Wellness Begins in Our Bellies

What is wellness? Literally, wellness is defined as the condition of good physical and mental health, especially when properly maintained. There are many ways to achieve this balance, but in every life there will be moments when our bodies or our minds break down. For many, when the body is not functioning properly due to a nagging injury or ailment, the mind has a tendency to wander into murky waters. At least this has been my experience.

Like any challenge that we are faced with in life, be it in body or mind, it’s all about our perception and attitude that ultimately effects the way in which we cope with what is going on. No matter how challenging the situation, I always look for the silver lining, but sometimes, no matter how positive my attitude may be, this time, I needed help to get over the hump to reclaim my wellness. I’ve practiced yoga for nearly a decade now and it has been my primary tool to help me stay extremely in tune with my body, but something was lurking inside me that my practice couldn’t pin point or resolve, so I turned to my acupuncturist, Laura Farb of Jade Lotus Wellness, for some insight to what might be going on, and the findings, as you will see, are enlightening.

Laura has specialized in applied clinical nutrition since her twenties and after completing her undergraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania, she went on to earn her Masters Degree in Acupuncture which included studying under internationally recognized acupuncturist David Euler, who teaches acupuncture to physicians at Harvard Medical School.

Charming as she is smart, I decided to split the coverage of my cleanse into a two part series, the first of which is below. The bit about the foods that I ate and didn’t eat are in the Living section to your left.

First and foremost, I wanted to discuss why cleanses are so gosh darn good for us, so
Laura and I sat down for a cup of tea so she could do the explaining since I’m just a gluten free baker, not a wellness expert.

KM: Hi Laura, thanks for joining me today.

LF: No problem, I’m happy to see you.

KM: Aw, thanks. Right back at ya. So shall I jump right in?

LF: Sure. Do you want any coffee or tea?

KM: No, I already had my daily dosing of caffeine, but thank you. (Laura laughs)

LF: How are you feeling today?

KM: I’m feeling better everyday every since doing this cleanse, but I think I want to do another one.

LF: Really? That is great!

KM: I know, I’m officially a believer in cleanses being a thing of magic for the body. I can’t believe how much better I feel. I feel well again. Speaking of which, how would you define wellness?

LF: Wellness is essentially symptom management of our constitutional weaknesses and acupuncture addresses these weaknesses.

KM: That’s tight. Can you elaborate a bit?

LF: Sure. Say someone is feeling a little depressed, for example. When I ask them how their body is feeling, their symptoms usually include problems with their gut, and this makes sense, because 80% of serotonin is produced in the gut. So the first thing I do is heal their tummies, which, by default, alleviates their depression.

KM: Wow, that’s pretty amazing. So can stress manifest itself in the gut as well?

LF: Absolutely. Stress, first and foremost affects the nervous system. When the nervous system is compromised, like ripples in a pond, it effects all the other systems of the body. Suddenly, the body cannot relax. When the body can’t relax, it becomes inflamed and can’t heal itself on a day-to-day basis. I went through this when I was in graduate school and it was so awful I ended up in the ER. I was so stressed out and my body was so inflamed, it caused the pH in my body to become very acidic, which led to leaky gut, where proteins poured into my body, causing all the other organs to become inflamed. Your gut is basically a metaphor for everything; it’s the foundation of health.

KM: Oh god, that sounds so like something from CSI. So that is what has been going on in my gut?

LF: On some level yes.

KM: Nasty. Makes me want to mop or something. No wonder they are called cleanses. So what is the best way to look at cleanses? I think most people hear the word “cleanse” and get a little freaked out and see them as a form of torture.

LF: Well, for those who don’t want to be radical in their approach to a cleanse, I always say that there are so many different levels. You can do the full monty Master Cleanse or do something as simple as eliminating soft drinks from your diet. Anytime you take something out of your diet, it’s a cleanse.

KM: So I was in the more radical end of the spectrum?

LF: Yes, but you needed it. You were so stressed out, your body was becoming too acidic, so you literally couldn’t tolerate dairy, grains, alcohol, or refined sugar, so you took those out so you could give your body a chance to recalibrate itself.

KM: So is it safe to say that a cleanse is like putting jumper cables on your body?

LF: That’s one way of looking at it. You were actually giving your body a break. Digesting food takes a lot of energy and when your body is stressed, it only makes this more difficult, so when your digestive system gets a break, your whole body thanks you for it.

KM: I want my body to keep thanking me. So how do we know when to do a cleanse?

LF: That’s the beauty of it. Your body will tell you, “I need you to cut back on something.” And even though you don’t know what that something is, by electing to go on a cleanse, you may not be able to pinpoint the root cause of why you need it, but you will reap the benefits. But it’s great to do it before and after the holidays because of all the eating that is going on. Winter is rest.

KM: I love the power of that little intuitive voice.

LF: I know! We all need to listen to it more.

KM: So what are some everyday tips you can share about maintaining a healthy gut?

LF: Drink warm water with lemon in the morning to calm your stomach and kick start digestion, eat fermented foods like sauerkraut, to naturally put probiotics back into your system and take minerals! Mineral deficiency is the number one cause of nutritional deficiency because of the way we have drastically changed the way we process our foods, which is sad but true, so we have to supplement our mineral intake.

KM: I think the way we have bastardized our food supply has contributed to the rise of autoimmune disorders, including celiac disease and gluten intolerance, would you agree?

LF: Absolutely. Even though we have food to eat, it’s not giving us the nutrients and the minerals our bodies need to thrive. This is not normal, but it’s common.

KM: So to circle back around a bit, what if I don’t like fermented foods? Can I take probiotics from the store to promote healthy digestion?

LF: Sure, but I always recommend the foods first.

KM: Food is the most crucial aspect to all of this. Being gluten free, I’ve eliminated nearly all processed foods from my diet, but don’t you think this is a recommendation that everyone should follow, gluten free or not?

LF: YES. Heavily processed foods are no longer really foods because they have no nutritive values left. Food is supposed to nourish us, not break us down.