This blog is all about digestion, the fifth aspect of what we call the Six Signals® which includes sleep, mental health, energy, body composition, digestion and fitness.
I want to talk about a question I’ve been asked quite a lot recently, which is, “How can I get over this bloatedness? What’s going on? How can I determine what’s going on in my body that’s making me feel bloated, gassy, and just generally pretty sick?”
There are a few things that you can do here. The first one would be to start taking in some form of probiotic or kefir, for example. Many of you who are familiar with my blog will know that I talk a lot about Chuckling Goat, the goat’s milk kefir that I drink every morning; trying to get some sort of probiotics into the gut is never a bad thing to do, irrespective of what’s going on for you.
The second thing to do, which costs absolutely nothing except for some time and effort, is to do an elimination diet (eliminating certain food groups from your diet). This could be gluten, lactose, refined carbohydrates or sugar etc. Take them out of your diet for two weeks, no more, and see how you feel. Does the bloating go down? Does the gas go away? Do you feel better, more energised, and healthier? Then gradually bring that food back in and see what happens. Do you suddenly get bloated and sick again? Do this with each of the major food groups. You can get a bit more sophisticated than that, but that’s a free way of trying to find out what might be going on for you.
The next step would be to do some testing. You can go to the doctor’s and try and get some testing through them. Alternatively, you can look at the DNA test that we provide. You can also do food intolerance tests; do get in touch with us if you’re interested in those. The DNA tests will tell you whether you’re sensitive to gluten, lactose, carbohydrates, fats, and it will help take some of the guesswork out of your diet and how you should be eating.
But the main one to consider is a gut test. I’ve done a couple of these over the last few months. My first one found that I had candida, and I’m pleased to say that’s gone in my second test, but I noticed some oddities in my second test, and I’ll need to go through those results and find out what those things are. The gut test is not inexpensive. It’s several hundred pounds, but it is worth it, because what goes on in our gut, we now know to influence most of the major organs of the body, including our brain and our mental health, but also autoimmune conditions including asthma, eczema and rheumatoid arthritis. Also, autism and other conditions. We now know that the command and control centre is almost certainly in the gut rather than in the brain.
If you are suffering from any of the symptoms mentioned, first of all, stop, take stock, write down everything that you’re eating, and then start to eliminate some of those foods. Get some good-quality probiotics or kefir into your system too. Then you can take it to the next level and do further testing, if you think that’s worthwhile and you’ve still got those symptoms. If you’ve got questions, let me know at leanne@bodyshotperformance.com.
Bodyshot Digestion Package
We have brought together everything you need to optimise your digestion, in one package. The Digestion Package includes the DNA test for diet and fitness combined with a non-invasive blood test panel for 10 key markers including thyroid, cholesterol, vitamin D3 and B12 and folate.
Once we’ve received the results of your DNA and blood test, we arrange a suitable time for the consultation which takes place online and lasts approximately 60 minutes. In the consultation, we analyse your results, explain what everything means and draw up a personalised action plan.
Our Digestion Package includes an eBook that talks you through the Digestion Signal and gives you loads of tips, information and a resource you can keep coming back to. The eBook is a concise summary of everything we’ve learned from the hundreds of clients we’ve helped to optimise their digestion.
What you get:
- DNA test for diet and fitness
- GI Map comprehensive gut testing
- Custom Blood Panel
- eBook
- 21 Day Course of Goat Milk Kefir
- Consultation with a Health Expert
If you would like to find out more about this package, please click here.
What’s your Health IQ?
If you’re reading this, you’re are probably in a reasonably senior position, running your own business or have a busy life running the home and juggling other responsibilities. Either way, you’re busy. The convergent pressures of work and family life have probably meant that the time you did have to spend on health and fitness has disappeared. Why not talk to us and see how we can help.
Leanne Spencer is an entrepreneur, coach, TEDx Speaker, author of Remove the Guesswork, and founder of Bodyshot Performance Limited. Bodyshot is a health and fitness consultancy that helps busy professionals get more energy by removing the guesswork around their health, fitness and nutrition. Visit www.bodyshotperformance.com or email info@bodyshotperformance.com to register your interest in our services and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
