Arrae Journal

In this blog post, we dive into the powerful relationship between gut health and metabolism, and how they work together to influence hunger cues, cravings, and satiety. Discover how nourishing both your gut and metabolism can help regulate appetite and improve overall wellness!

Let’s be real, bloating becomes an unwanted guest at all our holiday parties, and we’re all too familiar with the discomfort that comes along with the season of indulgence. Check out this blog post as we cover all things digestive wellness so you can beat the bloat this holiday season!

The words “anti-inflammatory” have been all the buzz as of late. From the foods that we eat, the supplements we take, and the workouts we do, inflammation plays a key role in how our body operates each and every day. While inflammation has gotten a not-so-great reputation, it’s actually an essential function; we need inflammation to stay alive! However, chronic inflammation has been linked to various diseases, like cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and is something we can mitigate by using diet, exercise, and supplements to help. 

In our day to day lives, we are exposed to numerous toxins, including alcohol, food additives, preservatives, and caffeine. While our body’s systems work together to process, transport, and get rid of these toxins, excesses can overwhelm the body’s natural detox system, leading to a need for a little extra TLC. Keep reading to learn more about how detoxification happens in the body, why it’s crucial for our overall health and wellness, and how we can support our body’s natural pathways with our self care regimen, including supplements.

In order to optimize digestion and feel our best, our bodies use naturally occurring digestive enzymes that are already present throughout these various organs. Digestive enzymes are released when we anticipate eating, smell or taste food, and begin and continue through the digestive process. 

Research is now showing that what we eat has a major impact on our body as a whole, including feeding the microorganisms that live in our gut. One of the most important bodily functions, sleep, is highly correlated with healthy digestive health. 

During sleep, our body repairs and regenerates itself, the brain stores information, and toxic waste is filtered and sent to our digestive system to be excreted. Hence, when we don’t sleep enough or when our quality of sleep is poor, our digestive system feels it, too.

As the temperature increases, so does our desire to travel someplace far, far away to feel the warmth of the sun and our toes in the sand. Or, for others, the idea of traveling to Europe to experience the rich history and fascinating architecture of ancient cities might be exactly what we had in mind. A good vacation, especially as the pandemic (hopefully!) comes to an end, is just what the doctor ordered.

Picture this: you’re jamming to your favorite getting ready playlist, getting glam, feeling excited for the night ahead. You know you have a fun dinner out with friends, and then you’ll see where the night takes you. But you can’t get one looming thought out of your mind: “I won’t want to go out if I’m bloated from dinner”. Or, you’re already out, and you realize your unbuttoned jeans will be visible the second you stand up.

Diet plays a large role in our overall health; we should aim to eat whole, nutritionally dense foods to optimize digestion, balance mood, and decrease inflammation. We can also use herbs to help with inflammation! Specific herbs, like ginger root, dandelion, and slippery elm have been shown to have many positive health effects. 

The nutrition and dietetics space is so oversaturated that it may be difficult to discern myth from fact. The internet is full of recipes, information, and science that seems to be all over the place! We know that this can be confusing and worrisome, especially when trying to keep our bodies feeling their best, embarking on a new health journey, or trying out a new fitness routine. 

Let’s face it: stress is a part of life! Sometimes, feeling stressed gives us that extra 'umph' we need to perform at our best, or gives us motivation to head to the gym or finally tackle that to-do list. But, have you ever known you have a million and one things to do, yet all you can think about doing is climbing into your bed, drifting off to sleep, and escaping reality for a little bit? Or you’ve tried to work on a project or brainstorm a list of ideas but you just feel “off” and not like yourself? This may be due to extreme emotional exhaustion, also known as burnout.