Why Following Your Gut Is A Key To Good Health
For most of us, living our best, healthiest life goes far beyond the steps we take on the treadmill. And while we’ve all likely heard the adage, “abs are made in the kitchen,” our overall wellness - think total package here: mind, body and even mood - actually has a lot more to do with a happy stomach than it does with a healthy plate of food on its own.
“Gut health is central to wellness in so many ways: for digestive function, nutrient absorption and energy; but also for mood regulation, inflammation, skin, weight management, and immune system function,” says Toronto naturopathic doctor Shawna Darou.
The challenge is that knowing your body — what works and what doesn’t — likely looks a little different for everyone, because we all have unique needs. So, in order to understand just how much healthier living can transform overall wellbeing, we’ve partnered with Renew Life® to follow one person’s unique journey to better gut-health.
A Good Health Journey, Straight Through The Gut
When we last met Eva Redpath, the Co-Active® Life Coach and wellness leader was waiting on test results from her consultations with Dr. Darou and Dr. Joey Schulman, a registered holistic nutritionist. Despite her life-long commitment to and expertise in fitness and healthy-living, Eva regularly suffered from digestive issues and constipation. This made her an ideal candidate for a Comprehensive Digestive Stool Test.
“These tests look at overall bacterial and yeast culture, digestion and absorption markers along with inflammation and immunological markers. It gives a very good snapshot in regards to intestinal health,” says Dr. Schulman. Now that the results are in, we followed up with Eva to see just how some new-found gut insight has changed her overall health.
Small Changes Can Yield Big Results
Following an initial chat with Dr. Darou, Dr. Schulman reviewed Eva’s results and provided a high-level overview of issues related to diet, gut health and digestion.
Eva was then given guidance in the form of four simple steps on how to improve her gut wellness.
Increase diversity of plant foods — the more variety the better
Incorporate more fermented foods into her diet
Supplement with a daily probiotic, like the 50 Billion Critical Care by Renew Life Canada
Increase water intake
From Smoother Digestion To Better Sleep, Gut Answers Can Do Wonders
With a little time and simple lifestyle adjustments (a.k.a. homework), Eva was pleased with the outcome of her efforts. “After my initial meeting with Dr. Darou,” who requisitioned the Comprehensive Digestive Stool Test, "I was pleased to see that my results reflected the positive changes I’ve made in regards to lifestyle, nutrition, sleep and stress levels — all to improve my overall health."
“If you aren’t already, I highly encourage you to get curious,” says Eva. “You can do a deep dive like I did, or start with looking at my 5 pillars of wellness; mindset, movement, nutrition, regeneration, and supplementation, and work to make some positive changes, one step at a time.”
While not everyone’s journey will follow the same path as Eva’s, Dr. Schulman agrees that curiosity can do wonders when it comes to investigating a range of unanswered health questions. “This test is a valuable tool if you have digestive, inflammatory or immune issues [specifically]. But we know that the health of your gut is linked to sleep, weight loss and even mood. So…the more we know - the better! I am a big fan of ‘“test, don’t guess!'"
When it comes to probiotics and gastrointestinal and intestinal health, Renew Life® is amongst the top-selling brands in Canada. See how they can help you start living healthier from the inside out.
Dr. Joey Schulman and Dr. Shawna Darou worked in partnership with Renew Life® Canada. For more information on the Comprehensive Stool Analysis, please visit https://www.doctorsdata.com/comprehensive-stool-analysis/”
