This is a topic I am so engrossed by; seriously I love my guts! Your guts are your life line, they are the gateway to your health. Our inner ecosystem is the driving force of our immune system; if the ecosystem is not flourishing then we can be sure that the signs will be showing…symptoms include things such as bad skin, fatigue, depression, anxiety, cellulite, moodiness, weight gain, the list is endless!

The intestinal tract is full of both good and bad bacteria, and this needs to be balanced in order to achieve optimal health. Unfortunately, it is easy to tip the balance of the ecosystem; too much sugar, processed foods, alcohol, preservatives, drugs, antibiotics and even stress, make it very hard for the good bacteria to thrive.  Too much bad bacteria can build up the yeast (Candida) supply in our bodies causing all of the above symptoms. If the yeast gets too over populated and starts to spread into the blood this can cause even greater health problems. Most of the common diseases that are diagnosed everyday are a result of our SAD western diets and lack of knowledge on how to prevent them occurring. Sadly, doctors don’t tell us how to strengthen our inner ecosystem, instead we are given antibiotics which actually destroy the good and bad bacteria in our guts.  It can take up to a year to repair the damage one course of antibiotics has done.

Fear not. We can repair ourselves! It’s pretty easy and not that expensive to do, but it will take time, effort and patience.

Six tips on how to restore your inner ecosystem 

1. Get some probiotics into you. You can take it in the form of a capsule or powder. They’re readily available at the chemist or your naturopath. Just remember that they must be kept in the fridge.

2. Eat cultured veggies at least 4 times a week. Sauerkraut, Kim Chi and other fermented foods are a great source of naturally occurring bacteria and it tastes so good! People are becoming more aware of the wonders of fermented foods, and you will usually find it at your health food shop or if you can spare 10 minutes you can make it yourself (recipe coming soon)

3. Milk Kefir or water Kefir (depends on whether you can tolerate dairy or not). You can have the kefir (milk) on muesli, in your morning smoothie  or just mix it with a handful of blueberries. It’s best to stay away from really sweet fruits when trying to stabilise your ecosystem as bananas, mangoes and many stone fruit have a very high fructose content. Kiwis, berries and citrus fruits are the best options! You can buy the water granules from health food shops or you can pick up the live grains on ebay, gumtree or look up the weston price foundation for someone in your area who can guide you on where to look.

4. Drink plenty of water! Bet you didn’t know that your poo was made up of about 70% water! Bacteria loves to move around so by drinking plenty of H2O it helps to avoid being constipated. Constipation makes it very difficult for healthy bacteria to thrive.

5. Get a Colon Cleanse. Many wellness centres offer this and undergoing a course will definitely help remove the toxins, getting those glorious guts thriving once more.

6.We must ensure that we eat good quality foods;  this means cutting out packaged foods, white sugars and processed flours. Since food is what you and the bacteria in your gut gain nutrition from, it makes sense to put the best food possible into your body.