Gut Bacteria...Good or Bad?
Do you know about the importance of your microbiome?
Microbiome is simply the community of bacteria living in your gut. The cells of the microbiome far outnumber the amount of cells in the rest of your body, and yet we are just beginning to see the vast amount of influence they have on our overall health.
The microbiome is essential for proper digestion, vitamin manufacturing and absorption, regulating blood sugar, and metabolism. Faulty microbiome is now associated with autoimmune disease and slowly gaining ground as a major source of most chronic health problems, and can even mess with your brain chemistry.
One of the oldest schools of Chinese medicine, well over 1000 years ago, stated the key to good health starts with a healthy digestion. The ancient medical practitioners felt that if you had good digestion, disease would be short-lived and lessened in severity. This appears to be true today in regards to a healthy microbiome.
Stress and Microbiome
Stress plays a huge role in compromising the microbiome. Chronic stress shuts off digestion and weakens the cell walls that protect us from undigested food. It even limits the absorption of important nutrients.
Adaptogenic herbs are great for your nervous system, and formulas like TianChi and Inner Peace allow you to flow back into the recovery phase of a stress response, a return to parasympathetic dominance.
Think of this as feeling relaxed, feeling present, paying attention, and being aware of the now. The parasympathetic nervous system also decreases respiration and heart rate, and increases digestion.
