Kelly Vangrud, FDN-P - Gut Health Coach

08/03/2024

07/03/2024

You've seen me post about liver function, liver congestion, and the importance of liver health, but did you know that liver health is DIRECTLY related to gut health? Here's how:

3 Reasons a Happy Liver = a Happy Gut

👉a congested liver produces less bile – If bile production is low, you are unable to digest fats properly. Undigested food in your GI tract feeds bad bacteria and can lead to leaky gut and food sensitivities.

👉a congested liver can lead to a microbial overgrowth in the gut – Your liver is part of your immune system and if it is congested, it is less able to fight off bad bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens that enter your body.

👉a congested liver can lead to leaky gut – Your liver is tasked with neutralizing toxins that enter your body and removing them. If these toxins are not neutralized, they have a negative impact on the lining of your gut, which can lead to leaky gut.
Like and follow for more gut health tips, tricks, and recipes.

07/03/2024

Sign up for a FREE Gut Health Checklist!
(link below)

https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/7BwzrKx

Sign Up Here!

05/03/2024

3 things I do every morning as a functional practitioner for optimal gut health
👇👇👇

🌞Sunlight exposure as soon as I wake up

🥩High-protein breakfast (30+ grams of protein) within an hour of waking

🧘‍♀️Positive affirmations/journaling

Comment below and tell me one thing you do every day for optimal gut health.

04/03/2024

Every year around wintertime I would notice that I really didn’t want to do too much. I slowed down my overscheduled, hectic life. I slowed down on my business. I didn’t want to expend energy on social media posts. I started turning inward and focusing on myself and my own health, and on finding joy instead of running myself ragged all the time.

This feeling seemed to last through about March of the following year. I always felt kind of guilty for feeling this way. I felt kind of lazy…and if you know anything about me you would know that’s not the case. But I wondered why it always seemed to happen at the same time every year.

I have since come to learn that the period of time when I feel like to conserve my energy and I, instead, focus inward is my own version of hibernation. I mean, animals do it…and we’re animals too, right?

And now that I know what it is, I stopped trying to fight it. I stopped judging myself for it. And I have really tried to honor it.

Who, like me, feels like they hibernate during the winter??

01/03/2024

29/02/2024

We talked earlier this week about Candida yeast overgrowth. We now know what it is and what some of the signs are of a yeast overgrowth. Now let's take a look at some of the causes.

Here are 5 causes of Candida yeast overgrowth:

🍪Diets high in refined carbs and sugar >> fuel candida overgrowth

🍷Excessive alcohol consumption >> weakens your immune system and creates an environment for yeast to thrive

🍽Fermented foods >> feed active Candida infections

😫Chronic stress >> lowers your immune system and your body’s ability to fight off Candida and also shuts down your digestive system

🦠Not enough good bacteria in your gut >> this also lowers your immune system and your body’s ability to fight off Candida

Like + follow for more gut health tips, tricks, and recipes.

28/02/2024

This is no joke, y’all! I track eVeRything so I can analyze cause and effect, reactions, etc.

It has been the one thing that has helped the most on my health journey.

Comment “SAME” below if you do the same thing.

27/02/2024

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…

Acid reducing and proton pump inhibiting medications wreak havoc on your gut.

These medications are prescribed to help reduce stomach acid in people who have symptoms of acid reflux or what doctors say is too much acid in the stomach. However, the opposite is actually usually true.

People who have symptoms of acid reflux actually have TOO LITTLE stomach acid. Too little stomach acid makes it so you’re not breaking down your food properly and you’re not killing off bad bacteria that enter your body on the food that you’re eating. And the undigested food particles wreak havoc on your gut health and actually feeds bad bacteria, weaken the mucosal barrier, and lead to food sensitivities and autoimmune diseases.

You see, the acid in your stomach is meant to be very strong…after all, it has an important job to do! And that strong stomach acid is what is supposed to signal the valve between your esophagus and your stomach to close tightly when you eat so that the stomach acid stays in your stomach. BUT when you have too little of stomach acid (due to stress, medications, alcohol etc.), the signal that is sent to the valve is weak and it causes the valve to not close tightly. This allows the acid in your stomach to back up into the esophagus, causing symptoms of acid reflux.

Acid reducing and proton pump inhibiting medications actually SHUT DOWN your digestion further which leads to more gas, bloating, constipation, acid reflux, and diarrhea and can also lead to an overgrowth of bacteria or yeast in your gut and leaky gut.

Comment “DIGESTION” if you are taking an acid reducing or proton pump inhibiting medication and would like to revive your digestion again!

26/02/2024

Have you heard of Candida albicans?

Candida albicans is a type of yeast that lives on our bodies in small amounts and is usually located in places like your mouth, skin, and intestines. When your immune system is low or the flora in your gut are out of balance (low good flora/high bad flora), Candida can become overgrown. Unfortunately, Candida overgrowth is all too common due to the Standard American Diet, stress, and alllll the other things that affect our gut health.

So, how can you tell if you have Candida overgrowth? Well, there are functional lab tests that can identify whether you have a Candida yeast overgrowth, but there are also signs you can look for.

Here are 8 Signs
👇

🍪Sugar cravings
🦠Fungal infections (vaginal, skin, nail fungal infections, oral thrush, ringworm)
😭Fatigue
🎈Bloating
💩Constipation
😭Mood swings
🧠Brain fog
🦶Skin issues, including eczema, psoriasis, hives, and rashes

Comment “ME” if you have any of these symptoms or have suspected you may have a Candida yeast overgrowth.

23/02/2024

A little friendly reminder to

👇

NeVeR underestimate the power of fiber in your diet.

💩💩Fiber helps move things along in the digestive tract and aids in elimination

🦠🦠Fiber feeds the good bugs in your gut, which help protect your mucosal barrier and provide a robust immune system

🩸🩸Fiber helps to slow the rise of blood sugar when you eat carbohydrates

🥦🥦Fiber helps you feel fuller longer.

You should aim to eat 25-30 grams of fiber a day, but if you're not used to it, start SLOWLY.

Drop me a 🥦 if you get the recommended amount of fiber in your diet daily.

22/02/2024

🦠🦠5 of the WORST things for your gut🦠🦠

🍞🍞Gluten 👉👉 gluten increases zonulin which opens the tight junctures in the lining of your gut, which can lead to leaky gut

😫😫Stress 👉👉 stress increases cortisol. Cortisol reduces digestion which can lead to unpleasant gut symptoms and an overgrowth of bad microbes in your gut. It also increases histamine, which creates inflammation in the gut. And it lowers secretory IgA, which is your body’s first line of defense against pathogens in the gut, and breaks down the integrity of the mucosal barrier (again, leaky gut)

🌶🌶Spicy foods 👉👉 spicy foods increase zonulin just like gluten.

💊💊Antacid/acid reducing medications 👉👉 these medications basically shut down your digestion (see above).

🍭🍾Sugar and Alcohol 👉👉 sugar and alcohol kill the good microbes in your gut and create an environment where the bad microbes can thrive.

Drop me a comment below to let me know which of these things you have eliminated.

21/02/2024

Dealing with gut health issues like constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating, and acid reflux can feel overwhelming. And there is so much information out there on the internet about gut healing, but nothing that can help you with your specific situation.

I am offering 5 FREE Gut Health Strategy Sessions to answer any questions you may have about your gut health issues.

Just like this post and comment "GUT HEALTH" in the comments below, and I will reach out to schedule a FREE session.

20/02/2024

🦠🦠🦠How to Have a Diverse Microbiome 101🦠🦠🦠

🥦🍎Eat a variety of plants and fiber every day - The fiber in plants feed the good gut bugs so that they can do their jobs of protecting you, digesting your food, and sooooo many other things.

🌈🫐Eat the rainbow of fruits and veggies for polyphenols - Your good gut bugs need polyphenols to help them grow and thrive. This means you should aim to eat all colors of plants to get all of the different polyphenols.

🥖🥛Avoid gluten, dairy, and processed foods 🍟🌭 - These foods wreak havoc on your microbiome, including destroying your good bacteria, breaking down your mucosal barrier (hello leaky gut and food sensitivities!), and creating inflammation.

🍷💊Limit alcohol and OTC meds - These things also destroy your good bacteria, break down your mucosal barrier, and create inflammation.

🧘‍♀️🧘‍♀️Manage stress like a BOSS - Stress is the thing that starts poor gut health. Chronic cortisol production makes it so you can't digest your food properly, causes an overgrowth of bad bacteria/yeast in your gut, creates inflammation, and breaks down your mucosal barrier.

Like 👍 and follow for more gut health tips, tricks, and recipes.

19/02/2024

https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/lB3Zh7Y

16/02/2024

In case you need to hear this today...

👇

In any health journey, it’s hard not to find yourself stuck in the weeds on the details.

Stop, take a step back and look at it from the 10,000-foot view for a while instead and see if things don't get clearer.

15/02/2024

Ignoring your symptoms is like ignoring the check engine light 🛑 in your car 🚗

Symptoms are your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right…that SOMETHING is malfunctioning.

👉Bloating isn’t ok.
👉Constipation isn’t ok.
👉Acne isn’t ok.
👉Headaches or “migraines” aren’t ok.
👉High blood pressure isn’t ok.
👉Diabetes isn’t ok.
👉An autoimmune thyroid disease isn’t ok.

Unfortunately, the symptoms you’re experiencing do not tell you exactly WHERE they’re coming from or what part of your body is malfunctioning in order to cause these symptoms.

For example, your headaches could be caused by food sensitivities. 🍞🍞🍞 Your autoimmune thyroid condition could be caused by leaky gut. Your blood pressure issues could be caused by nutrient deficiencies and other stressors to the body.

It requires some deep digging and detective work to figure this out, for sure. And most of the time, it’s more one thing that’s causing your symptoms.

One thing is for sure though…if you don’t address the cause of your symptoms, the dis-ease process and the malfunctioning within the body will continue.

You have the power to catch it and STOP it. 🛑 🛑