Members, follow the food lists and educate yourself by checking out the personalized advice section for personalizing your EBS health plan. You may have a condition that affects your joints, like gout, for instance, or have accompanying depression or migraines. Follow the Osteoarthritis personalized advice here.

The personalized advice will help you keep triggers at bay, for instance. It will advise what foods to enjoy and avoid and supplements and techniques to help your inflammatory condition.

Joints become inflamed with chronic inflammatory conditions and incomplete nutrition. For instance, Synovial Fluid (joint fluid) relies on certain foods, such as antioxidants and EFAs.

Vitamin D is vital for musculoskeletal health, etc. Check out: Benefits of Sun Exposure.

If you haven’t already, get into taking anti-inflammatory turmeric shots.

Members, check out the Masterclass Series. You will learn so much!

Can You Improve Osteoarthritis?

Depending on the cause of your osteoarthritis, you can improve knee osteoarthritis.

Ensure that you live an inflammation-reducing lifestyle. This means minimizing inflammation with what you eat, drink, breathe in, and how you move and deal with stress.

It is about good sleep quality and what you think, too. Digestion and exercise reduce inflammation when sleep is good, and good sleep occurs when digestion and exercise work and inflammation are down. When you get the balance right, it all works synergistically together.

Good nutrition and absorption are necessary for health.

An anti-inflammatory lifestyle can’t change an old injury, say, or any bone deformities. Still, it can reduce inflammation around the bones and aid if it is a condition like obesity or Type 2 diabetes.

An anti-inflammatory diet can ‘switch off’ genetics in terms of expression. You can’t change your genetics, but you can support your body with less genetic expression.

How Can You Stop Knee Joint Pain Getting Worse?

Manage your weight by reducing chronic inflammation. Excess weight can have a detrimental effect on joints. Plus, fat cells make proteins that cause inflammation around your joints.

Obesity was a consistent main factor of OE in a study cited above, as is Leptin, an adipose-tissue-derived hormone.

People with obesity have unusually high levels of leptin.

Significant levels of leptin were found in the synovial fluids (a thick, lubricating liquid in joint cavities) of OA joints, which correlated with Body Mass Index. Dumond et al. (2003).

Weight-bearing joints such as knees have to support some of your body weight. That is why so many people with weight issues can struggle with walking. Which does not help reduce the inflammation and can contribute to significant stress on the knees and joint pain.

Members follow personalized Weight Loss advice, and this one: Reduce Bloat and Deal with Digestion Issues.

Anti-inflammatory food, lifestyle, and exercises reduce weight and keep it off effortlessly.

What Exercise Is Best for Knee Joint Pain?

Maintain your joints by moving them. Our joints are designed to take load and move, and the cartilage needs load to maintain itself.

Ensure you don’t cause damage by doing exercises that aggravate joints and induce inflammation. Repetitive movements like squats are common risk factors for knee osteoarthritis.

Ensure that you activate your lubricating fluid by easing into your movement routines. Joints also don’t like inactivity. Remember to move regularly.

If you have just joined the platform, go for the Beginner’s movements and the Fascia Stretching, Mobility, Leg, and Vagus Nerve routines. There are also many movements for the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back muscles and for hip pain release. Strengthening different muscles will take the pressure off the joints but go at your own pace.

Members, check out the Pink, Grey, and White Series for different pose guidance to support your anti-inflammatory routine. There are over 160 movements on Eat Burn Sleep, and many will work on the inner-range quadriceps, for instance. This will help develop the neuromuscular function of the knees, which aids in reintroducing good functional movements.

All the exercises support your posture, protecting your joints and knees. The exercises teach you to listen to your body and connect with your mind and muscle. You can save what suits you in Favorites.

Navigating the movements section should be easy but do reach out to the team with any questions. You may be interested in reading: 10 Reasons to Walk.

Members, access your Walking Guide here.

Do Fascia Stretches Help Knee Pain?

Yes, fascia stretching aids in reducing inflammation, increasing lymph, blood flow, and mobility, and encouraging body flexibility. As mentioned above, there are plenty of exercises on the platform that will help you stretch out your fascia. Check out the article: Why Is Stretching Your Fascia So Important?

Is It Okay to Keep Taking Painkillers?

Don’t overdo the painkillers. Non-steroid inflammatory drugs are often recommended as first-line therapy, but long-term use is limited.

Be aware that painkillers can cause gut dysbiosis (imbalance of gut flora), which upsets the immune system and invokes chronic inflammation. You may want to read: Rheumatoid Arthritis Diet & Lifestyle.

Non-steroidal inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) increase inflammation and can cause damage to the cartilage. They can have other side effects, too. This means you create a vicious cycle of pain, brief interludes of ease, but more pain and inflammation ensue.

Of course, I always advise you to run this anti-inflammatory lifestyle by your doctors. It may just be that they are already prescribing it. It is Bupa-Global-approved, after all.

I hope that you have a happy and healthy day!

 

Treating Autoimmune and Chronic Inflammation Diseases

Hello Everyone. Inflammation plays a critical part in many chronic diseases, like autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases, like multiple sclerosis.

The great news is, as I always say, chronic inflammation can be lowered by manipulating the gut microbiota.

For this post, I will remind you about the power of the bugs inside your tummy and the link with multiple sclerosis. Run it by your neurologist!

What Is Multiple Sclerosis?

Gut Microbiota and Inflammation

How Do You Change Your Gut Bacteria?

Gut Bacteria and Multiple Sclerosis

Reduce Inflammation and Autoimmune Diseases

Best Diet for Autoimmune Diseases

What Is Multiple Sclerosis?

Multiple sclerosis is a multi-factorial, complex chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that can be unpredictable. It is an inflammatory CNS (central nervous system) disease. As with many conditions, no two people have the same symptoms.

Depending on which part of the central nervous system has been affected will affect symptoms. This nerve damage increases the symptoms of multiple sclerosis over time. Balance, coordination, vision, muscles, memory, and emotions could be affected.

One of my clients was diagnosed with MS at 34, a typical age to be diagnosed with MS. She used to suffer from loss of sensation, tingling in both hands and legs, anxiety attacks, and depression. She couldn’t walk for long without needing to sit down and rest. She felt physically and mentally exhausted before she embarked on Eat Burn Sleep. I know how that feels. It can also take a tremendous emotional toll.

MS can be genetic. Environmental factors like lack of exercise, smoking, unhealthy eating, and microbial and viral infections can all play a part in the development, course, and progression of MS.

Dr. Hafler, a professor at Yale School of Medicine, states: “While it was always clear that MS was an inflammatory autoimmune disease, one of the major surprises in the field of medicine has been the role of inflammation in different diseases, particularly neurodegenerative diseases. We now understand it plays a critical part.”

Dr. Hafler and his researchers discovered that myelin-reactive T-cells were highly inflammatory and likely to cause disease.

Gut Microbiota and Inflammation

The 100 trillion bacteria in your gut (microbiota) undergo many changes throughout your life. What gut bacteria you start out with changes are influenced by environment, diet, and lifestyle factors.

Stresses change your microbiota. Medication changes your bacteria, what you eat and drink, and whether you are exposed to toxins. Plus, who you live with alters your microbiota!

Have a read of NSAIDS, Gut Health & Inflammation, Painkillers Not Helping Your Headaches?, and Side Effects of Antibiotics & IBD. 

A diverse, balanced gut microbiota also promotes a beautiful, protective, anti-inflammatory environment within the intestines. Here, 70% of our immune cells live (GALT – gut-associated lymphoid tissue).

When balanced, these amazing bugs that live within our tummies can inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria. Pathogenic bacteria cause an inflammatory state, which can cause various diseases.

An inflammatory state means that your immune system becomes dysregulated.

The role of gut microbiota is crucial because of its impact on regulating and maintaining the normal function of the innate immune system.

How Do You Change Your Gut Bacteria?

We all have some bad bugs in our tummy, which are necessary, but we need to promote the good guys, not the bad guys, to keep the environment anti-inflammatory and protective.

Members: the lists of foods and compounds that change the composition of gut bacteria into a pro-inflammatory state are listed in the Red Food Lists.

The nutrients you need to promote anti-inflammatory action to protect yourself and reduce inflammation are listed in the Eating Out Guide and the personalized advice section. (It’s good to keep refreshed for when you are not following the recipes and are away from home because Eat Burn Sleep research is continuous!).

What you feed your gut bacteria may affect your multiple sclerosis. What you expose yourself to affects your gut bacteria.

Gut Bacteria and Multiple Sclerosis

Gut microbiota has been studied extensively in Multiple Sclerosis. There are certain bacteria distinct to multiple sclerosis shown consistently. Which also connects the gut imbalance with a pro-inflammatory state and a regulatory effect in human T cells. Chen et al. (2016), for instance.

Gut microbiota appears to play an essential role in the pathogenesis of MS. It may be involved in modulating the host’s immune system, altering the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, triggering autoimmune demyelination, and interacting directly with different cell types present in the central nervous system – Schepici et al. (2019).

Reduce Inflammation and Autoimmune Diseases

It was the continuous word ‘inflammation’ from doctors reading out my test results that became the seed of Eat Burn Sleep over a decade ago.

I had to research and understand everything because the prognosis wasn’t good, and I just felt exasperated.

By modulating my gut health and getting the microbiota balance right, I was able to put my autoimmune diseases into remission. It wasn’t easy because there is more to it than just what you eat.

Believe me, I tried all of the popular diets and suggestions in my desperation to have control over my health and start living happily again. As anyone knows, health challenges can take over your life.

The physical damage I experienced from diets like Keto was hard, but I had to give everything a try in my quest. I thought I had hit on the right one until I experienced that they were temporary measures.

Best Diet for Autoimmune Diseases

Anyway, it took me a long time to research to get the perfect diet and lifestyle to control my autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammation. Bearing in mind that the diet and lifestyle had to be exciting. Health was the most important, of course, but I knew I had to have things to look forward to, eat and drink, and do.

Food is life; it had to be delicious, and there had to be cake, coffee, and a glass of wine (although I am seriously debating whether I like the after-effects the next day, lately!).

Needless to say, I didn’t want a bland, restrictive diet and lifestyle.

Long story short, this anti-inflammatory lifestyle – Eat Burn Sleep was born, which I am very passionate about. I got there in the end and couldn’t keep it to myself.

Have you tried these inflammation-reducing recipes: Cream of Broccoli & Zucchini Soup, Apple & Cinnamon Cake, and Yalda’s Niçoise Salad?

You may not be able to cure your multiple sclerosis, but you can put it into remission, and you certainly may be able to live well (really well) with it.

As always, I am sending healthy, happy wishes to you all.

Cancer Protection and Treating Cancer Through Your Gut

Hello Everyone! Gut microbiota plays a crucial role in our mind and body and in inducing and reducing chronic diseases, including cancer. Countless studies link gut microbiota with cancer, and there is reason why.

In this post, I will point out why microbiota impacts disease and how you can reduce the risk of developing cancer and assist your body in the early stages of cancer, through treatment and in remission.

What Can Cause Cancer?

Why Is Cancer So Common?

What Foods Affect Cancer?

How Does Gut Bacteria Prevent Cancer?

What Helps Reduce the Effects of Chemotherapy?

Gut Microbiota and Cancer

Improve Gut Health to Reduce Cancer Risk

Inspirational Cancer Stories

What Can Cause Cancer?

Inflammation has potent effects on the development and spreading of cancer. Inflammation leads the body into a pro-inflammatory state without apparent symptoms over a long period. Still, it causes DNA damage, cell mutation, and proliferation. This leads to chronic diseases like cancer.

Cancer is a multifactorial disease (genetic, lifestyle, immune response, environment, stress, and so on), so it can seem hard to believe that gut microbiota influences cancer prevention and treatment.

Still, you can see the link when you think about how microbiota stimulates immunity, regulates inflammation, and reduces infectious, metabolic, and chronic diseases.

Food, stress, environmental pollutants, bacteria, viruses, lack of exercise, and sleep are some of the factors that increase pro-inflammatory cytokines, inflammatory enzymes, adhesion molecules, chemokines, and so on, which are all linked to chronic inflammation in the body.

A microenvironment of chronic inflammation, which is a dysregulation of the immune system, allows tumor cell survival, proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis (blood vessel growth), metastasis (cells break away from the tumor and travel to form new tumors), chemoresistance (resistant to chemicals) and radioresistance (resistant to radiation).

Why Is Cancer So Common?

The vast majority of cancers are down to genetic and environmental factors. Many environmental factors increase chronic inflammation and the pathways that promote tumor growth.

Cancers are also linked to unhealthy foods, chemicals, and additives that we eat and drink, obesity, other inflammatory conditions, and autoimmune diseases. Did you read Why Is Aspartame Linked to Cancer?

Cancers are linked to infections like H.pylori and hepatitis and inhaling pollutants like asbestos and cigarette smoke.

Some cancers are linked to our jobs, reproductive and sexual behavior, industrial products, and even ionizing radiation like X-rays.

Considering that millions of new chemicals are amongst us, in our air, water, and foods, in the space of a couple of generations, you can see why cancer has increased over that time.

Many causes and links to cancer put our bodies into a pro-inflammatory state.

Chronic inflammation switches on our genes. Although we can’t switch off our genetic makeup, we can lessen inflammation’s expression with what we can control. I always advise making your body less inflammatory, even if you do not have any symptoms or apparent conditions or if you have non-communicable diseases that run in your family.

What Foods Affect Cancer?

Of course, many complex transformations and processes occur in the body during cancer development. Still, when damaging chronic inflammation exists, it supports the growth and proliferation of cancer cells and cancels out the immune response to fighting infections, for instance.

Since the factors that contribute to cancer affect and are affected by chronic inflammation, and chronic inflammation is affected by our gut microbiota, it is no surprise that there is a bidirectional link between cancer and gut microbiota.

When gut microbiota is disturbed and dysbiosis occurs, the physiological changes lead to disease development.

The fascinating thing, and crucial to health, is that gut microbiota is easily manipulated into a better environment to promote optimum health and fight disease.

When changed to a healthier diversity, your microbiota will crave more nutrition rather than the foods and drinks that cause dysbiosis. They are that powerful.

The more you stick to an anti-inflammatory diet, the more you feed microbiota, which lets your brain know that it wants more of those nutrients. By going with what your mind and body (brain-gut axis) tell you and feeding your body with that good bacteria, you begin healing yourself.

This goes for both good and bad bacteria.

How Does Gut Bacteria Prevent Cancer?

Suppose you have a diet that contains more processed and less nutritious foods; the more likely that pathogenic bacteria like Bacteroides will be craving more.

Did you read Low-calorie Foods for Weight Loss?

They make your body inflamed through gut dysbiosis, dysregulating the immune system and making you susceptible to disease. This means that you are less likely to be able to fight disease, too.

You can aid your body in cancer protection and treatment success through your gut microbiota.

Extensive studies on microbiota show that in as little as 24 hours, microbiome composition can change dramatically. This is why EBS members feel the benefits rather quickly, which gets better and better.

This is all down to the essential components in various foods when eaten predominantly, which you will find recipes for on Eat Burn Sleep. A wide variety of the proper nutrients work synergistically to prevent cellular stress, boost immunity, and reduce fat cell composition; for instance, they inhibit inflammatory states and promote optimum health.

A comprehensive range of techniques to reduce stress, change habits, and be kinder to yourself contribute to good gut health, reducing the risk of cancer development.

Reducing inflammation through eating, drinking, moving, breathing, thinking, sleeping, and generally looking after ourselves is key.

Chronic inflammation is modulated by how we live and mentally deal with disease and recovery.

What Helps Reduce the Effects of Chemotherapy?

Following this protocol will minimize the effects of chemotherapy and optimize your results.

Eat Burn Sleep has its own 6-Week Reset Liver Detox and Microbiota-Balancing Program, which brings incredible results and kicks off your journey to good health.

So, if you have cancer and are undergoing treatment, I advise that you do the 6-week Reset and follow the specialized advice on cancer protection and treatment. It will guide you on what to eat and avoid, supplements, powerful neuroplasticity exercises, meditations and relaxation techniques, and movement.

Liver health is essential for everyone and takes a lot of strain during cancer treatment and any medication. You can read more about that here: Detox Your Liver Naturally.

Gut Microbiota and Cancer

Many diets and lifestyles reduce beneficial bacteria and increase unhealthy bacteria and gut dysbiosis.

If you look at the typical Western diet, with high omega-6 fats, processed foods, chemical additives, and high glycemic loads, an array of events occur in the body to put it into a less-than-healthy state.

So, suppose you are eating this way every day. In that case, a whole complex interplay occurs in your body. You will increase unhealthy bacteria like Bacteroides, Fusobacterium, and Clostridia and reduce good bacteria like Bifidobacteria and Eubacteria.

All of these unhealthy bacteria in the gut activate an inflammatory state through an over-reacting immune response, leading to tissue degeneration, a compromised gut barrier, and the development of tumors, for instance.

Manipulating the microbiome with good bacteria and essential nutrients that also suppress inflammation inhibits the effects of harmful bacteria. This will regulate the immune system and reduce inflammation and cancer risk.

Have you tried Spinach & Tomato Paleo Muffins, Rack of Lamb With Basil & Mint, and Slow Cooker Oxtail & Vegetables?

Improve Gut Health to Reduce Cancer Risk

As I mentioned above, gut microbiota changes in no time. Health is improved dramatically, even with the occasional lapse. Small changes often lead to one significant change over some time. Now is always a good time to start protecting yourself from disease and reducing systemic inflammation (which allows the perfect environment for the growth of the disease).

It is not just what we eat and drink that changes our microbiota, though, as I always say.

Maintaining a pro-oxidative/anti-oxidative balance along with an inflammation-reducing microbiota-balancing diet and lifestyle will assist with de-stressing your mind and body. It will correct immune system alterations, protect from free-radical damage, and reduce chronic non-communicable diseases.

Inspirational Cancer Stories

How to Reduce Rheumatoid Arthritis Naturally

Hello Everyone! Did you know that we have never been alone? Since the second we were born, we inherited and acquired trillions of bugs all over and inside us, called microorganisms, which should be good for us. They support critical functions in our bodies, which has allowed us to evolve.

In return, they extract what they need to survive from us!

These trillions of microorganisms (and their genes) are collectively called our microbiome.

Our guts have around 4-5lb of these microorganisms, consisting of protozoa, viruses, fungi, and bacteria, which are paramount to our health.

For this post, I will tell you how gut health impacts arthritis and how you can influence its development, protection from, and symptom reduction.

Do share with anyone who suffers from joint inflammation, chronic inflammatory conditions, non-communicable disease, and autoimmune disease. It may just make their day and give them hope for the future because help to reduce joint pain and inflammation is here!

What Helps Reduce Rheumatoid Arthritis?

How Does Rheumatoid Arthritis Develop?

Why Gut Health is Important to Reduce Autoimmune Diseases

How Is a Leaky Gut Linked to Rheumatoid Arthritis?

What Helps Arthritis Go Away?

What’s a Good Home Remedy for Arthritis?

What Can Cause Rheumatoid Arthritis Flares?

What Helps Reduce Rheumatoid Arthritis?

So, this is where gut health assists with reducing inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

Gastrointestinal microbiota has a powerful effect on physical and mental health. Depending on what microbes exist in your gut leads to pathogenic or beneficial effects on your overall health and inflammation.

Generally, microbial diversity is associated with good health.

Eliminating pathogens while maintaining self-tolerance to avoid autoimmunity is imperative for our body’s health.

Our gut microbiota not only regulates the immune system that resides in our gut but also has a powerful effect on systemic immune responses. 70% of gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) resides in the gut.

Gut microbiota can regulate immune homeostasis or can cause immune dysregulation.

Gut dysbiosis (unbalanced gut microbiota), which can occur due to the factors mentioned below, causes autoimmune mechanisms linked to rheumatoid arthritis (and other autoimmune diseases).

How Does Rheumatoid Arthritis Develop?

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease affecting the joints, immune system, lungs, and heart. It is a multifactorial disease. You can be born with the genes of or acquire a weaker immune system. This is where the immune system mistakenly attacks and disables healthy tissues, cells, and organs.

Many factors can worsen the disease and increase the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, which is why some suffer more than others. These include our genes, hormones, gender, and age!

Factors include diet (high saturated fat, highly processed, additives, insufficient nutrition, calorie-controlled). What we don’t eat (good food, inflammation-reducing) significantly affects rheumatoid arthritis. There’s pollution and toxin exposure, like smoking.

Changes in the immune system and hormonal changes as we age are linked to the development of rheumatoid arthritis.

Lack of exercise or the wrong exercise can aggravate symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. Stress, hygiene practices, medication, antibiotics, infections, vaccinations, lack of sleep, drinking the wrong types of drinks, generally not taking good care of ourselves, and not having good nutrition can cause rheumatoid arthritis flares.

All the factors that influence rheumatoid arthritis impact your gut microbiota. Some bacteria in your gut may grow depending on what you are exposed to and what you eat. Others may disappear or shrink, which influences the immune system in the gut and our adaptive immune system.

Read the post: How to Boost Your Immunity to Fight Viruses for more information about our innate and adaptive immune systems.

A good gut health diversity is important for good health and protection from disease.

Have you read What Foods Help You Ease Multiple Sclerosis?, How to Ease Chronic Fatigue/ME, & Why You Have Psoriasis?

How Is a Leaky Gut Linked to Rheumatoid Arthritis?

If the gut becomes unbalanced (dysbiosis), through any of the factors I mentioned, the inflammation that arises leads to chronic diseases and can compromise gut lining and cause ‘leaky gut syndrome.’

Leaky gut syndrome isn’t a medical term. It is known as ‘increased intestinal permeability.’

Inside our stomachs, we have an extensive intestinal lining. Like a tight net, this lining forms a barrier and filters what gets absorbed into the bloodstream. When it is damaged and malfunctioning, a barrier doesn’t exist, and it may have cracks and holes in it and become too permeable.

These holes allow larger, partially digested food, harmful bacteria, and other toxins to penetrate the tissues beneath it and escape into the systemic circulation. The immune system detects these as foreign bodies, causing an immune system reaction.

When the immune system is activated, it produces antibodies that travel in the bloodstream and create an inflammatory response, leading to joint swelling and arthritic pain.

Plus, when inflammation is present, microbiota changes, leading to various chronic conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, digestive issues, depression, etc. 

This is why many autoimmune diseases like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, which have increased intestinal permeability, also present joint pain symptoms.

What Helps Arthritis Go Away?

Pain and inflammation reduction are absolutely possible and can be kept at bay. Early diagnosis, prompt treatment, and an intervention lifestyle (which Eat Burn Sleep encapsulates) are essential to preventing severe joint damage, inflammation, and pain. If joint damage already exists, you can reduce the inflammation and pain.

I always advise running Eat Burn Sleep by your doctor, who may combine this anti-inflammatory lifestyle with medication. They can then monitor your progress before reducing medication. They have your medical history records and will know what is the best route for you. I am a firm believer in combining holistic and allopathic medicine.

Reduce as many factors that exacerbate rheumatoid arthritis as possible by embracing an anti-inflammatory lifestyle focusing on gut health, giving you all the necessary knowledge.

Gut barrier integrity is restored, fixing leaky gut syndrome.

Rebuilding the gut lining will promote positive changes in the microbiota. Promoting good gut bacteria aids healing and reduces inflammation.

Thankfully, gut microbiota can be manipulated into a healthy environment that aids overall health, including mental and physical health. A healthy gut allows for maximum nutrition absorption. So when nutritious needs are met, with prebiotics, omega-3 oils, vitamin D, minerals, and folic acid – for rheumatoid arthritis, they are utilized efficiently and absorbed, maximizing their benefits.

I do webinars for NHS patients who have rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, and numerous people have embarked on this lifestyle with outstanding results after struggling with the condition for years. It’s lovely to hear what people say when they have tried everything.

Many members with rheumatoid arthritis and joint pain say that they no longer struggle with morning stiffness or flares throughout the day and have lost weight, gained energy, and a zest for life again.

There’s an article on Prevent Knee Osteoarthritis Progression if you are interested. There’s also a Personalized Advice for Osteoarthritis.

Putting rheumatoid arthritis into remission is possible.

Check the testimonials and how Eat Burn Sleep clears up the many symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

All the tools you need to put your rheumatoid arthritis into remission are here.

What’s a Good Home Remedy for Arthritis?

If you haven’t tried the turmeric shot recipe yet, click here. It is affordable and natural, and it will help you.

Turmeric contains potent volatile oils with properties that reduce inflammation. They have a medicinal effect that relieves conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and protects the body from chronic diseases.

Of course, everything Eat Burn Sleep is a good home remedy for reducing inflammation.

Everything I do to keep my autoimmune diseases at bay, I share with you.

My continual anti-inflammatory research, recipes, tips, hacks, thoughts, meditations, movements, neuroplasticity exercises, and so on are all accessible from home.

Many exercises could aggravate arthritis, as could not enough proper exercise. Inflammation-reducing activities are performed regularly to maintain joint mobility for rheumatoid arthritis.

The proper movement for rheumatoid arthritis, done regularly, includes ones that do not cause joint trauma and strengthen the muscles around them, for instance. Of course, exercises get easier when the inflammation is under control, and you will know your limitations.

What Can Cause Rheumatoid Arthritis Flares?

Creating symbiosis, rather than dysbiosis, in your gut is paramount to good health.

Gut bacteria are essential for gut and systemic immune system homeostasis.

We are all unique. Some triggers you know about or may not know about can exacerbate your rheumatoid arthritis condition.

That is why following the specialized advice for your symptoms and the traffic light system we have on Eat Burn Sleep helps tremendously with symptom and inflammation reduction at a systemic level.

Many ingredients or compounds in what you may be eating can cause inflammation, even in new ‘healthy alternative’ foods, like almond milk. The food industry has a lot to answer for!

If you missed my Lives on Instagram or podcasts with Dr. Dawn Sherling discussing additives, their effects on the microbiome, and inflammation, make sure to catch up on them.

Those ‘healthy’ packaged foods you eat that you paid a lot of money for could trigger your rheumatic flares!

If you don’t understand what is on the label, use that as a rule of thumb!

Explore the platform to further educate yourself on gut health, autoimmune disease, and chronic inflammation.

If you haven’t joined, I urge you to take charge of your health today.

Your mind and body need inflammation kept at bay. Whether you have a known condition or not. Inflammation can be silent.

We cannot change our genes, but we can alter gene expression.

With or without a hereditary disease, we can inflame our bodies with our food, minds, and whole lifestyles.

Having more autonomy over your health starts here!

I hope that you have a fantastic day.

Putting Ulcerative Colitis Into Remission

Hello Everyone. I hope that you are well. This post comes out on Christmas Day, and I hope everyone is having a stress-free, happy time. It can be challenging when you have health conditions and need to be near a bathroom or somewhere quiet to lie down.

If you have colitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s, diverticulitis, or any inflammatory and autoimmune condition that causes such discomfort with physical, mental, and emotional challenges, I know exactly how that feels. 

You see, I have ulcerative colitis (and hemolytic anemia), and I used to suffer so much with the symptoms, flare-ups, medication, hospital admittances, medical procedures, exhaustion, frustration, stress, juggling family and work life with two young boys, and worried whether I would survive.

I am now in remission, feeling fantastic and enjoying life, with the best body composition I have ever had, and I cannot remember the last time I had a flare-up.

If you, or anyone you know, has colitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s, an inflammatory disease, and autoimmune conditions, read on and share. It could very well be the lifeline that you/they need.

Living With Ulcerative Colitis

What Is the Best Management of Ulcerative Colitis?

A Recommended Diet for Ulcerative Colitis

What Is the Best Natural Remedy for Ulcerative Colitis?

Does an Ulcerative Colitis Diet Have to Be Bland?

What Common Thing Can Make Ulcerative Colitis Worse?

What Is Good Comfort Food for Ulcerative Colitis?

Reducing Stress With Ulcerative Colitis

How to Put Ulcerative Colitis Into Remission

Living With Ulcerative Colitis

I took supplements and medication and tried everything that was suggested to me by nutritionists and doctors. I traveled the world seeking help for my autoimmune conditions, going from specialist to specialist, following their advice. Nothing helped me get well.

It felt like many plasters were being put on many cracks to cover the symptoms up, but no healing was going on. Nothing was healing the cause of the problem, and some treatment was contributing to the problem.

In a way, what saved me was that my body wasn’t responding to medical treatment, and I ended up being kept alive with weekly blood transfusions.

I was so overwhelmed and almost wanted to give up! I had no choice but to find a solution to this, which I could apply to my daily life as a busy Mother of two young boys.

This is what led me to start researching.

It is understandable people are not getting their symptoms under control despite taking on specialist advice for their ulcerative colitis, colitis, Crohn’s, and so on. You are given medication and supplements and told to watch your diet and keep up with tests and procedures.

You may be given a supplement for this and something for that, and the problem is, if you already have poor gut health, these will only exacerbate the issues, adding to a more unbalanced gut microbiota, which then leads to more inflammation in the body, which leads to more flare-ups.

Coping with ulcerative colitis can be exhausting. Physical, social, financial, and emotional complexities may be running alongside your inflammatory condition.

Dealing emotionally with ulcerative colitis symptoms is challenging, and not everyone understands what you are going through. The impacts on relationships can be difficult.

You could very well be dealing with bone and joint issues like arthritis, which presents itself in the cooler months, which throw extra challenges at you (have you read Prevent Knee Osteoarthritis Progression?). I developed hemolytic anemia.

What Is the Best Management of Ulcerative Colitis?

The other issue is that you may have excellent care and doctors around you, but they cannot think for you, eat for you, exercise for you, or follow you around and advise you.

Finding resources to help you reduce stress, reduce ulcerative colitis symptoms, heal your body, get good nutrition, and calm your system down is essential, as well as your medication.

I know that finding a resource of education and helpful tools in one place to aid in healing ulcerative colitis is tricky. This is why Eat Burn Sleep exists and is available to you 24 hours a day, every day. Your own nutritionist advice, which doctors worldwide recommend and is Bupa-global-approved, is there on your app, following you around, guiding you on what to eat, how to exercise, etc.

I searched everywhere for something like Eat Burn Sleep through the years. I have read anything and everything to heal myself and then qualified at a top London naturopathic nutrition school.

There’s a minefield of information about ulcerative colitis out there. Believe me; if there’s a diet recommended for ulcerative colitis, I will have tried it.

Some, like medication, worked briefly, and I was so happy that symptoms died off for a while, but sure enough, they came back with a vengeance. It is so disheartening—one step forward, three steps back.

Unfortunately, once you get one autoimmune or chronic inflammatory disease, the pathways are open, putting you at high risk for developing another disease. Like I did. The toll on your physical and emotional health is intense.

A Recommended Diet for Ulcerative Colitis

A recommended diet for ulcerative colitis on the internet by many medical authorities is the low-residue diet so that your intestines won’t need to work as hard as usual. The low-residue diet is restrictive and does not meet nutritional needs, so it is only for temporary measures under medical supervision.

This restrictive diet plays a role and is often recommended after bowel surgery or preparing for a colonoscopy, for instance. For a minimal time only because it won’t reduce inflammation or treat ulcerative colitis and will likely cause more inflammation.

It is no wonder that people with ulcerative colitis often have to seek a nutritionist or dietician because many ulcerative diet recommendations will cause more inflammation and malnutrition.

If you already have weakness, headaches, anemia, and fatigue due to ulcerative colitis malnutrition, these diets will only contribute to gut dysbiosis, weaker immunity, and less-than-optimum health. This, of course, opens the body up at high risk for other illnesses and conditions.

Nutrition deficiency will present symptoms like mouth ulcers, tingling in your limbs, itchy rashes, feeling drained, weight loss, and so on. If you have Diabetes, a low-residue diet will impact blood sugar, present more challenges, and so on.

You may be interested in reading: How Do You Get Nutrients With Celiac Disease?

Medical professionals worldwide recommend Eat Burn Sleep, which pertains to clinical practice and has shown excellent results.

What Is the Best Natural Remedy for Ulcerative Colitis?

A nutritionist experienced with ulcerative colitis can provide a detailed gut health nutrition plan with a day-to-day schedule. They can devise weekly menu ideas and hopefully give advice on eating out (they are all here in the Lifestyle Guide, members).

They will help you recognize your triggers and reduce flare-ups (members can find it here) but also ensure that you get optimum nutrition that will be absorbed.

Gut microbiota contains trillions of bacteria that change continually with lifestyle factors such as food and drink we have, stress, what we breathe, medication, health conditions, and so on.

An alteration of your intestinal microbiome is a significant factor in the pathogenesis of a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract.

This means that promoting good microbiota with the right type and quantity of foods regularly will reduce gut dysbiosis. It will promote regular immune activity, reduce inflammation, and aid the healing and repair of the inflamed, permeable digestive tract, putting ulcerative colitis into remission.

Optimally modulating gut microbial diversity and stability will prevent gut dysbiosis. This will prevent chronic inflammatory diseases. Eating the right balance of good foods is imperative for further absorption of nutrition. 

Pairing this ulcerative colitis nutrition protocol with an anti-inflammatory lifestyle will help you turn this around. I assure you! It frees up a lot of thinking time.

When you have any inflammatory or autoimmune condition with flare-ups, you are continually thinking about food and flare-ups:

What food will not create a flare-up, or how hungry you are, or trying to work out what was in something that caused a flare-up, how to navigate a day without one, and so on.

It truly is exhausting all around.

Have you read Reduce PCOS & Belly Fat, Why You Have Psoriasis, & Reduce Asthma with an Anti-inflammatory Diet?

Check out what others say on the Testimonials page. There are also video testimonials in most of the chronic inflammatory conditions under the Conditions tab.

Does an Ulcerative Colitis Diet Have to Be Bland?

So often, when you want to avoid the issues that come with colitis, Crohn’s, inflammatory bowel disease, and autoimmune diseases, you can stick to very few foods that seem safe. This means that you can miss out on nourishment, even when you have your bowels under control.

Fearing an attack at unpredictable times can make you not trust what you are eating. It affects you when you are out and about, traveling and visiting (which is all worried about, I know); what can you eat that won’t cause a flare-up?

All of this worry increases the chances of abdominal pain and needing the bathroom.

Chances are also that your body will not absorb enough nutrients because of the attacks, causing dehydration, fatigue, anemia, and headaches.

You can often be starving, but that is easier to deal with than worrying about navigating public transport, attending a meeting, being social when you need a bathroom, etc.

You may know your triggers and head to a health food store for alternatives, only to find yourself in pain not long after eating. The thing here is that the food industry relies on good marketing. We are leading such busy lives that we are not reading the small print.

What Common Thing Can Make Ulcerative Colitis Worse?

Even with known triggers, you can miss the fact that there are inflammatory ingredients in millions of ‘healthy foods.’

For instance, soy lecithin. It’s practically in everything. Check the packets of the box of healthy crackers that you may have picked up or the healthy cookies. It is linked to gut inflammation, obesity, metabolic disorders, and Diabetes.

People are misled because soy lecithin is also known as a health supplement. The fact is that the soy lecithin promoted as a health supplement is supposedly different from the soy lecithin processed to be used as a food emulsifier.

Soy lecithin, as a food additive, goes through a multi-step chemical process that strips it of soy and protein, and it involves pesticides, solvents, and goodness knows what else.

Whether the purified soy lecithin supplement is healthy is also under debate since supplement companies are not FDA-regulated. Many supplements contain bulk items that will cause inflammation.

There’s more about soy lecithin in this article: Is AG1 Supplement Good for You?

It is good to keep in perspective that shielding ourselves from chemicals would be near impossible, but limiting damage and reducing the amount we are exposed to in foods is possible.

An ulcerative colitis diet can be the complete opposite of bland. All of the anti-inflammatory recipes on this platform have been devised by me using carefully selected anti-inflammatory ingredients that have nutritional properties. I then test them on myself and others before uploading them to the Eat Burn Sleep platform.

The personalized advice section includes extra support, advice, and flare-up protocols for many symptoms, situations, and conditions. Again, all were tried and tested by me and recommended by me.

What Is Good Comfort Food for Ulcerative Colitis?

People are often surprised at the variety of food I eat to keep my ulcerative colitis in remission. They are amazed by my having wine and champagne, a steak now and then, and the cake I eat.

Oftentimes, they are shocked when they see me have a slice of pizza at a party.

When I devised this anti-inflammatory lifestyle to put my inflammatory conditions into remission, I knew that it had to be exciting, and the foods had to be delicious and varied. It could not be in any way boring, restrictive, or bland. That is not how I would ever want to live.

Food is life! It is beautiful. We need it and nutrition for vitality to enjoy our lives.

No compromises!

So, this platform has 300+ comfort foods for ulcerative colitis and all inflammatory conditions. Sweets, savories, snacks, breakfasts, lunches, dinners…

Life is to be enjoyed. It is not about perfection. That is unattainable and unsustainable. It is about damage limitation.

Reducing Stress With Ulcerative Colitis

If you have ulcerative colitis, there is no doubt that your days will be challenging. The debilitating symptoms and the psychological stress that can come with your condition are so significant, and what that entails puts extra pressure on you.

Ultimately, extra stress is the last thing that you need because stress can trigger a flare-up.

Comfort is what you need and what will calm your system down.

Although there may be some things that you cannot control, there are things that you can control to live your life well with ulcerative colitis and other inflammatory diseases, which may control the rest.

To have a chronic condition every day is a challenge (let alone the holidays), but I am here to say that you can live life well (if not better) with an inflammatory disease.

How to Put Ulcerative Colitis Into Remission

You may feel even better than before because you may like me; after being so ill for so long, without light at the end of the tunnel, feeling amazing feels miraculous.

To have a fitter, nourished body without flare-ups, and to plan and enjoy holidays and every day and not have compromised time with my boys, family, and friends.

I am grateful that there are things I do now that I didn’t do before. I know they help me and others tremendously.

If you have an inflammatory condition, know that you are not alone and that others understand. Reach out to me, my team, and our beautiful community forum. Being part of a community of understanding people who know precisely what you are going through is incredibly supportive and inspirational. Your physical, mental, and emotional health can be improved immensely.

Alternatively, you could book a 15-minute Zoom Call with me in the new year. We can work through your ulcerative colitis condition in a private consultation or an extensive Bespoke Coaching Session.

I hope that you have a wonderful, stress-free holiday.

One in which you can enjoy some stress-less activities, which will help your condition.

I wish you all comfort, good health, and joy.

 

Let It Glow! Let It Glow! Let It Glow!

It’s party season, Everyone! For this post, I will share how to unlock your skin’s optimum health for radiant, healthy skin throughout the holidays.

You may want the Eat Burn Sleep ‘glow,’ or you could have a condition that presents itself through skin inflammation.

Like acne, eczema, or psoriasis, or a condition you wouldn’t associate with skin disorders, like Crohn’s, Colitis, PCOS, endometriosis, obesity, and diabetes, for instance.

You don’t need to spend a fortune to have peak skin health (and put your chronic inflammatory disease into remission).

Incorporating changes now will ensure that your skin has a better chance of being party season-ready this holiday and glowing throughout the year.

Eating for Glowing Skin

Drinks and Skin

Skincare Routine for Glowing Skin

What Shouldn’t You Do to Have Glowing Skin?

Exercise and Skin

More Tips for Glowing Skin

 

Eating for Glowing Skin

*(You guessed it) Follow an anti-inflammatory lifestyle. There is a direct relationship between the skin and lifestyle.

It is proven that what we eat and how we live protects the skin (and body) or contributes to damage and early aging. Eat anti-inflammatory foods containing all skin-loving nutrients, like polyphenols, essential fats, antioxidants, collagen, vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc., daily.

By eating anti-inflammatory food, you are banishing unhealthy gut bacteria and promoting a healthy gut microbiome, which is the route to reducing inflammation in the entire body, including the skin.

Chronic conditions can reveal themselves through the skin.

An optimum nutritional dietary protocol will feed the skin, protect and repair it, protect against chronic disease, and put the chronic illness into remission. 

 *Promote a healthy gut microbiome. Skin homeostasis is directly linked to your gut. Your microbiota will affect your skin health since it is associated with an altered immune response—an altered immune response through the microbiota results in skin diseases (as well as chronic conditions).

The overpopulation of certain bacteria in the gut can lead to skin inflammation—acne, psoriasis, eczema, and rosacea, for instance.

*Treat your chronic inflammatory and hormonal imbalance conditions. As mentioned above, conditions like Crohn’s, colitis, obesity, diabetes, endometriosis, and PCOS, can often show skin inflammation.

Gut dysbiosis, which occurs with chronic inflammatory conditions, extends to the skin.

When treated at the source, the skin inflammation will go into remission as the condition diminishes. An anti-inflammatory lifestyle is a beautiful treatment for these conditions.

*Avoid deprivation diets and unhealthy eating. High-fat diets are associated with disease, the lipid composition of the skin, oxidative stress, and skin inflammation.

Nutrient-depleted diets do not give the body the nutrients it needs for optimal health, resulting in less-than-optimum gut health, chronic inflammation, hormone imbalances, skin breakouts, etc.

Many diets do not contain all of the required skin nutrition. Low-fat diets cause skin problems, too, because essential fats are needed for good health. Vitamin C deficiency, for instance, can cause impaired wound healing and skin fragility. Vitamin C is a powerful skin antioxidant needed to help absorb other essential nutrients.

*Check the ingredients of what you are eating. For instance, additives, high salts, trans fats, and sugar promote inflammation in the skin, like acne, and accelerate aging by breaking down collagen and elastin.

*Puffiness, swelling, water retention, and wrinkles can occur depending on what you are eating.

*Cook and choose food carefully. Processing and the way foods are prepared can cause inflammation, excess sebum, and skin aging.

Check out these articles: Why Aspartame is Linked to Cancer, Reduce PCOS & Belly Fat, & Why You Have Psoriasis.

Drinks and Skin

*Stay hydrated. Water is an essential nutrient. It is the main component of cells, tissues, and body fluid compartments, representing a large percentage of the body’s composition (75% from birth and 60% in adults).

Staying hydrated will support your liver, which will show in your skin.

*Water deficiency is associated with several dermatological dysfunctions like inflammation, aging, and tissue dehydration.

*Don’t drink too much alcohol. Alcohol dehydrates and can change the skin’s permeability, affects skin lipid composition, destroys the skin’s barrier function, and so much more.

Alcohol overtaxes the liver and can dry your skin, meaning wrinkles occur more quickly. The diuretic effect of alcohol depletes vitamins, too, like vitamin A, which is essential for your skin.

Over time, regular drinking can also cause a red face due to the permanent enlargement of blood vessels and thread veins on the skin.

• You may be interested in these articles: Best Alcohol For Diabetes Sufferers, How to Avoid a Hangover & How to Deal With a Hangover.
• For concerns about coffee: Fancy a Cup of Coffee?

 

Skincare Routine for Glowing Skin

*Have a good skincare routine. Of course, shower and bathe regularly to remove bacteria that clog pores. Take saunas, if you can. Cleanse, tone, moisturize, and treat dry skin.  Here’s a skincare routine I often do: My Wake Up Makeup Guide.

*Use products that do not have ingredients that you may be sensitive to. For instance, many emollients and fragrances can cause inflammation in some people.

*Protect against other external factors. Use sunscreen, even on a cloudy day. Check out Yalda Loves for the products that I use. Members can access my Skincare guide here.

*Massage your skin. Promote lymphatic drainage, reduce puffiness, and encourage circulation. If you can have facials, have them.

Facial massage releases contracted muscles and fascia, reducing stress and encouraging blood flow. Massage also stimulates oxytocin production (see below for information about oxytocin).

What Shouldn’t You Do to Have Glowing Skin?

*Smoke. It is well-known that smoking causes skin damage and premature aging and increases the incidence of acne, skin cancers, psoriasis, and eczema. It changes skin cuticle thickness and accelerates skin necrosis (cell death) and pigmentation.

*Drink a lot of alcohol. See above.

*Eat a nutrient-poor diet—low calorie, high fat, carbonated sodas, processed foods, extreme diets, and so on. A healthy gut microbiome is imperative to skin health. See above.

*Get dehydrated. See above.

*Deprive yourself from sleep. Sleep is imperative for great skin. Studies have shown that sleep deprivation can affect collagen production through wrinkles, reduced elasticity, skin sagging, and diminished skin barrier function. Sleep is good for growth and renewal. 75% of the Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is produced during good sleep, accelerating skin repair and keeping you looking younger.

*Rely on ‘skin’ supplements alone. You can’t have poor nutrition and expect good skin health by taking a skin health supplement, for instance.

You may be interested in the article: Why I Use Collagen.

Exercise and Skin

*Take exercise that reduces inflammation, like what we have on the Eat Burn Sleep platform. Increasing blood flow, oxygen, and nutrients will be distributed to skin cells while also cleansing by removing cellular debris. Skin flare-ups can occur with intense exercise.

*Walk. It is a good exercise; again, it encourages blood flow, oxygen, and nutrients to the skin and is a super de-stressor, reducing cortisol. 10 Reasons to Walk.

*Stretch your fascia. If you have restricted fascia for a long time, you may be ‘holding’ onto the pain in your face, resulting in wrinkles.

More Tips for Glowing Skin

*Detox your liver. An overloaded liver will present itself in the skin. Members can access the Detox Guide in the 6-week Reset.

*Balance hormones. Hormones play considerable roles in our skin appearance and feel. Estrogen stimulates collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid production that helps skin stay plump, and elevated androgens can contribute to oiliness and acne, for example. Take up an anti-inflammatory lifestyle to assist with balancing hormones.

*Keep stress levels down. Stress always shows on the skin. Cortisol, released during stress, causes inflammation and increased oil production in your skin glands, leading to skin breakouts like acne and eczema. It increases DNA damage, disrupts skin cell cycles, and promotes early aging.

*Get plenty of fresh air, if you can. Air pollution contributes to oxidative damage, inflammation, skin cancer, etc.

*Socialize, snuggle with a pet, and laugh lots. When you socialize or snuggle with a loved one, oxytocin is released, that ‘feel good’ hormone. Think of the glow that people get when they are in love!

Oxytocin promotes skin healing and gives you a radiant complexion. It doesn’t stop there because oxytocin protects against intrinsic skin aging, which is skin aging due to internal natural factors within the body, due to hormones, endocrine metabolism, and genetics, for instance.

If you are an EBS member, the bonus is that oxytocin production occurs with a balanced gut through an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.

Of course, when your health is good, it shows on your face.

Follow an anti-inflammatory lifestyle with all the advice, guidance, tips, hacks, and recipes, and you will soon have everything you need for beautiful-looking skin that reflects how you feel inside.

It’s a beautiful cycle. Replenish, rejuvenate, and reward.

Join (or gift) the skin-loving Eat Burn Sleep lifestyle and let it glow!

Of course, I wish you a fun-filled party time and hope you have a super day today!

Can You Tell if You Have Inflammation?

Hello Everyone. I hope that you are well. This post relates to why Eat Burn Sleep exists.

It was COVID-19 that shed more light on what I have been talking about for a long time.

Scientists quickly recognized which individuals would be vulnerable to catching COVID-19 during the pandemic.

The warning went out to people with pre-existing conditions like autoimmune diseases, diabetes, weight issues/obesity, heart and lung disease, and older age groups most likely to catch COVID-19.

Until the pattern started to deviate.

Why were supposedly healthy young people without any conditions suffering badly and dying from the contraction of COVID-19? Read on to find out.

What Factors Increase the Risk of Getting Viruses?

How Do You Know If You Have Inflammation?

Is There a Test to Check for Inflammation?

How Do You Get Rid of Chronic Inflammation in the Body?

Why Is Gut Microbiota Important?

What Can Alter Gut Health?

Does Being Healthy Make Your Immune System Stronger?

What Factors Increase the Risk of Getting Viruses?

Many scientific studies were undertaken to see the common link between bodies with serious illness (including ‘healthy’ young people) and COVID-19.

Finally! The scientists found that the factor in common that worsened the prognosis and increased complications of COVID-19 was underlying systemic inflammation.

This makes sense because systemic inflammation is linked to obesity and most non-communicable diseases. People with underlying conditions have chronic (systemic) inflammation running through them.

How Do You Know If You Have Inflammation?

It’s imperative to know that inflammation is a dysregulation of the immune system.

We need adequate inflammation to respond to pathogens, viruses, and stimuli since it has always been a fundamental response to threats.

Read more about how the immune system works in my article: How to Boost Your Immunity to Fight Viruses, How to Recover from Virus Infections & Reduce Asthma With an Anti-inflammatory Diet.

Suppose the immune doesn’t succeed in dealing with the pathogen/virus. In that case, it releases a ‘cytokine storm,’ a rapid release of different pro-inflammatory cytokines (protein-based cell signaling molecules). It is this inflammatory storm that many very sick people are vulnerable to, rather than the virus itself.

The issue begins when inflammation is running consistently and destroying healthy tissue.

Now, the ancients characterized inflammation based on visual observation:

• Redness (rubor)
• Swelling (tumor)
• Heat (calor; applicable to body extremities)
• Pain (dolor)
• Loss of function (function laesa)

Certainly, systemic inflammation (chronic inflammation) presents itself to us with apparent signs and conditions like arthritis, colitis, lupus, alopecia, diabetes, obesity, and thyroid issues. Still, inflammation is much more complex than conditions you can ‘observe.’

From the acute to the chronic to the debilitating destruction – and oftentimes, hidden.

Inflammation can run through our vessels, growing into something more significant, without presenting signs and symptoms.

This links the otherwise ‘healthy’ people who suffered greatly and died during COVID-19.

The chronic inflammation was not showing visibly (and when it would, it would depend on many factors).

If there was systemic inflammation rising silently through the body, it made the immune system unable to produce an adequate attack to defend, thus making an otherwise ‘healthy’ person more susceptible to a virus like COVID-19.

There are, of course, genetic predispositions to inflammatory diseases, too, that come into play.

Indeed, this is another reason to assess your lifestyle: lessening the likelihood of activating genetics through eating, living, breathing, moving, resting, stress-busting, sleeping, and thinking in an anti-inflammatory way.

You don’t have to ‘feel’ unwell to consider reducing your inflammation.

Moreover, since chronic inflammation is so prevalent in our lives for an array of reasons, it is wise to combat inflammation before it presents itself into something bigger, sooner or later.

It is wise to prepare and fortify our body’s response to threats.

So, as you can imagine, ‘inflammation’ is now characterized as: ‘The reaction to injury of the living microcirculation and related tissues’ rather than the visual observation of olden times.

Some signs of inflammation may surprise you!

We can have chronic inflammation without knowing it. A silent disease, as such.

Is There a Test to Check for Inflammation?

Unfortunately, no highly effective tests assess whether chronic inflammation is running in your body.

There are several tests that the medical profession uses to measure inflammation, with cause to C-reactive protein (CRP), ferritin and fibrinogen, and Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Still, they are generally not used for health assessments and are not always accurate.

They cannot detect acute inflammation over chronic inflammation (acute inflammation would be present if you have a slight cold, for instance). There’s a bit more to it than that.

Looking for signs of ‘silent’ inflammation without cause (no symptoms) is less helpful than having screening for diseases such as IBD, obesity, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, etc.

Taking measures to keep inflammation at bay regularly, which you can control, is more helpful in your health journey for longevity.

I would advise discussing this with your health provider.

How Do You Get Rid of Chronic Inflammation in the Body?

Autoimmune and chronic inflammation diseases are dramatically rising, which are all associated with dysregulated immune responses.

This was revealed to me during my studies and trials in my quest to ‘cure’ myself or at least put my autoimmune diseases into remission.

Inflammatory markers kept coming up in my tests (which were ‘treated’ with anti-inflammatory corticosteroids. Initially, I was so pleased with the results, but the relief was temporary. I soon found medication was just a mask, like a plaster covering the symptoms but not treating the cause).

So, while conducting my own ‘healing the source’ strategy, I questioned why the number of people with inflammatory diseases was rising.

Is it all down to genetics, environmental agents, or just living longer, so more chances of developing diseases as we age?

Were the causes of inflammation out of our control?

Well, incredibly, I found out that we do have control somewhat.

It all boils down to lifestyle and our unique microbiota.

So, to answer the question, yes – you can reduce inflammation significantly and put your condition into remission. Hence Eat Burn Sleep was born in 2017.

Eat Burn Sleep’s protocol is what I searched for and needed when going through one of the most challenging times in my life (to put it lightly!).

You can reduce chronic inflammation and strengthen your immunity by improving microbiota in the gut.

Why Is Gut Microbiota Important?

This is a vast, fascinating topic, so I will summarise it for this article’s purpose.

Your gastrointestinal tract harbors a complex colony of trillions of different microbes and thousands of species of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites.

Suppose you can imagine this vast, industrial network of cell signaling and pathways with proteins, metabolites, peptides, etc., in the layers of the GI tract. In that case, you get a rough idea of the gut microbiome.

Most microbiota are symbiotic (microbiota and the body benefit), and some are pathogenic (disease-promoting).

These viruses and microbiota all co-exist quite happily in a healthy person.

A balanced microbiota stimulates the immune system and synthesizes amino acids and vitamins. It also assists in breaking down toxic compounds, providing protection from organisms that enter the body through contaminated food and drink.

Colonization is unique to us since it begins before birth, dynamically from our mother, whose first exposure was from her mother, and so on.

This links to an intriguing report about the existence of ancient microbes in our microbiome by Dr. Rook, University College, London. This was recently touched on in an article by Dr. Ravella, Columbia University Medical Center, for the Wall Street Journal.

These ancient microbes prevented the body from attacking its tissues and resembled that of the natural environment.

In the past, we lived under timber and close to dung and thatch. Nowadays, our homes are made with manufactured products, so we miss that connection to the past and do not have the microbiota to deal with these clean environments.

Unless we live on a farm in a natural environment or with pets! (Which makes me think of the powers of earthing and maximizing our exposure to nature and our connection to early antioxidants).

Exposure is key to protection!

So, the first exposure is entirely down to our mother’s/DNA species of microbiota but also depends on how we are delivered into the world. Vaginally delivered (and position), we have microbiota resembling our mother’s vagina microbiota. C-sections would harbor microbes from a mother’s skin.

The microbiota we were born with soon alters as we adapt to our surroundings. Like breast milk or formula, adult diet, and so on, corresponding to the changes. To ease digestion of an adult diet and allow for vitamin biosynthesis, for instance.

What Can Alter Gut Health?

To cultivate a diverse, anti-inflammatory microbiome, exposure to germs in the first few years of life is also necessary.

Exposure in infancy protects a child from developing weakened immune systems later in life that are sensitive to pollen, benign germs, and dust.

Plus, there are more risks of being susceptible to chronic inflammatory conditions and autoimmune diseases later in life without the correct quantity and quality of germs in childhood (Dr. Ravella).

Some studies (Fierer et al.) show that human fingertips can transfer microbe communities via keyboards, for instance. There are so many factors that can affect the microbiome. It is so fascinating!

So, everything we are exposed to as we grow, along with our diets, habits, and environment, shapes our microbiota communities. This community can change the body into a healthy state or one at greater risk of disease.

Our composition of microbiota has a crucial influence on our health.

Indeed, our microbiota is an intrinsic regulator of immune responses.

Gut microbiota plays a vital role in the development of immune homeostasis, including the development of gut-associated lymphoid tissues.

70% of immune cells (Gut-associated Lymphoid Tissue) reside in the gut. GALT is an essential component in protecting the body from pathogens. 

Gut microbiota and gut-associated lymphoid tissue are essential players in the pathogenesis of various diseases.

An unbalanced microbiota results in dysbiosis with (but not limited to):

• *An unhealthy diet, including calorie-restrictive and extreme diets
• *A compromised immune system (you can be born with or acquire a weakened immune system)
• *Overstimulated bowel functions (malnutrition)
• *Older age (influenced by personal factors)
• *Lifestyle
• *Obesity 
• *Medication (often to ‘treat’ disease causes more disease)
• *Antibiotics (wipe out a gut microbiota richness and diversity within four days)
• *Recurring bouts of acute inflammation (pneumonia, colds, flu)
• *Auto-inflammatory diseases
• *Stress 
• *Illness (a vicious cycle)
• *Environment (toxins, cleaning products, plastics, solvents, pesticides, cigarette smoke, mercury, and so on)
• *Sleep deprivation
• *Certain exercises
• *Isolation (not socializing significantly alters gut microbiota).

 

Dysbiosis (when an altered interaction between immune cells and microbiota occurs) makes the body susceptible to disease.

Like Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Celiac Disease, cancer, obesity, cardiovascular, central nervous system disorders, and diabetes.

Does Being Healthy Make Your Immune System Stronger?

You usually have less chance of catching viruses if your immunity is good and strengthened and less likelihood of viruses taking a stronghold if they are caught.

Your body will have adequate inflammation to cope with the pathogens but less so if your immunity is not in tiptop form.

One must always be cautious with a bit of information, dashing out and buying prebiotic supplements or embarking on a restrictive diet when chronic inflammation is present – or not!

Doing so may exacerbate the symptoms or initiate an inflammatory response. It may reduce beneficial microbiota and increase pathogenic microbiota. Your immune and endocrine systems may be affected.

I recommend taking a 360-degree anti-inflammatory approach when it comes to reducing inflammation.

Your body needs to be understood to be taken care of. It will aid longevity if approached from a ‘health education and nourishing angle and learning what is suitable for your body.

Eating, living, breathing, moving, resting, stress-busting, sleeping, and thinking in an anti-inflammatory way will positively influence the composition and operations of your microbiota and the innate and adaptive immune system. This will lower hidden inflammation in the long term.

Plus, when you are ‘gut’ healthier, you are more energized, productive, and happier (brain/gut connection, ‘feel good’ neurotransmitter production).

When you are happier, you are more likely to socialize.

When you socialize, you are improving your immunity further.

Improving your immunity increases your chances of having more autonomy over your health.

I wish you a very healthy and happy day!