Colorado Springs Functional Medicine

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3 Rs for Gut Restoration

I’m sure there isn’t a day that goes by that you don’t see a Facebook post talking about the gut.  In fact, I just posted one from some researchers concluding:

The study results support the hygiene hypothesis which, in the case of IBD, argues that the absence of exposure to worms in too-clean modern living spaces has left some with oversensitive, gut-based immune systems vulnerable to inflammatory diseases. Gut worms have helped to train and balance immune systems throughout human evolution, but are now missing in developed nations, which, in turn, have the highest rates of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. #GetDirty.

I’m currently reading Dr. Kelly Brogan’s book, A Mind of Your Own:  The Truth About Depression and How Women Can Heal Their Bodies to Reclaim Their Lives.  She is tackling the gut as a major source of mental illness.  The gut’s affect is linked to WAY more than just belly discomfort.  It’s linked to thyroid issues, hormones, joint destruction, autism, chronic fatigue, and so on and so on.

So what’s a person to do about it?  How do you know if you have gut problems?

The safe answer is to assume that you do have gut problems.  The solution is to create an internal ecosystem that promotes gut health.  What’s the danger of doing this if you don’t have gut problems?  Nothing.  It’s called creating health.  If it’s good for your gut, it’s good for your brain.  If it’s good for your gut, it’s good for your hair. If it’s good for your gut, it’s good for your sex drive.  If it’s good for your gut, it’s good for your mitochondria.

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Do Daddies Get Sick?

LESSONS LEARNED WHILE ON VACATION

• I’m either not that important, have no friends, or am a great delegator.  Where we were staying, I had ZERO cell phone reception.  Running a business, this can be a little stressful but decided to let it go.  When we got to the airport for our return trip, I turned the phone on.  I had 1 text message.  It was from my cell phone carrier reminding me of my upcoming bill due date. Whatever the reason for the lack of incoming messages, it all worked out great.

LESSON LEARNED:

Turn off your cell phone for extended periods of time when you’re with the people that you love and care about the most.   You’re not really missing anything.  I had everyone and everything at arms length.  It added confirmation that despite it being 2015, I still don’t need a smart phone, but maybe a better cell phone carrier…in case of emergencies.

Lifestyle Medicine

 

• I enjoyed some stand up paddle boarding in the ocean.  Usually I can pick up new activities fairly easy but I was getting frustrated with how much I was falling into the water standing on this barge.  I realized I was looking at my feet and the tip of the board.  I changed my gaze to the horizon and where I want to paddle to and it become easy.  I may or may not have pissed off some local fisherman casting off the pier.  I even had one offer to “come down there and help me out.”

LESSON LEARNED:

In life, look where you want to go.  In all honesty, I’ve heard this message before from leadership and personal development type books many times.  It took some kinesthetic learning to have it finally sink in (no pun intended).  You keep focusing on where you are, you’re going to stay where you are.  Sure you may make a little progress but until you fix your focus on where you want to go, you’ll be fighting a lot harder change your situation.

OTHER LESSON LEARNED: 

Fisherman are pretty mean.  Make sure you stay 300 feet away from them.

 

• I was preparing some lunch for the kids and my 3 year old asks me a question.  He asks, ‘Do daddies get sick?’  I said sometimes they do but I do my best to stay as healthy so I can take care of you.  His response was, “it’s OK if you get sick, mommy can just take care of you.”  I told him I would rather be strong and healthy so I can help mommy out.

LESSON LEARNED:

More is caught than taught and to my kids, healthy is normal.  If you’re a parent, you want nothing more than to see your kids healthy and happy.  And as a parent, you’ll do almost anything to achieve that.  At what expense?

Are you putting your own health and well being in jeopardy to make sure your kids have the best?  This doesn’t work in the long run.  At age 36, I wish I had a father that was well.  He was the epitome of being a servant leader. The problem is that his servant leadership turned into slave leadership and ignored his own health.  Now he has full blown Alzheimer’s and all those people that he served for decades want nothing to do with him because it’s ‘awkward’ to be around him.  Parents…start putting yourself first.  The first step might be shutting off the phone.

 

• I spent a lot of time either in the ocean or in a pool.  The only time I wore shoes was to workout in the morning and a shirt was 50/50.  After a workout, we headed to the water.

LESSON LEARNED:

Formal showers are optional when at the beach.  I only showered once during the week for a family photo and once before returning to civilization.  I don’t think I was stinky but if you enter a stinky room and can’t spot the stinky kid, it’s probably you.

Those that celebrate look forward to getting back to what allowed them to leave. Those that vacate dread getting back to what makes them want to leave. Click To Tweet

• By day 5, I was getting a little ancy to get back into the swing of regularly scheduled life.  I love what I do and hope that shines through with my clients.  Combing through lab reports, extensive health histories, Insight scans, adjusting giggling kids, and piecing all those together is really fun for me.  I had fun celebrating with family but don’t like to vacate my normal life for long periods of time.

LESSON LEARNED:

I don’t like the term ‘vacation’ and I feel bad for those that dread leaving vacation or dread Mondays in general.  Work at creating a life you enjoy and you don’t have to vacate.  You can go celebrate.  Take a ‘holiday’ and get refreshed to come back to what you love doing.  Those that celebrate look forward to getting back to what allowed them to leave.  Those that vacate dread getting back to what makes them want to leave.  Are you one that longs for vacation or one that celebrates?

What lessons have you learned while taking time away from your normal life?