Being the beginning of the year, many of you are determined to live a healthier life & lose weight, so I thought I’d talk about one of the huge factors that may be standing in the way of getting rid of the ole’ tire around the waste. Yep, we’re getting real. We’re getting personal. We’re talking about poop! In nursing school, I was taught that anywhere between having a BM (bowel movement) 3 times per day to every 3 days was considered “normal”. Sorry nursing school, but that just can’t be right. Think about it. How many times do we eat??? ATLEAST 3 times, and for most people it is 3 meals and 3 snacks. How does it make sense for us to eat that much food and only eliminate once every 3 days? That’s just silly! The truth is, optimally, we should be going to the bathroom atleast 3 times per day. I know…I know…you’re thinking, Jessica Angelina Lopez, you are CRAZY! I promise I’m not trippin guys. It’s true! For OPTIMAL health, to feel your best, have lasting energy, clear skin, a healthy liver, a flawless digestive tract, this is what should be happening.

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Here are the TOP 10 reasons our tubes get clogged…

1. Magnesium Deficiency-

Magnesium is ESSENTIAL for smooth muscle contraction, including the heart and the wave like motion (called peristalsis) that pushes food through the digestive tract. A deficiency leads to poor digestive function including constipation.

2. Leaky-Gut Syndrome-

This refers to an intestinal wall with microscopic holes in it from yeast, fungal, and parasite damage from a poor diet and candida overgrowth. Small particles of food and toxins get through these holes causing a myriad of problems in the body, and one of them being constipation. Unfortunately constipation also causes leaky gut syndrome, and it must be dealt with immediately- This is where my epic health programs come in!!

3. Lazy Colon-

Have you ever tried laxatives or even natural herbs and herbal teas such as cascara sagrada and senna leaf? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but all of those options are no good for solving the problem of constipation. Unfortunately back in the day I was a victim of these teas and colon cleanses that force the colon to expel. When you use these methods, especially over a long period of time, your colon basically says “screw you”, and stops working on it’s own, hence the term “lazy colon”. The only way to retrain your colon is through a series of colonics or colon hydrotherapy.

4. Lack of fiber-

You MUST get in loads of fiber on a daily basis. We are NOT talking about Metamucil or the average fiber chews you get at Walmart. I’m talking about REAL FOOD FIBER! Chia seeds, flax seeds, the 4 seed-like grains (quinoa, millet, amaranth, buckwheat), lots of vegetables and some low-sugar fruits, and some approved fiber products from trusted sources such as Renew Life, Garden of Life, or Dr. Mercola.

5. Lack of fat-

“But Jessica, I’m trying to lose fat!”, Oh I know! BUT EATING GOOD FAT IS KEY TO LOSING BAD FAT! Especially when it comes to cleaning your colon. Think of it as oiling up the tubes. Let’s just say it keeps things sailing smoothly. 🙂

6. Clogged Liver & Gallbladder

If your liver and gallbladder are clogged up, it will be nearly impossible to have a functioning digestive system and even harder to lose weight. It is CRUCIAL to take care of these organs. In my health coaching programs, such as The Empowered Woman, I safely teach each person how to cleanse their liver and gallbladder. It is built into my programs to ensure each person is ready for this step. Cleansing and detoxing CAN BE DANGEROUS! So, make sure if you do this, you are working with someone who knows your body very well and can tell if you are ready or not.

7. Hormone Imbalance–

There is alot to know when it comes to hormonal balance and it dramatically affects your metabolism and digestive system. If your adrenal glands are shot and your thyroid is slow, you will nearly always struggle with constipation. It is ESSENTIAL to support these areas, and when you do…whoa nelly will you see an improvement in your life!

8. Candida-

Oh Candida how I loathe thee…I cannot tell you how THANKFUL I am to have all the tools I need to keep candida in it’s place, and that is NOT in my body! Candia Albicans is a bacteria from the devil that can completely take over your body causing you to feel all sorts of bad things from serious digestive disease, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, foggy head, indigestion, severe fatigue, adrenal exhaustion, endometriosis, infertility…I mean really, it’s bad news bears. This is one of the TOP reasons for constipation. Ridding the body of it is a complex process, but can always be beat, I don’t care what your situation is. This is where I come in to battle with you in the trenches. Together we can DEFEAT candida! 🙂

9.Dehydration-

A dehydrated gut will not work. Period. Shoot, a dehydrated body will not work! DRINK WATER PEOPLE! And not just any water. You need to be drinking fresh alkaline spring water to be exact. This is SO important, that I devote an ENTIRE week to water in my program!

10. Stress-

What happens when you get nervous? What do you feel in your stomach? Knots? Butterflies? Sick to your stomach? Think about it, your BRAIN feels nervous and your STOMACH feels sick. See the correlation? Stress depletes your body of magnesium first of all, but it completely shuts down many of your body’s systems to prepare you for something intense. This is why it is called “fight or flight” system. Your sympathetic nervous system is ignited when you are stressed causing a chain reaction of events to occur in your body preparing you to run away from a bear, give you super powers to fight a mountain lion, or lift a car…I know extreme, but get my point? This is NOT the optimal situation to make sure you are pooping properly. Well, for some people I guess it encourages the situation since we have the expression ” I’m going to crap my pants” when someone is scared. But for the most part, it shuts down your systems so all the blood goes to your extremities to give you the maximum energy to do what you need to, to survive. So, slow down and relax to dramatically improve your digestion. PLUS this is crucial for anyone wanting to lose weight. Stress causes that cortisol tire around the waste.

Now that you know the biggest culprits, on top of addressing each of the areas above, here are my personal favorites for fixing the problem. You can Google each of these for more info-

Liquid Angstrom Magnesium and/or Peter Gillham’s “Calm” drink
Home enemas with fresh spring water or organic coffee
Colon hydrotherapy
Lemon water
PROBIOTICS! There are only a few brands I recommend to my clients, so make sure it’s a good brand!
CULTURED FOODS & DRINKS
SUNRIDER FOODS!!! I can’t say enough about how these amazing foods have impacted my digestive system & health!
Superfoods such as chlorella & Spirulina.
Digestive Enzymes

There you have it folks. Have fun cleaning out the junk in your trunk! Remember, if you ever would like a FREE consultation for one of my health programs to get on the “Fast Track” to healing your body, mind, & soul for good, you can email me directly at Jessica@JessicaLopezRN.com or use my calendar link here to schedule your appointment and see if this would be a good fit for you!

In Health, Hope, & Happiness,

Today is Feeeel Good Friday!

Today’s topic is on the gut-brain axis and what your digestive system has to do with your emotions and mental health. Check out my video and info below…

2 extra tools to heal the gut-brain axis that are worth mentioning is Vitamin D and Essential Fatty Acids.

Vitamin D has been proven time and time again to improve your immune system, decrease inflammation, fight cancer cells, and support all around healing in the body. The sun is the optimal source of Vitamin D. For those who do need supplementation, I only recommend a few sources that are truly safe and effective, so make sure you speak with someone before you purchase one.

Essential Fatty Acids are amazingly effective when it comes to inflammation in the body. These EFA’s are phenomenal healers for both the gut and brain. Deficiency in EFA’s can cause multiple problems including disruption in the gut-brain axis. Great sources are Jeff’s Best Hemp oil (found in my amazon store), Dr. Mercola’s Krill oil for women (also found in my Amazon store), soaked walnuts, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, amd pure flax oil to name a few.

Keeping our gut clean & healthy is proving to be one of the most beneficial things we can do for our overall health. Taking the simple steps to heal our intestinal tract could in itself drastically change health statistics for the better. If we start instilling this information into our kids and making sure they are full of healthy bacteria and are being fed nutrient dense foods, I know we would see amazing changes in our future.

It is heartbreaking to me how many children & teens truly do not have the nutrients to be happy. The rate of depression and suicide in our country is out of control and WE can make a difference. “UCC scientists have shown that brain levels of serotonin, the ‘happy hormone’ are regulated by the amount of bacteria in the gut during early life.” What if instead of serving chocolate and strawberry milk with toaster struddle and deep friend tater tots at schools, we served fresh strawberry kefir with whole food gluten free blueberry muffins and organic fruit? Or grass fed hotdogs with sauerkraut. If we give kids these foods early in life, they will begin to crave them!

As adults, we are grown up to make choices. It is no one elses responsibility to take care of our bodies. WE must choose to nourish our bodies. If someone wants to cultivate illness, then don’t sleep much, drink energy drinks and sugar free sodas, eat Taco Bell, have donuts for breakfast, drink fluoride filled tap water, and never exercise. If you want to cultivate health- give your body the tools it needs to regenerate itself and it will do just that. We are perfectly created and when our bodies have the tools, it knows what to do.

So today, CHOOSE to cultivate health. Cut the sugar & gluten and add some Sunrider foods and probiotic sources to your diet. You will be AMAZED at the difference you feel!!!

Here are some additional resources about the Gut-Brain axis and what you can do to make sure they have a good relationship…