We can get our gut so healthy, and we can reverse a lot of health issues doing so.  – Jade Venables

On this episode of the Plan Simple Meals Podcast, I’m really excited to talk with Jade Venables of the Healthy Mommy Movement summit about gut health. Not quite sure what gut health is all about (even if you’ve been hearing about it more and more)? We’ll get you up to speed.

Jade shares her own health journey away from osteopenia, borderline diabetes, carpal tunnel and chronic fatigue and healing her son who was rushed to the hospital at 18 months due to an autoimmune disease.

In the process, she learned a lot about gut health, how the gut is related to the brain, how the gut really affects every system. We can get our guts healthy, but our brain wants to take over, so we can undo a lot of good work with stress. That’s where things like meditation and exercise come in—health as a complete package. Jade owns up to not being very fit, which I love, because we’re all imperfect making small changes in the right direction.

We talk about:

• How understanding the why of giving up gluten and dairy can blow your mind and help you make the change
• The problem with our healthcare system and schools when it comes to healthy eating
• Ways to feed kids without making them feel left out (and how sometimes worrying about feeling different is our story, not their)
• Using smoothies as snacks and treats at home or when you are out
• Products—(those for our bodies like shampoo or toothpaste and otherwise, like cleaners or air fresheners) that we use at home can affect the gut
• Creating a non-toxic medicine chest tool box

BIO

Jade Venables is a health advocate and creator of “The Healthy Mommy Movement,” a free, online summit. For the Healthy Mommy Movement summit, Jade interviewed doctors and experts about health issues to prove that our bodies are waiting for us to heal them and to help moms make healthier choices for themselves and their families.

LINKS

• thehealthymommymovement.com/
• Environmental Working Group (EWG)
• Dr. Dingle

Doable Changes from this episode:

• HAVE A QUICK, GO-TO STRESS BUSTER. Stress can do a number on our gut. Next time you start to feel extra stressed, take some deep breaths, take 5 minutes to meditate, or take a short walk. First start noticing your stress and using a tool like this to reduce it. You can also try adding one of these tools proactively into your day before you feel stressed.
• MAKE A FRUIT SMOOTHIE. Next time your kids want an afterschool snack or any of you need a sweet treat, try blending some bananas and strawberries with a little water. Or mango and pineapple. There are so many combinations. You can bump up the goodness with some spinach, but if you aren’t sold on green smoothies yet, try just fruit and water. See that it can be sweet and simple, real food that feels like a treat.
• CHANGE ONE HOUSEHOLD PRODUCT. You can use baking soda on your teeth. You can use vinegar as a glass cleaner. You can use essential oils instead of perfume. There are lots of non-toxic products for home and body. You do need to read the labels, but you can use a tool like Environmental Working Group (EWG) to help you find one a replacement product for an unhealthy product you currently use. Good starting points: shampoo, deodorant, detergent, any household cleaner.