A healthy gastrointestinal system (gut) is comprised of trillions of beneficial bacteria and your intestinal lining essentially builds a beautiful barrier between your bloodstream and everything (good and bad) you are ingesting day in day out. A highly functioning digestive system results in a healthy balance between the good bacteria and bad bacteria.
Our modern fast paced, less healthful way of life with all its daily stressors inevitably takes its toll and appears around our stomach. On the outside our tummies seem to grow rounder or wider and softer and on the inside we can experience such issues as leaky guts, candida overgrowth, IBS, gluten intolerance, depression, chronic fatigue, brain fog, sleeping disorders, ADHD, stomach ulcers. If left untreated these symptoms can lead to chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancer.
What can you do to restore a happy balance in your gut? The great news is you can help your healthy bacteria thrive and keep the unhealthy ones at bay.
Crowd out the junk…and I am talking holistically here. So have a look at everything that is really pushing your buttons to go into overdrive mode and then work on replacing them with healthier ways to live. I find introducing daily rituals helpful that bring your adrenals and you time for peace and quiet, things such as meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, exercise in general, or simply indulge in having a blissful bath or massage. I find it essential to crowd out unhelpful foods from your diet and instead nurture your beautiful body, soul and mind with nutritious whole-foods. I also recommend:
- Drink enough water (2-3 litres per day depending on how active you are) to keep your digestive system lubricated
- Ensure your diet contains lots of foods which are high in fibre such as wholegrains, greens fruits, seeds and nuts and bubble wrap your gut with lots of healthy bacteria such as fermented foods and probiotics to feed your good bacteria and restore their integrity.
Achieving this balanced utopia is possible and it’s your best insurance policy for a great and strong immune system, thriving health, great energy and overall happiness and wellbeing.
A very simple way to get your healthy and delicious dose of probiotics is by making your own coconut kefir. I know that this can sound a bit daunting and overwhelming and way beyond your comfort zone at first, but to make your own kefir is actually really simple. I promise you once you have given it a go and fit your kefir making and drinking into your daily routine, you will not want to live without it anymore. I am hooked! This is a simple solution and makes you feel great! Why would you not want to give it a go?
Here is your recipe for your delicious coconut kefir in 2 ways. Enjoy!!!
Kefir coconut water (for a more in detailed description also look at bla on paper inside the little box of kefir starter your ordered).
- Use 4 green / young coconuts (I like buying them from Peaches in South Freo, but you can really get them anywhere)
- Take lid off
- Pour coconut water in pot
- Heat to 37 degrees / baby bottle warm
- Add kefit starter (1 sachet)
- Mix well with wooden spoon
- Pour into sterilised glass bottles (dishwasher does a great job in sterilising them:-))
- Make sure they are not left standing in too cold environment if kitch = cold overnight, put alu foil around bottle, also be sure not to move / stir while culturising
- Leave culturising for 17 to 24 hours
- Put in fridge after, will keep for a week in fridge
- I love to use this one in my green smoothies
- Coconut Kefir Milk
- Spoon flesh out of 4 coconuts and put in thermomix, fill up with filtered water (depending on you how thick you would like to have milk either almost to allowed top marking or less, also depends on how much flesh coconuts had…they vary)
- Blitz
- With your nutbag strain milk from little flesh pieces (but catch them in bowl or something and enjoy with porridge or just like this:-)) (keeps for 4-5 days)
Now you have made coconut milk which you could use like this or if you want to make the kefir, do exactly same steps as mentioned above for kefir water 🙂 Keeps for a week