Controlling bad gut bacteria and yeasts like Candida can be a challenge for chocolate lovers at Easter – I happen to know this from personal experience! Did you know research shows our gut bacteria actually send messages to our brains to make us consume MORE of what they need to multiply?* Isn’t that crazy? Personally it makes me wonder WHO OR WHAT is really behind the tradition of eating chocolate eggs at Easter! I reckon those colonies of bacteria and yeasts that live in our guts have us happily fooled.
The best thing to do for our physical health is just to skip Easter eggs altogether … but of course many of us know how awesome chocolate is for our psychological well-being. Really. Truly it is. I swear. If, like me, you appreciate the (ahem) psychological benefits of chocolate, once Easter is over you will need to nip those bad bacteria in the bud before they set you on a sugar merry-go-round that could last all the way through winter, leading to unnecessary weight gain and making the prospect of slipping into a bikini come Spring seem as remote as the Easter Bunny deciding to drop off green drinks instead of chocolate eggs.
Because once those bad yeasts and bacteria start to multiply, they want MORE, MORE, MORE! Which makes US want more, more, more … yep, it’s one of those vicious cycles. Being a chocolate lover I get myself in this tangle every Easter. Scott is awfully nice about it though. Once I come to my senses (yet again – those gut bacteria are so good at fooling me) and realise I’m craving chocolate, he directs me to the one natural medicine we always have on hand at home for bacterial overgrowth emergencies.
Its name is ‘Taiga‘ and for me it works every single time to stop my cravings, pretty much instantly. It’s a pine needle extract from Russia and it’s SO GOOD at killing many kinds of bacterial and yeast overgrowths, including Candida. Over the years it’s saved everyone in our family more than once from tummy upsets caused by bad bugs.
If you find yourself craving chocolate way past Easter, pop in and pick up some Taiga to kill off those baddies in your gut. Remember that as a current or past client you have the privilege of coming by any time to purchase medicines. Just a caveat: If you have any current health issues, you must let us know so we can run your purchase past Scott, as all our natural medicines are Practitioner Only formulations.
Taiga is not going to solve the problem on its own, mind you. Regardless of whether you reach for the Taiga, here are 5 actions you can take to feed your good bacteria and cull the bad guys:
Eat fibrous veggies. The good guys in our tummy need both soluble and insoluble fibre to thrive and multiply, and fight the good fight. But don’t reach for grains to fulfill your fibre needs, as they contain carbohydrates which will convert to sugar in your gut. Instead eat LOTS of veggies. The high water content of veggies is also beneficial and along with the fibre, will help promote regular bowel movements to flush out the bad guys. Also, good bacteria actually FEED on soluble fibre!
Eat fermented and cultured foods. These are full of good bacteria and can supplement and influence the bacteria already in our gut. Examples include sauerkraut, plain or greek yoghurt, kefir, kombucha, kimchi, miso, tempeh and cultured dips. Just make sure you are purchasing a product that contains live bacterial strains, and stay away from sweet commercial yoghurts which have loads of added sugar.
Stop eating sugar and carbs. Carbs convert to sugar in the gut, so if you’re struggling with sugar cravings it’s best to stop carbs too, for a while at least. Our gut bacteria can change remarkably quickly, and although it’s hard, if you resist the pull of carbs and sugar you should get things under control within a day or two.
Eat healthy fats, oils and proteins. All of these can help stop sugar cravings – and they taste great too! Coconut oil is especially good stuff, as is butter from grass-fed cows (butter is one of the few foods that contain butyrate – more on that below).
Move your body to increase circulation to your gut. Moderate exercise has been shown to increase good gut bacteria, as measured by butyrate production (butyrate is a short chain fatty acid produced by good gut bacteria and it helps protect against cancer, increase intestinal wall integrity, decrease inflammation and a whole host of other amazing things). Just make sure you fuel your exercise with protein and healthy fats, not carbs or sugar.
If you’re still struggling with sugar cravings after doing all this, OR if you just want to reduce the length of time you have to suffer through sugar cravings, then Taiga will be your best friend. Have a wonderful Easter break and we look forward to seeing you next month! If you’d like to make an appointment for April, just click on the pink Book Online Here button at the right or call us on 9876 8786 during our open hours (see below for our holiday dates). Best wishes,Fiona Hankinson Practice Manager
Holiday Hours Over Easter:
Good Friday: CLOSED
Saturday: CLOSED
Easter Sunday: CLOSED
Easter Monday: CLOSED
Tuesday: CLOSED Wednesday: Reopening at 9am to Standard Hours.
(Please note Scott is practicing on Wednesday 4th instead of Tuesday 3rd next week).
