How a Healthy Gut Means Healthy Bones (& What To Do If Yours Isn’t)

Your gut is home to trillions of intestinal bacteria. Over 100 trillion to be exact!

These bacteria help you digest food, remove waste and circulate essential elements. It might be hard to believe, but we have more “creatures” living inside our bodies than there are stars in our galaxy!

But don’t let that scare you. Research has shown that this living system, also known as your gut microbiome, can lower your risk of inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, diabetes and even osteoporosis, when healthy. 

Factors That Affect Your Gut Microbiome

Unfortunately, not all organisms are gut-friendly. Some are good and others are bad.

The key is keeping your gut flora ‘balanced’.

You see your gut flora is extremely sensitive, which means there are plenty of factors that can affect your gut microbiome. Some of them are:

• Birthplace


• Age


• Diet


• Personal hygiene


• Antibiotics and prescription medication


• Environment

Even small differences in the makeup of your microbiome can have real effects on your health. These include your risk for cardiac issues, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and obesity. 

And the latest research has added osteopenia and osteoporosis to the list.

How Your Gut Health Affects Your Bones

Inflammation in the gut can lead to damage of your tissues, organs, and gut flora.

Anything that promotes chronic inflammation also promotes osteoclasts. These are known as the ‘bone-dissolving cells’ and when triggered, can affect the bone-remodeling process.

Inflammation also inhibits absorption of important bone-building minerals like calcium and magnesium, making it more difficult for you to give your bones the nutrients they need.

But there are ways to combat this inflammation…

Probiotics Combat Inflammation And Protect Your Bones

Probiotics have been studied and shown to be beneficial for an array of health problems such as immune function, diarrhea, cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. 

In particular, they have been shown to reduce systemic inflammation.

Probiotic rich foods include:

• Yogurt


• Kefir


• Sauerkraut


• Kombucha


• Miso


• Microalgae


• Pickles


• Tempeh


• Kimchi

Studies that test how probiotics and prebiotics affect bone health are in the works. Probiotics are live microbes that help move food through your gut. Prebiotics – found in such foods as raw garlic and leeks – help stimulate useful bacteria.

In animal tests probiotics improve bone mass and prebiotics increase bone density.

What do these studies reveal?

Researchers know that when you regulate the microbiome, you regulate bone health. 

Take Home Message

A healthy gut is a happy, healthy you.

To maintain and restore a healthy gut, include more probiotic-rich foods in your diet such as sauerkraut and yogurt to stimulate healthful bacteria.

Not only will your gut thank you, but your bones will too.

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Sources:

1. Jun Sun, Eugene B. Chang. Exploring gut microbes in human health and disease: Pushing the envelope. Genes & Diseases. Volume 1, Issue 2, December 2014, Pages 132–139


2. Inna Sekirov, Shannon L. Russell, L. Caetano M. Antunes, B. Brett Finlay. Gut Microbiota in Health and Disease. Physiological Reviews Published 1 July 2010 Vol. 90 no. 3, 859–904 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00045.2009


3. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Reza_Darsanaki/publication/236963823_Probiotics_and_Health/links/0deec51a78ed71c361000000.pdf


4. Ritchie ML, Romanuk TN. A meta-analysis of probiotic efficacy for gastrointestinal diseases.PLoS One. 2012;7(4):e34938. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034938. Epub 2012 Apr 18.

How a Healthy Gut Means Healthy Bones (& What To Do If Yours Isn’t)

Mindfulness has altered my existence. And it could do the same to yours

I had no idea what mindfulness meant. All I did know was that a handful of my most senior clients, and a quantity of close close friends, talked about it as a completely indispensable portion of their lives. As a end result of this, I signed myself up for a 5-day program in the middle of Herefordshire titled The Artwork of Meditation, taught by a meditation expert known as Burgs. It was for beginners – and its intention was to educate the fundamental art of meditation to a assortment of folks who’d by no means meditated before in their lives.

By the finish of the 5 days, spent in total silence, I came away feeling that I had begun a procedure that had the possible to be as truly important as I had been led to feel. Sitting nonetheless, being conscious and, probably most crucially, finding out again how to concentrate – all perceptibly this kind of easy traits – have been the key drivers behind the five days.

What did I understand about myself? I learnt that to focus on sustaining a quiet and uncluttered thoughts was something that I identified practically not possible. Nevertheless, obtaining, for the extremely briefest of time, the feeling that you have genuinely entered the space of still and quiet is 1 of the most potent feelings that I have ever experienced in my life. Entirely rejuvenating, individuals momentary occasions of complete calm allowed me to review so numerous daily ideas and anxieties with a totally fresh and far more rational viewpoint.

So how do you get started to empty the cluttered and challenging minds that we all carry all around with us on a day-to-day basis? We have been taught to concentrate on our breathing, to adhere to and to feel about our breath as it moved into our bodies. We have been taught that this kind of a straightforward factor as to focus on the breath and to sustain concentration on this for as extended as achievable, has the capability to engender a feeling of calm and insight into the thoughts and the body. In specific, that the mind is not one thing that sits in isolation, but is wholly connected to of the rest of our bodily currently being.

Over the final eight many years I have had the privilege of working with leaders across all sectors. My company has also worked with young individuals, “leaders of tomorrow”, and kids. I’ve worked on authentic self-expression with all of these folks. There is a typical denominator behind all these distinct groups in their yearning for a greater sense of self-awareness, as properly as locating the time to sit still, without having books, music or any other distraction.

My 5 days on this course renders me a complete novice but it has awakened me to a signifies or a process via which people from all walks of life, by way of the most simple of strategies, can discover a sense of stillness and calm reflection that, to my quite cluttered mind, could be invaluable.

Anthony Gordon Lennox is the founder and CEO of AGL, a communications agency. He is a visiting fellow at Saïd Company College, University of Oxford.

Mindfulness has altered my existence. And it could do the same to yours

Operate-lifestyle balance: what adjustments could aid boost yours?

New labour laws in France now make it unlawful for staff in the digital and consultancy sectors – including the French offices of Google, Facebook, Deloitte and PwC – to reply to perform emails right after 6pm.

Staff will be ordered to switch off their specialist phones, and organizations must guarantee that their staff come below no pressure to look at function-associated emails or paperwork on their tablets or computers.

France’s stringent labour laws noticed Apple fined for generating employees in France function nights final yr, as the law forbids shifts amongst 9pm and 6am except if the operate plays an critical function in the economic system or is socially valuable. Its 35-hour week, launched in 1999, has come underneath threat from the more and more widespread use of smartphones.

Chairman of the General Confederation of Managers, Michel de la Force, explained: “We should also measure digital working time. We can admit added work in excellent conditions but we need to constantly come back to what is regular, which is to unplug, to end currently being completely at operate.”

A Swedish city council announced this week that it’s trialling 6-hour workdays with complete shell out for its personnel in Gothenburg. The experiment is based mostly on the concept that soon after six hours, employees turn into tired and productivity is lowered.

Deputy mayor Mats Pilhem told the Swedish edition of The Local that a 6-hour workday developed constructive final results at a car factory in the city, and he hopes that the trial will reduce inefficiency and create much more jobs.

The left-wing Social Democrat and Green parties’ initiative has been called a “dishonest and populist ploy” by the Gothenburg council’s primary opposition – the Moderate celebration – ahead of neighborhood elections this year.

Total time staff in Austria and Greece work an typical of 43.7 hours per week, the longest in Europe, with workers in the Uk spending 42.7 hours a week at the workplace in accordance to ONS figures from 2011.

What is operate-existence stability like in your country? Does your sector demand you to operate outside workplace hours, or do you switch your telephone off and hope for the best? Are you benefiting from the new guidelines in France and Sweden? Or will the law change hinder your potential to talk with your colleagues efficiently? What initiatives would make the largest improvement to your life?

Let us know what it really is like for you by commenting in the thread beneath

Operate-lifestyle balance: what adjustments could aid boost yours?

Report Ranks The ten Happiest States: Is Yours On The Checklist?

How articles are the residents of your state? And what about their mental and bodily wellness, how do they price their communities in terms of individuals essential measures? These are the inquiries posed by the yearly Gallup-Healthways Properly-Being Index, which just launched the final results of its analysis for 2013.

Primarily based on interviews with far more than 178,000 American adults residing in all 50 states performed from January to December 2013, the Gallup-Healthways Properly-Becoming Index is in fact an common of 6 different indexes, which track:

• Daily life evaluation


• Emotional health


• Operate setting


• Physical health


• Healthful behaviors


• Accessibility to fundamental necessities

In a nutshell, the heartland and “fly-over” states won out large time only one coastal state (Washington) and not one particular state housing a top metropolitan area created the prime 10. Even far more specifically, the west and midwest are doing the ideal occupation wowing their residents, with 9 out of the ten of the leading 10 states falling in these classes. And even within these places, there are some surprises, particularly the predominance of prairie and mountain states amongst individuals most pleasing to their residents.

The biggest shock was the leap of North Dakota from amount 19 to number 1, followed by neighboring South Dakota’s leap from twelve to the variety two spot. See this slide display for more detail on why these ten states are great locations to reside.

An additional massive improver was Washington, which hadn’t created the best 10 considering that 2008 when the list was launched. Hawaii, which had been variety a single for the past 4 many years, dropped to eight place. Here are the ten happiest states, in purchase of initial to final:

1. North Dakota


2. South Dakota


3. Nebraska


4. Minnesota


5. Montana


6. Vermont


7. Colorado


8. Hawaii


9. Washington


10. Iowa

Total state reports won’t be obtainable till April, but a couple of issues leap out as factors in the happiness quota of some of these states. North Dakota, for illustration, has been in the midst of an oil-connected financial boom, and was ranked highest in two of the six sub-rankings: perform setting and physical overall health.

State “happiness” rankings are tracked in the annual Gallup-Healthways properly-becoming index. (Photo: Gallup-Healthways)

In one more exciting insight, the poll ranks the properly-becoming of the nation as a total, employing the identical set of criteria. And possibly remarkably to individuals touting continuing improvements in the economic system, the effectively-currently being of the country as a total dropped from 2012′s 66.seven to 66.2, the identical as 2011, suggesting that the upswing in the national mood could be more than.

In a separate ranking, Gallup calculated the eleven states that had made the steadiest improvement since 2010, when the economic downturn officially ended.

The states on that record, in purchase, are

1. Nevada


2. Montana


3. Vermont


4. Nebraska


5. Iowa


6. Maine


7. Arizona


8. Wisconsin


9. Mississippi


10. Texas


11. California

Some of these are the same states in the best 10, but others, such as Nevada, Arizona, California, and Texas, are states hard-hit by the downturn that have created strides in recovering.

How Do You Define Happiness?

To delve a tiny deeper into what constitutes “well-being,” the Healthways researchers have produced a series of 5 criteria that can be utilized to assess high quality of existence. They are, and I quote:

1. “Purpose: Liking what you do every single day and getting motivated to achieve your targets


2. Social: Possessing supportive relationships and love in your daily life


3. Financial: Managing your financial daily life to reduce anxiety and boost safety


4. Local community: Liking the place you live, feeling safe and obtaining pride in your local community and


5. Bodily: Getting good overall health and ample energy to get things accomplished every day.”

By these criteria, how would you evaluate your existence and the location you dwell? Remarks below, please.

For more overall health news, stick to me here on Forbes.com, on Twitter, @MelanieHaiken, and subscribe to my posts on Facebook.

Report Ranks The ten Happiest States: Is Yours On The Checklist?

Therapeutic Massages: Methods to Getting Insurance to Pay for Yours

Scientific studies of the benefits of massage demonstrate that it is an powerful remedy for lowering stress, soreness and muscle stress.  Additional reported well being rewards of therapeutic massage consist of:

• Treating  and Decreasing Nervousness


• Support with Digestive Issues


• Fibromyalgia Relief


• Reduction in Stress Headaches and Migraines


• Rest Problems


• Relief from Aches and Pains


• Assists Healing of Soft tissue strains or injuries


• Treatment method of decision for numerous Sports activities injuries


• TMJ

The optimistic impact of human touch and cortisol relieving massage are now scientifically proven.  Now that we know how excellent therapeutic massages are for us, we all want to run out and get 1.  Even so, the cost for a common therapeutic massage is anyplace from $ 45 – $ 120.  This large cost tag may possibly cause a lot more anxiety than what you are really relieving!

What can you do to get your subsequent massage paid for by means of your wellness insurance coverage?

Stick to these measures:

Phase one: Recognize a situation or injury that can advantage from health-related massage. In buy to prove healthcare necessity for a massage, you have to have a recognizable well being issue that may possibly react to massage in a good way.  One excellent way to get this covered is for athletes to visit with a sports medicine professional.  Anybody that performs out tough can easily have a sports activities connected injury that will benefit from massage.  These specialist doctors typically have in house massage therapists and are very acquainted with doing work with the insurance organizations to get this covered.  Many insurance policies say one thing like this about massage treatment.

If utilized to lessen anxiety or increase general well being, this is not reimbursable.  Even so, if prescribed by a physician for a certain illness, damage, trauma or health care situation, this may possibly be reimbursed.

 Step 2: Check your distinct insurance coverage policy rules. Just before asking your physician for a referral for a massage, see what exclusions or limitations are listed.

Phase three: Examine the need to have for Massage Therapy with your Main Care Physician. In numerous HMOs and other programs your major care physician have to make the referral.  Talk about the health-related necessity with the physician and obtain in writing any diagnosis that will substantiate your treatment wants.  Request the physician if he recommends any other treatment options that go along with health-related massage. Combining these can boost your chance of coverage.

Phase 4: Request for a direct referral to a competent Massage Therapist. Make confident that the main care physician’s office tends to make the referral to the professional and provides you anything in writing for the insurance firm.

Step 5: Maintain documentation copies.  Make positive you hold copies of the unique referral, receipts for other medical appointments for the identical problem, notes on your analysis for the coverage, etc.

I do want to clarify that I am not in any way suggesting that you ought to “cheat” the insurance organization to get yourself a totally free trip on limitless massages.  I’m merely pointing out that if you have a genuine overall health cause for getting one and you’re having to pay out these wonderful high insurance premiums, you need to by all signifies get therapeutic massages paid for by your insurance firm.

Healthy Blessings,

Sandy

Wellness Strategies 4 Life

Sources: Mayoclinic.com, Massagetherapy.com

Find a Spa in your region at SpaFinder

Must Reads: Healing Touch Residence Course

Therapeutic Massages: Methods to Getting Insurance to Pay for Yours