Feeding Your Bacteria
Is the food we’re eating on a regular basis the reason why we get sick?
If we change our food, could we change the state of our health?
Can we also affect our moods by making changes to our diet?
I firmly believe we can.
The collective human microbe colony weighs about 1 and a-half kilos – as much as our brains. Bacterial cells outnumber our human cells by 10 to 1 and they live predominantly inside our gut.
Our gut bacteria, also known as the Microbiome (pronounced micro-bi-ome) lives off of the food we eat. The problem is that certain foods feed good bacteria and others feed bad bacteria.
We are literally invaded by these organisms, feeding off of everything we ingest.
Have you ever thought about how the food you eat is either contributing to your good health or fuelling your ill health?
Over the last few years gut bacteria has been the subject of curious scientists exploring the link between the state of our gut bacteria and the state of our mental health.
As this is a huge focus of my personal and professional work, I’m always learning more about the link between the health of our gut (microbiome) and the state of our overall health and moods.
When I was younger and suffering terrible bloating, irregular bowel movements, belching, burping and highly uncomfortable abdominal pain, I was not happy nor eating a healthy diet.
Before my diet became a conscious choice of real food, I was often swayed by sweet, salty and tasty foods that were convenient, social and what everyone else was eating around me.
Processed, refined and junk foods were the cause of brain fog and regular digestive upsets, but back then I had no idea how my gut and health were connected.
Throughout the years of my eating disorder recovery, which developed because of severe dieting and restriction, I often succumbed to intense cravings for these foods because my cells were not nourished on a deeper level.
I read countless articles, books and research that slowly merged into an instinctive awareness that my food choices was the missing link.
My family had spent years eating a lot of inflammatory foods on a regular basis. As I learnt more, determined to break away from bad habits, I started focusing on eating high fibre, real, whole and natural food whilst changing my lifestyle to be more active, and my mindset to be more conscious.
Gradually I started feeling more energetic, I slept soundly, I woke with positivity, my appetite stabilised, and my sugar cravings gradually faded away. My bowel movements quickly became regular, my hunger lessened and my hair loss slowed.
By changing my food choices, I had rapidly changed the state of my health.
Including more fibre from whole, natural foods creates a healthier environment within our microbiome – our gut bacteria – which in turn creates a healthier state of mind and hormonal functioning.
Therefore in a nutshell:
- Whole, natural food choices equal healthy, good bacteria.
- Processed and refined food choices (fast food) equal bad bacteria, ripe for ill health and future disease.
Are your food choices contributing to your wellness or ill health?
Think Well, Eat Well, Live Well….
Viki xo
About Viki
Viki Thondley is a Mind-Body Wellness Specialist and qualified Holistic Counsellor, Food, Stress & Lifestyle Coach, Meditation Therapist, and Eating Disorder Recovery Coach who inspires women to shift from dieting and restriction to whole-self nourishment, self-care and healing. Recovered from bulimia nervosa and the many years of hormonal imbalances, food prison and self-sabotaging behaviours’, Viki is an inspiring coach, speaker and event host who also provides personalised holistic programs, workshops and retreats to instil self-love, happiness, body confidence and real food freedom. She is author of “Achieving Your Wellness: Create a Life You Love” and “Healthy Chocolate Delights: Real Food Sweet Treats”.
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