Banish Belly Bloat!

Look down at your belly.

What does it look like today? What does it feel like buckled in by your belt? Can you become mindful of the sensations going on in there?

One of the biggest concerns my clients come in with when they first come to see me is a problematic digestive system. Often symptoms that arise are bloating, painful distention, gas, retention of excess water, and inability to digest their food properly.

What is going on? There are a number of things to consider:

1) What are you eating?

2) How and where are you eating?

3) When are you eating?

Answers to those 3 questions provide a huge explanation for what may be going on inside that bloated belly.

If you are experiencing digestive upset, here are some probable causes:

Food Allergies/sensitivities:

Food allergies/sensitivities are by far the most offending perpetrators of a mal-functioning digestive system. When your body reacts to foods, inflammation ensues, and often times food is not digested well or takes double the time. The body reacts as if a lethal toxin has been ingested, and pulls out all the histamine forces to the rescue, leaving you bloated, in pain and fatigued.

Get tested and find out what you cannot tolerate. Also consider taking multi enzyme and probiotic supplements. These encourage the type of environment your digestion system favours for optimal function. I will dedicate a future blog to the importance of good gut flora for not only digestion, but for weight loss, inflammatory conditions, and overall wellness.

Most common allergens include : Dairy, eggs, gluten, wheat, sugars, acidic foods, nuts, and seafood.

Stress:

Your tummy has its own neural network, consisting of more pathways than your brain! Its been called the second brain by some medical officials. Therefore it can be triggered, and affected by stress, emotions and negative thoughts. If you are emotional, don't engage in eating a meal. If you are running around, overworked and not mindful when you eat, chances are you are going to have indigestion, which means BLOATING.

Recommendation: This is the primary focus of my work. Come to your breath, take a moment to press pause, and come to an awareness of what is really going on when you sit to eat. Stop eating on the run, stop grabbing a "bar" on the way to the gym and take 5 minutes to actually chew what it is you are ingesting. Digestion starts in the mind. Your thoughts, and state will affect whatever it is you decide to eat, and how you eat matters more than anything when it comes to good digestion.

Junk Food Junkies:

What you eat is important too. Processed junk, white carbohydrates, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and anything that essentially doesn't come off a plant, tree, vine or shrub has been altered chemically or mechanically in some way. So make the mainstay of your diet, whole non processed foods, and have the rest be condiments that make up 20% or less of your daily diet.

Pathologies, and digestive disease are also critical issues that are becoming almost epidemic in westernized countries. Colitis, diverticulitis, Crohn's, ulcers, chronic constipation, IBS, and cancers must be ruled out before you decide which treatments and therapies are best. Working with your health care practitioner(s) is highly advisable and the most effective way to wellness :)

In health always,

Namaste

Piera

A Livelier Liver Right Now! How to Cleanse One of the Most Important Organs In Your Body

It has been reported by gastroenterologists that more than 50% of people over the age of 50 suffer from "fatty liver" disease. This results when the liver has been overburdened for over extended periods of time with excessive habits of overeating, overusing alcohol, taking recreational or pharmaceutical drugs, food chemicals and additives, environmental pollutants, and contracting viral hepatitis disease.

Your liver is a significant filtration organ whereby anything you inhale, ingest, or receive via the blood, will ultimately pass right through it.

So just like you change a water filter after some time, we need to clean our own internal "filter". If we don't take care of this, we risk forming excessive gallstones which may eventually block the gallbladder and cause critical damage to its integrity. Every year, more than half a million people in the United States and more than 50,000 people in Canada undergo surgery to remove their gallbladders because of gallstones.

An overtaxed liver may also increase the chances of developing the following:

• Food Allergies and Intolerances
• Crohn's Disease
• IBS
• Arthritis
• Cancer
• Hepatitis
• Pancreatitis

In general I recommend my clients perform a general full cleanse including the liver, two times a year. Preferably at the start of the season, i.e Beginning of Spring and Fall.

Here are 3 things you can do to immediately detox and alleviate toxic overburdening of the liver:

1. CLEAN up your DIET!

• Cut out all junk and processed foods. This includes anything in a box, plastic package, carton, container or can be bought at the drive through. Processed foods are full of sugar, additives, preservatives and chemicals. Whole foods should make up 90% of food choices.
  

• Less animal products and more produce. So less meat, dairy, eggs, poultry and fish while on the cleanse. In general eating less meat is now proven to lower your chances of getting many chronic diseases and ailments. With meat, less is always more, and when you do eat meat ORGANIC is the only way to go.

• Eliminate alcohol, sugary juices and drinks, coffee and black tea. Consume herbal teas and green teas to promote flushing of toxins and waste products.

• Begin each day with a warm glass of water with freshly squeezed lemon juice and a very small tiny amount of cayenne. 1/2 later consume your breakfast. Drink 2 L of filtered water daily.

2) Herbs to Specifically Target and Cleanse the Liver:

Consume infusions or in capsule form the following herbs daily for 1-2 week cleanse:

• Milk thistle
  
• Dandelion
  
• Artichoke Leaf
• Burdock root
• Ginger
• Turmeric and Cumin (both high in anti oxidants and therefore aid in the lowering of inflammation that results from high amounts of circulating free radicals in the blood)
• Holy Basil

3) Use Core Connection Healing Tools to Establish Emotional Balance:

Implementing the principles of our Core Connection Healing philosophy will aid in healing emotional and spiritual vitality. The liver is HUGELY affected by emotional stress and your feelings. Repression of emotions will hinder it's health. Also over reaction of emotions will affect its integrity as well.

Tools:

• Meditation, guided or not
• The Safe Method tm
• Mindfulness
• Reiki and Energy Chakra Balancing
• Self love, compassion and FORGIVENESS
• Art: creative expression through song, dance, visual arts
• Expressing and allowing the flow of emotions in healthy ways
  

The liver is often associated with the emotion of anger and resentment. Holding on to these emotions and not processing them in healthy ways will overburden the liver just as much and possibly more than food and environmental toxins it can receive.

The POWER of Forgiveness!

Making peace with our past is crucial. Making peace with people we have conflicts with is crucial. Forgiving people, especially YOURSELF for mistakes is not only beneficial to the liver but gives you back YOUR FREEDOM AND POWER. By continually blaming others, the past and external circumstances keeps you a slave to those conditions. Release your hold on past grievances and you open new doors of possibilities and opportunities in your life.

Your liver will love you for it :)

Keep shining that inner Light for all to see.
Namaste

Piera