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<h4><span style="color: #008080;"><strong>Is it possible to balance continued wellness with fixed non-negotiable lifestyle challenges like stress, alcohol, reduced sleep and aging?</strong></span></h4>
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<h4><strong><a href="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/bc-b-b.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-2184  aligncenter" src="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/bc-b-b-300x148.jpg" alt="bc b b" width="302" height="149" /></a></strong></h4>
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<h5></h5>
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<h5><strong>It seems the health status of your GUT (or GIT - Gastro intestinal tract) may have the answer!</strong></h5>
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Over the past 6 months, 3 clients (see below) have kindly allowed me to analyse and report on the status of their lifestyle, wellness, and importantly gut health.

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<h4><strong>Why?</strong>
If you designate a 4 DAY PERIOD (96 hours) to cleaning up, de-flaming, and re-building GUT health, <strong>can you</strong> avoid sickness and fatness while accepting your lifestyle involves, stress, alcohol, and sleep deprivation?</h4>
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<strong>THE CASE STUDY</strong>
<blockquote>James Barnett (53ys), John Collinson (39Yrs), and Reece Stillman (46 yrs) lead the following and similar lifestyle: NOTE - <strong>Fixed non-negotiable aspects in bold</strong> – it’s just part of what they do!</blockquote>
• Work more than 50+ wk, much of it under stress.
• Work involves travelling – often varying time-zones and disrupted sleeping patterns.
• EXPECTED to entertain clients 2-4/7 – this means consuming alcohol, often beer, <a href="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/beerrr.jpg"><img class="alignright wp-image-2179 size-full" src="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/beerrr.jpg" alt="beerrr" width="259" height="194" /></a>sometimes lots.
• Often eat food prepared by others, and sometimes find themselves eating on the run – at airports, service stations, or vending machines.
• Consume up to 3 coffee’s per day – and often entertain the idea of either an energy drink or pick up sweet.
• Attempt to workout 2-3/7 – but would love more.
• Believe low-fat food is in their health’s best interest.
• Have bought a “Men’s Ultimate Health” pill pack more than once.
• Often find themselves short of 35 hours of sleep Mon to Fri – quality sleep that is.

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<blockquote><strong>And, while they all would like to remain free of sickness, live at their most comfortable weight, and maintain a happy demeanour, the result of their current lifestyle looks something similar to this (see below), but all equally recognise it could be A LOT WORSE without addressing the snowballing potential health risks:</strong></blockquote>
• Have slowly gained around 0.5kgs per year beyond 35 yrs – but weight seems to fluctuate.
• Complain of muscle and joint aches pains (usually for no defined reason) – back, knee, &amp; <a href="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/dia.jpg"><img class="alignright wp-image-2187 " src="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/dia-300x300.jpg" alt="dia" width="263" height="263" /></a>foot pain heading the list.
• Suffer from 3-4 colds or flu’s per year – with a real cracker around August.
• Suffer periods of (5-10 days) serious tiredness (as in “I just feel fked”).
• Decided on visiting their GP because they were experiencing a weird intermittent heart beat “thing” (“kinda racing a bit”)
• Every now and then they’d get some of odd skin irritation – usually flaky in nature.
• While LDL (bad) cholesterol is not in the high risk category it has been creeping up year to year.
• While their blood pressure is not considered worth “medicating”, it does spike from time to time.
• They often feel bloated – not only GI distress, but also represented with puffy eyes and reddish cheeks.
• Monthly, they find themselves with brain fog – finding it challenging to concentrate – often leading towards poor decisions, or simply just not feeling themselves.
• When finding themselves in this position “just not themselves” food choices, exercise habits &amp; temperament change behaviour – particularly emotionally.
• One client was challenged with serious fluctuations (plummets) in sexual interest.

<strong>So what then?</strong>
<blockquote><em><strong>STEP 1 - </strong></em><strong>while many of these signs seem clear to me, I am not an expert in this field. So, I’ve sent them firstly to their GP and then to a reputable and distinguish Naturopath.</strong></blockquote>
<strong>THE RESULT:</strong> while I won’t go into bio-chemistry detail in this post, each suffered from <a href="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/DIGESTI.png"><img class="alignright wp-image-2181" src="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/DIGESTI-300x232.png" alt="DIGESTI" width="222" height="172" /></a>a chronically inflamed GUT (see pic). Meaning: inflammation of both the stomach and more distinctly intestinal walls. “Good” gut bacteria counts were seriously low, toxin counts where elevated, and immune balance was compromised. One role of the GUT is to upload “good” nutrients from food. If efficiency of nutrient upload is compromised (inflamed and damaged walls), you could expect a drop in immune health (which could lead to sickness), a drop in energy (which could lead to weight gain), while a possible hormonal/ neurotransmitters imbalance – namely; cortisol/endorphins &amp; serotonin/ melatonin ratio’s. So while physical performance and wellness would seem clear (usually), it’s an emotional imbalance that equally could be compromised.

EG: Inflammed gut lining

<a href="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/inlflamed-gut.jpg"><img class=" size-medium wp-image-2183 aligncenter" src="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/inlflamed-gut-300x228.jpg" alt="inlflamed gut" width="300" height="228" /></a>
<strong>So what causes (GUT) inflammation?</strong>
While stress, lack of quality sleep, and genetics can all play a significant role, it would seem the best way to counter-act GUT inflammation is with food choices.<a href="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/fast-foods.png"><img class="alignright wp-image-2188" src="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/fast-foods-300x300.png" alt="fast foods" width="150" height="150" /></a>

Now, as for my 3 clients, it is simply impractical for me to simply recommend; 1) Committed Stress Management strategies, 2) Eliminate socialising including alcohol, 3) make all your own meals, &amp; 4) be certain to nail 8 hours of quality sleep every night. This sh&amp;t ain’t happening!

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<strong>So what then?</strong>
<blockquote><strong>Given lifestyle challenges (namely industrial food &amp; stress) – sh&amp;t that causes GUT inflammation, we designate a committed 4 DAY GUT CLEAN UP twice a year. 2/52 (hardly a big ask)</strong></blockquote>
Basically, we clean out the rubbish – put out the fires – send in the re-building team - which – restores the GUT to it’s original settings. Thankfully our bodies are designed to heal – and after a designated period - it (usually) does. This process requires zero pills or potions.
It’s a GUT re-boot if you like. It doesn’t directly have anything to do with burning fat or <a href="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/GUT-BAC.jpg"><img class="alignright wp-image-2182" src="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/GUT-BAC-300x300.jpg" alt="GUT BAC" width="156" height="156" /></a>losing weight (I didn’t test), it’s solely about re-establishing GUT balance – before (sometimes) it’s too late.
You certainly have to be committed – but it is only for 4 days. The second day is perhaps the most challenging.
A key benefit when returning to a “normal” lifestyle &amp; food choices, it allowed them to recognise the (negative) effect of (inflammatory) choices made on their health. This provided personal knowledge on what they should perhaps (attempt) to avoid most – even when under the pump.
<blockquote>Eg – John returned to a simple bowl of pasta and ended up in the foetal position for ½ a day. Maybe the rice next time John.</blockquote>
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<strong>Next week’s PAMPY’S POST – PART 2</strong>
Jim, John &amp; Reece dedicate 4 days to completely cleaning out their entire gut pathway.
<blockquote><strong>1) Getting rid of all the rubbish with 4 distinct food choices (cleaning out toxins with food choices and exercising at their most optimum intensity), 2) putting out the fires with anti-inflammatory foods (7 must consume foods), and, 3) starting again at rebuilding sustainable “good” gut health balance (5 must consume foods in day 3&amp;4). Of course there is a list of absolutely non-negotiable foods to avoid (Days 1-4).</strong></blockquote>
They loaded up with food choices offering nutrients that heal, support, and prosper in their guts.
I guess it’s learning how to counter-balance our 1st world lifestyle, while becoming a little more intuitive with your own body awareness.

BP

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