The Grinch in Your Gut
Mom always said: Too much of a good thing is not a good thing!
During the holidays, it’s easy to overindulge. Indeed, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we sometimes eat like we’re spending the last two months of the year at a feast down in Whoville:
Then the Whos, young and old, would sit down to a feast.
And they’d feast! And they’d feast!
And they’d FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST!
Two hundred years ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average American consumed around 2 pounds of sugar per year. Fast forward two centuries and multiply this amount by 76 and voila: the average American today consumes approximately 152 pounds of sugar annually. Yikes.
Though our sweet tooth may love the end-of-year culinary marathon with which we often ring in the New Year, our gut was not created for such sustained saccharine abuse.
Post-holiday indigestion not only causes the after-feast stomach ache here and there, it also takes a toll on one of our most important systems: the immune system. Since, 70% of your immune system is located in your digestive tract, it becomes even more important for us to be mindful of our holiday sugar rush.
In a recent Loma Linda University study participants were fed different forms of sugar. They found “the effectiveness of white blood cells (our immune cells responsible for fighting infection) decreased up to 50% after 1–2 hours of eating sugar, lasting up to five hours”.
I’m pretty sure no gut health article has ever done this, but to quote Vladimir Lenin, an evil, real-world grinch whose heart was far more than two sizes too small:
“What is to be done?”
We can get ahead of the problem through a proactive approach, which is more effective than a reactive approach. A first step in that direction would be to get some Bacillus coagulans UA-BC21, a powerful probiotic that supports your digestive and immune system on a daily basis.
“Where can I find Bacillus coagulans UA-BC21?”
Our latest innovation Inner Immune is formulated with this very ingredient. Bacillus coagulans UA-BC21 is a key component of Inner Immune, along with 14 other powerful vitamins, minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, and immunobiotics. This pack-a-punch packet of daily essentials helps digestive health, maintains a balanced microbiome, and provides probiotic immune support.
Look, we’re not waging war on Christmas sweets, or arguing against indulging here and there to give thanks and enjoy life. No. Not at all. By all means, take another scoop of mashed potatoes and a few more slivers of honey ham. Another slice of pecan pie isn’t the end of the world.
But, as with anything: everything in moderation! Your body will thank you later.
Surviving a normal holiday season is challenging enough. Say nothing of 2020’s additional peculiarities. Your body and mind are stressed enough as it is! So this year above all, celebrate mindfully — and prepare your body as much as possible for any and all health challenges that might arise.
Happy Holidays!
Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6368184/
