5 minute read
Learning to Trust Your Gut
Health Talks let Members learn life-enhancing habits from medical professionals
Written By CARRIE HONAKER
Yoga mats, a snack and an open discussion forum on health and wellness. That’s what Watersound Club Members enjoy when they attend a Health Talks event, and it’s as easy as signing up in your app.
Each Health Talk happens in the Mindful Movement Studio and is limited to 25 people. Similar to a lunch and learn, the talks run one hour and cover topics like hormone health, elbow issues and gut health.
“It’s a free health talk where we can share information with our Members that they may not know,” said Sandra Smith, Watersound Club wellness manager. “It’s fun! You will find friends there and get informed on when you should go gluten-free or what movements you should avoid and how our bodies are all different. Our goal is to help educate members to make them the best version of their healthy selves.”
In a recent talk, Dr. Bart Precourt advised members about gut health. In health care for almost three decades, he was inspired to study gut health because of personal issues. After deep research, he connected his issue to antibiotics destroying his gut’s microbiome.
“It took me years of incorporating [functional medicine and nutrition] into my practice and helping patients,” Precourt said.
“Now, I speak nationally, and I teach other doctors around the country. The challenge is that it’s not taught. It’s not a magic pill. It’s not a drug you take. It’s a journey that will change your life. I feel better at 54 years old than ever in my life.”
Dr. Bart believes everybody has a gut issue, known or unknown, that started at childhood because of processed foods and what he calls the biggest culprit, antibiotic use.
“If we become better listeners, we can get better responses out of our bodies,” Precourt said. “Changing our mindset from what’s wrong with me to what is my body asking for could be a game changer for most of us.”
A few key principles guide Precourt’s philosophy: eat whole, one-ingredient, organic food; sleep uninhibited; be in rhythm with nature.
According to Precourt, the best thing you can do is stick to the perimeter, rather than the inner aisles where everything is processed and packaged. The second part of his food advice is if it is one ingredient, eat it.
“The ingredients of an apple is apple, chicken is chicken, celery is celery,” he said. “It’s not complicated, but it’s not customary yet. In the last 20 years, 80% of what’s in the grocery store has chemicals. That’s where the gut breaks down and 70% to 80% of your immune system is in your gut. Dopamine, serotonin — the things that inhibit us from having depression and anxiety — are all made in your gut. If you heal your gut, you change your life.”
Precourt also emphasized an understanding of the stress and stimulus we experience daily. Eating while in the car, on the run, on the phone, and when we’re nervous all inhibit proper digestion to the point that even good foods can have bad outcomes.
“We have lost the ritual that goes with eating,” he said. “When you’re under stress, you don’t release digestive enzymes. We need to be in what we call parasympathetic activity, which is rest and digest. Taking a couple of breaths in with slow exhales before you eat is a good practice because most of us are running around pretty stressed.”
Sleep is another factor. When we sleep, we heal, our body detoxes, energy is restored and our hormones are balanced. Inhibitors like wine or sleep aids hurt the natural process of sleeping. For Precourt, the optimal amount is 7 ½ to 8 ½ hours nightly.
And while hydration is a necessity for overall health, electrolytes should also be a chief consideration when consuming food and beverage.
“Water helps filter things through the body, but probably most important is our electrolytes like sodium, chloride, potassium and magnesium,” Precourt explained. “If we become depleted in those, we have no energy.”
The good news is they can be found in nature. Himalayan or Celtic sea salt, eating and drinking whole foods, having fruits and even animal products all provide necessary electrolytes according to Precourt.
“We shouldn’t be saying you can only eat meat or only eat vegetables,” he said. “Our ancestors all grew up on all of them. And we should have them in the cleanest available form. If we do that, we have a shot at good gut health.”
For Precourt, it comes down to nature’s rhythm: wake with the light, sleep once dark, and always eat during light.
