Your body is truly regenerative when you know how to feed and take care of it. And this all starts with gut health.
Each one of us exists thanks to an amazing living community of cells, bacteria, fungi & Protozoa, that balance each other for our wellbeing – welcome to your microbiome.
Your microbiome is found in your gut, on your skin, in your eyes, in your brain – it’s in every tissue that creates your existence. When this living community teaming with life becomes unbalanced we become physically ill and mentally stressed. A compromised microbiome stops your cells from communicating properly, with gut problems, allergies, a weakened immune system and chronic illnesses the result.
There is currently a radical changing paradigm underway in relation to our wellbeing, with research showing our health is determined by the relationship between our food and our gut microbiome, along with the relationship between our gut microbiome and the mitochondria within each cell of our body.
This eco-system determines whether we have a strong immune system, how stressed we feel and how happy we are. Gut issues are a signal from the body that this system needs support.
The foods we eat and the way they are grown, determine our immune function, vitality, brain function and emotional well-being, as they move through a digestive process which relies upon the health of this eco-system that underpins it, which can only function well when the food we eat is grown in soil that is alive — our health and the health of the planet are intimately connected.
Ayurveda, one of the worlds oldest healing systems, places gut health firmly at the centre of its approach to preventative healthcare and healing. It is a health system that connects us back to nature, recognising that we are part of nature and need to live in balance with it, through our food and lifestyle choices. When we don’t do this, Ayurveda explains that digestion suffers, immune function deteriorates and the conditions for disease have been created.
We are living through a time in which we can leap forward into a global food future that brings health to us and at the same time, care for the planet. We can step into this future by acknowledging the harm done by the chemical food production system and switching to regenerative farming, agroforestry and wilding approaches, which will return the life to our soils, nourishment to our food, and well-being to us.
We appear to be at a transition, with science acknowledging the Ayurvedic view, that both physical and mental health are based upon healthy digestion. And, this coincides with the understanding about the symbiotic relationship between the microbiome in the soil, how we grow our food, the microbiome in our gut, and our own biology.
There is a lot to feel optimistic about, but it all begins with understanding the choices we make about the food we eat and the way it is grown, along with how the things we consume through all our senses — our lifestyle choices — impact us. Ayurveda offers a constitutional blueprint for 3 main different constitutional types which covers this. The blueprint includes some simple lifestyle guidance appropriate for all constitutions that includes the following:
- Live to a natural rhythm
- Eat and make life choices that support your constitution to stay in balance
- Eat you main meal at lunchtime when your digestive fire is at its strongest
- Eat food that has been grown in living soils without the use of chemicals
- Change your food and other life choices to balance the effects of the changing seasons
- Carry out an Ayurvedic cleanse between winter and spring, and between summer and autumn
- Get up at dawn and be asleep by 10 pm
It would be a rare person who followed these guidelines all the time without fail, but these 7 tips can have a huge impact upon your health, giving you a foundation for a happy, healthy life. If you would like to know more pop into the shop for a free 15 minute chat.
Lucy Fleetwood, of Fleetwood Health Coaching, is a health coach and long-time specialist in food sustainability, soil, and food growing. She helps people return to a healthy life balance through the food they eat and stress reduction, using the following approaches:
Lucy is a qualified Coach, Ayurvedic Consultant, and Solution Focused Hypnotherapist, working from the Neal’s Yard therapy rooms on Fridays between 2 pm and 7 pm. Lucy has memberships with The Coaching Association, National Council for Hypnotherapy, and Ayurvedic Professionals Association. She is also a long-time specialist in food sustainability, soil, and food growing.
Ayurveda is a preventative healthcare approach and ancient life science that helps to restore and strengthen your body’s innate regenerative abilities.
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy, applies the knowledge of neuroscience in combination with guided relaxation to help reduce stress, which nurtures a neural network that supports a more balanced life.
