Introduction of five bariatric metabolism protectors for the holidays

Dawn (00:00):

Hello and welcome to the Gastric Health Show. My name is Dawn Boxell, and we are back this week, and we are talking about the five bariatric metabolism protectors for the holidays. And technically, this could be and beyond. So these are things that you can implement in your life that can help protect your metabolism especially after bariatric surgery. And once we get through these, you’re going to see that you can isolate just a few areas of your life.

Dawn (00:40):

And some of them can be quickly done first thing in the morning, some things that you can just begin to implement into your daily routine to help build resilience in your metabolism. So let’s get started. Building a resilient metabolism after bariatric surgery is really the best way to protect your surgery. So now, when it comes to the holidays, we definitely know that it’s easy to get derailed with your exercise and your meal planning and prepping and just food choices because there’s so many things that are pulling for your time during the holidays.

Dawn (01:20):

Think the end of October through the new year. So that’s a good chunk of time that can totally derail your efforts. All the work that you’ve put in previous can get kind of out of sync and undone in just a couple of months. and even, and I would say even more profoundly than just the food and exercise I would say stress is probably the top of that. Not only do does your time get taken, but your stress level goes higher. And you’ll see when we get through this how big of an impact that plays in your metabolism. So I am just challenging you to do this holiday season differently. I’m, I’m challenging you to pause and take a perspective that, you know, I can’t do everything. I can do anything, but I can’t do everything.

Dawn (02:36):

So if I just focus in a few areas throughout these next three months. I could easily help maintain all the work I’ve done and protect your bariatric metabolism. So I’m going to cover five ways to build resilience in your bariatric metabolism for the holidays. And number one is stabilize your blood sugar. Number two, maintain a healthy digestion. Three, protect your gut bacteria. Four, practice stress management, and five, maintain your muscle mass. So first we’re going to cover the stabilize your blood sugar to protect your bariatric metabolism.

Stabilize your blood sugar to protect your bariatric metabolism

Dawn (03:36):

So first off, glucose, which is your blood sugar, is your body’s main fuel source or kind of your source of energy, and it is a critical component in a healthy metabolism. So anytime you have an elevated blood sugar this kind of sets you up at least consistently, not occasionally, but consistently as it kind of does that incline of just continually staying elevated, then that sets you up for pre-diabetes and then eventually turns in to diabetes if not addressed.

Dawn (04:02):

And, and many of you already are aware of this, you’ve, you’ve experienced this, you’ve lived this and you know, that bariatric surgery shifted that. So here is what we need to protect. We need to protect what bariatric surgery did for you, but it doesn’t do that permanently. In fact a study published in 2020, it was a comparison of the five year outcomes of diabetes after the sleeve gastrectomy and roux-en-y gastric bypass. And I talked about this on a previous post and, and video and podcast on why bariatric patients should care about blood sugar. So you can refer to that and the links will be in the show notes. But what they found was that after five years, the recurrence of diabetes was somewhere between 30 to 40% with the roux-en-y gastric bypass and the sleeve gastrectomy.

Dawn (05:01):

So if you flip that, you think, okay, that’s, that means 60 to 70% of bariatric patients have full remission of their diabetes. How awesome is that? Except when you’re in that 30 to 40% that actually have to go back on diabetic medications or you just, your blood sugar remains elevated and you’re experiencing the consequences or the side effects of all the symptoms that come with that. And not feeling well and, and inflammation and other disease states that are kind of.. Kind of stirred up. So, so again, it’s, it’s just showing you that although diabetes, although bariatric surgery does an awesome job at, at putting diabetes in a safer place in health

Healthy metabolism for bariatric patients

Dawn (05:56):

It doesn’t correct it perfectly forever. So this is where, again, you have to learn to be a participant in your health and you have to sometimes take charge and be the one that’s saying, Hey, you know what? I don’t like these numbers. Let’s do something about it. And just reflect on what has changed over in the last several months and why would it be increasing. So you know, and if you boil it down, I mean, pre-diabetes is a metabolic disorder. And if you’re experiencing those pre-diabetic numbers in your blood tests your influ…, Your metabolism is influenced. So even though you’ve had bariatric surgery your metabolism can shift back and you could start having issues again. So the key to having a healthy bariatric metabolism is maintaining a fairly stable blood sugar at all times. And that’s somewhere between 72 to 110 milligrams per deciliter.

Dawn (07:07):

So when you’re doing a glucometer, if you’re checking your blood sugar that away, or if it’s just your, your fasting blood sugar that you get done with your provider or your bariatric team somewhere, you want that fasting blood sugar to be 72 to 110. And there’s a study that I link to this again, will be in the show notes that gives you those details. But again, in that keeps you in that protective state.

Dawn (07:57):

So that keeps you in where it’s, you’re, you stay out of the, the, the prediabetes ranges. So yes, anything above a hundred is considered, you know, 99 to 126 is prediabetes and anything above 126 is diabetes. And then ideally you want it to range somewhere between that, you know, the seventies and the eighties on an ongoing basis. So, but you know, when you eat a meal, it automatically spikes up and then the insulin takes it, you know, takes over and brings that out of the, the blood.

Fiber and carbohydrates for blood sugar stability 

Dawn (08:14):

You know, your, the sugar out of your blood puts it into your cells or stores it in, you know, your liver or your muscles for later or fat cells if you have too much. So again, that’s, you know, you’re wanting to stabilize that between the seventies and eighties on a regular basis. You know, after, you know, an hour and a half, two hours after a meal, it should come back down to those ranges. So how do you keep your blood sugars stable? What are, what are some principles that you can enlist that will help stabilize this during the holidays? That protects your metabolism long term? And number one is protein first.

Dawn (09:14):

Number two is fiber-filled carbohydrates, and number three, healthy fat. So those three foundational principles are important when it comes to stabilizing your blood sugar long term. So those, if you implement these things on an ongoing basis, not just occasionally that you really do, you know, prioritize protein and you are hitting your protein goals and you are consuming fiber and getting closer to that 30 ish grams of fiber a day, and you are incorporating healthy fats. You are putting the odds in your favor that your blood sugar is going to remain stable at all times.

Dawn (09:42):

Now, I, I want to kind of bring to light that some people do have a, a genetic predisposition for you know, blood sugar issues. So we do know there are several genetic SNPs that are, are correlated with dysregulated blood sugars and insulin resistance. But then there’s also a genetic piece that you need a larger volume of food to feel satisfied. So that’s where it’s important to understand that for some people.

Protein for blood sugar stability

Dawn (10:12):

So if you feel like, hey, I’m, I’m doing protein first and I am hitting all my protein goals and think, you know, 80, 90% of the time, you know, again, I don’t believe in perfection, but I do believe that it takes intention and, and purpose to do this cause it does doesn’t happen automatically. And that you are hitting 30 some grams of fiber a day and you are, you know, getting the healthy fats in and not avoiding those.

Dawn (10:44):

So if you feel like that’s you, you might want to think about, hey, maybe my genetics are playing a role and I might need some additional testing to kind of dial that in to understand why, why am I doing these things and it’s not enough? And that’s where the genetic test can help give you that insight and that personalization. And the good news is you can do something about it. If you have the genetic test, we know exactly what we need to do to change that.

Dawn (11:24):

Now, that doesn’t mean that it’s easy on your end to do. It does require implementation of those strategies, and that’s, you’re the only person that can do that. So just getting the information doesn’t make it all go away. No, it requires implementing the strategies that can make it go away. So again, there are things you can do if your genetics have set you up to be in this position that you really can’t manage your blood sugar with just these diet and lifestyle things.

Maintain healthy digestion to protect your bariatric metabolism

Dawn (11:56):

Okay, so the next one is maintain a healthy digestion to protect your bariatric metabolism. And a healthy metabolism actually starts with a healthy digestion. So and the big picture is healthy digestion requires stomach acid, enzymes, pepsin, bile, all of those things to appropriately digest proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. And unfortunately that shifts after bariatric surgery. And we know, So first off, we know that stomach acid is kind of your first line of defense of killing off pathogenic bacteria.

Dawn (12:56):

So you go into the holiday season, you’re exposed to lots of of people, you are exposed to different types of food and maybe sitting out longer than usual. And that stomach acid is what kills those things off. And when you have low stomach acid or otherwise known as hypochlorhydria, you have an increased risk for those pathogens to kind of take over.

Dawn (13:15):

And those are things like c-diff, H pylori, SIBO, MRSA, pneumonia, I mean, you name it. All of those things that we’re all exposed to every single day definitely become a bigger risk when you don’t have enough stomach acid. And, and even just food poisoning, you’re going to have less protection from food poisoning. Your body’s not going to be able to defend yourself as well when you don’t have adequate stomach acid.

Dawn (13:56):

So the moral of the story is you need stomach acid to have a healthy digestion and to have a healthy metabolism. So now, like I had said, we know that bariatric surgery shifts this and we know that they shift in the area of, it lowers stomach acid. And I’ve done a post and video and podcast on this as well, and those will be in the show notes, but it’s all about kind of the downstream effects that occur without adequate stomach acid, bile enzymes and Pepsin to digest food.

Dawn (14:23):

Your gut bacteria are impacted increasing your risk for gut dysbiosis and all of these infections and overgrowths that can occur just because you don’t have enough stomach acid. But we’ll get to that in a little bit with your gut bacteria. So how can you maintain a healthy digestion during the holidays? I’m going to going to give you six tips. One, chew your food really well. Two, eat mindfully. So enjoy the people you’re with and you know what, it’s family, you may not enjoy them. And that’s okay.

Dawn (15:06):

So regardless, just go in, flip your mindset, change your mindset to the aspect of, you know what? I am going to go with the purpose of finding good in each of my family members so that I can enjoy myself and create good memories. And sometimes that’s what it’s required. cause sometimes, you know, your connection with your family is partly us.

Parasympathetic nervous system for healthy metabolism

Dawn (15:36):

It’s partly the things that we take into it. So approach this holiday season with, Hey, you know what, I am going to, I’m going to be mindful and I’m going to be intentional about seeking out learning more about my family members and meeting them where they are and getting involved and, and interested in the things that interest them. So when you’re at a meal, be mindful and at, you know, converse and have socialization with everybody around you enjoying it, that naturally slows the meal down and really helps you be intentional about your food and listening to those food cues to prevent you from doing more than what you should. Number three is take three slow deep breaths before a meal. And what this will do is this will turn on the parasympathetic nervous system, which is your rest and digest.

Dawn (16:39):

So you want to optimize your digestion to help support a healthy metabolism. Take slow deep breaths to turn on that rest and digest mode, and you’re going to set yourself up for having more of the acid, the stomach acid available, more bile, more enzymes. Everything’s going to be flowing because the stress is turned off. So again, go in with an intentional mindset of rest and digest so that you can maximize what you get from the food. Number four is add digestive bitters. And I have some posts on digestive bitters and the other things I’m offering as addition that you can add on. So you can just see the links in my show notes for those. But think of digestive bitters as herbs that stimulate the body to naturally release more stomach acid, more bile, more enzymes, more pepsin.

Dawn (17:47):

So it’s just they trigger this response. So that’s an easy thing to do. They come in liquid tincture type forms where you can take a dropper full or a spray. Those are the best ones as opposed to one that’s in a pill. So the digestive bitters as an option, you could do that right before a meal and that will improve your digestion. And number five is adding digestive enzymes with betaine HCL. And this would be, you would need to qualify yourself for this.

Digestive enzymes for bariatric metabolism

Dawn (18:26):

And you know, you can always reach out to me. I, I’d be happy to do a free chat with you to see if you qualify to utilize digestive enzymes with betain HCL. Our WLS formulated. Digestive enzymes have betaine HCL and spec for specifically, I formulated these just for that reason because you need an acid piece to this and betaine HCL is an acid but not everyone should take it.

Dawn (18:57):

So that’s where working with a provider like myself can help you determine if it’s right for you. And then the last one, number six is consider papaya enzymes after a meal. And these are just chewable tablets. You can buy these at a health food store or online, and this can help digest the additional proteins and mostly the proteins is what is going to help the most with whereas digestive enzymes is going to be more all encompassing and covering your proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.

Dawn (19:17):

And then the digestive bitters as well would cover all of the protein, fats and carbohydrates. You can take digestive bitters and digestive enzymes that would also be acceptable. There’s nothing wrong with that if you need additional digestive support. So when you, you know, when your digestion is functioning optimally, your body will naturally fight off the pathogenic bacteria.

Dawn (19:59):

And then it kind of prevents that cascade of events that eventually destroy your gut microbiome that lead to an unhealthy metabolism. So the next one is protect gut bacteria for a healthy bariatric metabolism. And it has been well-documented how the gut microbiome plays a role in regulating your metabolism. I have in the show notes eight different studies that have this information showing you the power of your gut microbiome and how it influences your metabolism. So this is a very important piece.

Dawn (20:57):

So if you want to protect your metabolism after bariatric surgery, you really have to focus in on your gut bacteria because this, think of this as at the root of where everything is beginning and with your metabolism. So there was a study published in 2019 and they have shown that the endocrine cells within the mucosal lining of the gut synthesize and secrete a number of hormones including and all these have to do with your metabolism and your appetite or hunger hormones.

Digestive bitters for bariatric metabolism

Dawn (21:28):

So these are like CCK, PYY, GLP-1, GIP and 5-HT. They all have regulatory roles in key metabolic processes such as insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, fat storage, and appetite. So these are, these are an important things that occur naturally in our intestines that influence your blood glucose numbers, your insulin sensitivity, your fat storage, your appetite. All of those things are going to regulate. All these hormones are going to be regulated within the gut.

Dawn (22:28):

And this study published in 2019 kind of pulled it all together in connecting the gut microbiome and, and they explain it kind of the release of these hormones can be influenced by the presence of bacteria and their metabolites within the gut. And these gut hormones release an important component of microbial regulation of your metabolism. So it’s important to see that your gut microbiome is very influential in the health of your metabolism.

Dawn (22:44):

So if you want to have a healthy bariatric metabolism or resilient bariatric metabolism. Then your gut microbiome has to be addressed. And I also want to kind of elaborate on this further documented that dietary and pharmacological interventions, which altered the gut microbiome pose pot, they kind of see them as potential therapeutics for metabolic disorders. So kind of cool that we know that we can, we can make change with our diet and combine diet and even medications to be very impactful in your metabolism. And I think you can kind of see this playing out with the new GLP-1 pharmaceuticals for weight loss.

Dawn (23:28):

And, you know, I’m not, not against these medications, but I want you to know there are alternatives. You don’t have to do these or not, not everyone will need to do these GLP-1 medications long-term if you shifted by focusing on your gut microbiome and healing that. And really just shifting your whole gut bacteria getting out of dysbiosis and just really rebuilding, reconditioning and getting your gut in a healthy place. Can change all of that and improve your metabolism in one natural way.

Dawn (24:33):

And I think, you know, even if you do some of the GLP-1 medications and you do it for a period of time. I know that they are intended to be long-term, but not everybody can maintain those long term cause they suppress your appetite way too much and you’re not going to get ev all the nutrition and things your brain and body need to survive. So, you know, I think it’s finding a healthy balance with those, but then also focusing on shifting your gut microbiome and choosing, you know, the long your long-term health.

Protect gut bacteria for a healthy bariatric metabolism

Dawn (25:03):

And choosing prevention to of, you know, preventing disease from reoccurring. So, you know, think of it as, you know, when you choose to shift your gut microbiome, you are choosing prevention. You are choosing the long-term health strategies. So I think pairing that with what your doctor has I think is a great strategy.

Dawn (25:44):

And I think, you know, you have to choose what works best for you and you know, finding kind of the best way to approach your health is most important. And you, you enlist a team. You enlist your, your doctor, your bariatric team, a dietitian. People that can help you navigate this and decide, hey, what do I need to do to shift and get the most out of this? Cause you just have to take the thoughts of, of it’s your fault that the, you know, the surgery failed or you failed the surgery.

Dawn (26:04):

That’s not it at all. I mean, think, think it’s just the surgery got you so far, and we have to implement additional strategies or additional approaches that will help get you across the line further and get you where you need to be with your health goals and your weight so that you can live a happy long life.

Dawn (26:46):

So one thing I do want to say is that if you have gut des dysbiosis, you will want to heal this. And we know that bariatric surgery only partially rescues dysbiosis from obesity. And I do have the link in my show notes of how this occurs and the studies behind this. But the good news is you can reverse gut dysbiosis and it you can influence your metabolism positively by reversing and healing your gut.

Dawn (27:06):

So that’s what I want you to see that the big picture is that your gut microbiome influences your metabolism and you can heal your gut microbiome so that you can maximize and optimize and make your metabolism more resilient so that you are protected through the holidays and beyond. So what can you do over the holidays that can protect your metabolism? Honestly, there are a lot of things you can do.

Dawn (27:51):

And whole real food is what your metabolism needs to shift it and maintain it. So this is where you have to go into this with a lifestyle mindset that this isn’t a diet you’re doing for just a short-term. Now to heal. You may have to do some specific diets just to heal it, but then personally, if you worked with me, I would take you through re liberalizing your diet so that you bring all that stuff back in.

Proteins and healthy fats to protect gut bacteria

Dawn (28:36):

So that you have a you know, kind of a well-balanced you know, bariatric plate after. And you can eat a well-rounded meal with fibers and carbohydrates and vegetables and fruits and proteins and healthy fats, and you can get them all in. Again, that’s where working with a provider like myself is helpful because we can take you from one state and get you to the best state. The best state that optimizes your metabolism and protects you throughout the holidays and beyond.

Dawn (29:02):

And if you think about it, it’s, you know, when you’re doing.. Healing your gut. Or when you’re focusing on the long- term you know, lifestyle that’s no different than what happened with bariatric surgery. You’ve already done that. You know, you, you follow up bariatric diet, you take your vitamins, you drink your protein shakes and water, and you move your body. And that’s what made your bariatric surgery a success. And if you didn’t do those things, you wouldn’t be successful with weight loss after bariatric surgery. So I think it’s ju it’s, again, we’re dialing it in a little more and we’re getting a little bit more personalized and a little bit more individual to you. And really fixing some of those root cause areas that can shift your metabolism positively or negatively depending on how healthy it is.

Dawn (29:58):

So here are a few things that can help for the holidays to protect your metabolism. One, drink black or green tea. So over these next few months, make sure that you are consuming black and green tea on a daily basis. One or the other, or both. It doesn’t matter. And what I would say is, you know, depending on your caffeine tolerance I would go for a cutoff of by 2:00 PM so that it doesn’t influence your sleep. Because that will give plenty of time for the caffeine to be out of your system. So they are studies showing that green and black tea, So green tea has been shown to increase bifidobacterium species in fecal samples. So you can boost your gut bacteria with green tea and black and oolong tea have been shown actually in several studies to generate short chain fatty acids.

Artificial sweetener will also increase your blood sugars

Dawn (31:05):

And these are the good properties that have protective effects against obesity and alterations in your metabolism. Now one important consideration is the sugar. So sweet tea, you may be thinking, Oh, I’m great, I drink sweet tea every day. I’m, I’m protecting myself. Unfortunately when you add the sugar and artificial sweeteners or honey. That’s where it can be positive or mostly negative, really. It’s going to influence your gut bacteria negatively.

Dawn (31:48):

So adding sugar, especially in, you know, high volumes. Now that’s, you know, even a a 50/50 tea, sweet tea is, is better than a full sweet tea. But, you know, moving yourself even more to 75/25 or none. I think depends on the volume that you’re drinking of it. If you’re having one a day you know, if you know a 75,/25 is maybe doable and then you have to consider, you know, maybe you’re thinking, Hey, I I just add artificial sweeteners, I add no sugar.

Dawn (32:28):

Unfortunately there are studies, multiple studies showing how it does influence your gut microbiome. So it.. Negatively. It impacts artificial sweeteners impact your gut bacteria negatively. And for some, depending on the type of artificial sweetener used, it will also increase your blood sugars. And I even had a patient, she was in a clinical trial locally here, and I think she was a type one diabetic and she learned that she could not tolerate any artificial sweeteners.

Dawn (32:28):

Even St5via without it impacting or raising her blood sugar. So again, I think, I think you have to look at the big picture, pause and reflect on how much am I consuming of this, and is this a contributor of why I’m struggling? And then lastly, the honey. There are some studies showing that it, it has more of a protective effect. And there’s a link in my in the show notes on the honey on how it does not contribute to increasing blood glucose in some people.

Dawn (33:46):

So again, I think that’s very individualized and that’s where a glucose monitor may help in utilizing or making it more personal. And really honing in on what foods really do impact your, your blood sugar. Now that a stool test is what’s going to help us identify if it’s impacting your gut microbiome. But a continuous glucose monitor is what’s going to influence your blood sugars. So, you know, making sure you have green and black tea, but you’re not adding a lot of sugar or sweeteners to it is a great addition. So as you’re going through the holidays, making sure you’re having one glass of green tea or one glass of black tea every day. With very little sugar or none. Is a great addition to increasing your good bacteria and increasing your short-chain fatty acid production.

Polyphenols for gut bacteria to protect bariatric metabolism

Dawn (34:46):

It helps grow your gut bacteria diversity and it helps strengthen that gut lining and, and so many things producing many short chain fatty acids from the foods that you consume is a great way to protect your metabolism and your health. Second is consume polyphenols. I’ve talked about polyphenols many times and it is well very well documented. Polyphenols are just organic compounds found abundantly in plants. And technically there are over 8,000 polyphenols identified to date. So lots to choose from.

Dawn (35:35):

But we currently understand that polyphenols have antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and preventative and/or therapeutic effects on cardiovascular disease, on neurodegenerative disorders, cancer and obesity. So we know that adding polyphenols is very beneficial when it comes to your metabolism. And actually we found that when you boost the gut bacteria, Akkermansia Munciphilia. This has been proven to improve weight loss. And Akkermansia loves polyphenols and actually grows in its presence.

Dawn (36:19):

So the more polyphenols you have, the more you’re going to grow your Akkermansia. That is awesome. Those are the things you want to do. So that’s where you can see why it’s important to have this lifelong approach and not a diet approach. Cause you’re not going to just do this for a few weeks or a few months. This is something that you’ve got to kind of nourish along throughout your life. So where do you get polyphenols? These are things that are in the, you know, the deep reds, purples and blue families in food. So blueberries, beets, cherries, strawberries, raspberries all those deep dark colors are full of polyphenols. Then green tea is also high in polyphenols, cloves, cocoa powder, dark chocolate, hazelnuts, plums, cranberries. They really love cranberries. So over the holidays have the cranberries, just don’t have tons and tons of sugar on them.

Dawn (37:24):

So those are great ways that you can support your gut bacteria throughout the holidays. Is just by adding these polyphenol foods. And just thinking about as you’re going through your day, What have I had that’s blue, red, purple? Have I had any green tea today? Have I had some cocoa powder in something in a smoothie in my oats or something? So those are things that you can just naturally think about and say, Okay. I haven’t had any of this today where I need to add something. At my next meal or at my next snack, I’m going to add these. And then the third one is consume prebiotic foods. And prebiotics have been shown to improve weight loss after roux-en-y gastric bypass by 50%. So you have better weight loss, 50% better weight loss when you add prebiotics with especially a probiotic.

Insulin resistance and inflammation for bariatric metabolism

Dawn (38:24):

So the prebiotic with the probiotic is a very powerful combo in improving abdominal circumference. So kind of your waist, Blood sugar, insulin resistance, and inflammatory markers. Those two can have a protective effect of your gut to get you through the holidays. That’s why I like our Ultimate Gut Restore probiotic. Because it has a prebiotic, a very gentle prebiotic that is tolerated by any of the worst digestive issues can tolerate this prebiotic. Not all prebiotics are tolerated when you have digestive issues.

Dawn (39:05):

So this is why I chose this one specifically because this matters, this, if you are having digestive issues, you want a gentle prebiotic to be included. And that’s what we use in our ultimate gut restore. But food-wise there are things you can do. So over the holidays, so these next few months, these are the prebiotic foods that can actually help improve your metabolism and help keep your inflammatory markers, balance your blood sugar and prevent insulin resistance.

Dawn (39:45):

So these are things like milk, asparagus, tomatoes, garlic, onions, barley, rye, wheat, chicory, honey, and Jerusalem artichokes. All of those are great things to have. So if you are taking a dish to a family event, guess what, take some asparagus or take some artichoke, make like a spinach artichoke dip or, you know, roasted garlic bulbs with some olive oil or avocado oil and spoon that on, you know, a whole grain bread or a whole grain cracker. And that will give you great ways to add prebiotics that will help support your keeping your gut microbiome healthy. Which will support your metabolism.

Gut dysbiosis or bacterial overgrowth 

Dawn (40:45):

Then fourth one is limit your alcohol. This has been associated with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, gut dysbiosis, and increased intestinal permeability. Which you will probably know that more as leaky gut. And this has been well established to be an issue after bariatric surgery. Alcohol is a problem. So much so that the ASMBS has put out a statement or a study on this. And although we don’t understand fully and the transfer of addictions may be in play. You know, you have to think about your gut dysbiosis or a bacterial overgrowth or a fungal overgrowth that contributes to making that harder with that transfer addiction. So you’re pairing those together and putting,

Speaker 3 (41:32):

You know, the odds in your favor that you might have the ability to overcome that alcohol addiction easier. So you can totally destroy your gut by consuming alcohol frequently over the next couple of months during the holidays. You can literally destroy it. And that’s where you have to use wisdom and you have to just step back and evaluate the what am I doing? Why am I choosing this? And yes. I get it. It’s sometimes it’s, it’s, it’s just you’re in the moment and you have fun and you’re just enjoying the people you’re with and not even recognizing it. But I challenge you to reflect after those events and say, Okay, I’m going in with a a boundary. I’m not exceeding X number of drinks throughout the course of the entire night or throughout the weekend. However you can protect yourself.

Speaker 3 (42:41):

I would encourage you to do so. There are things you can also do to protect your gut during this alcohol phase. And I, you know, I ki I guess I, I call these cheater things in aspects of it’s allowing you to live life, but again, it’s not, it’s not establishing better routines and better behaviors, but it is preventing you from getting yourself in a really bad place with your gut that you’ve got to do months and months of rebuilding to get yourself in a better place. And you can, you know, I like using like a histamine blocker. I like using L-glutamine. So our multi-sport powder is one that you can do to kind of help protect that gut lining. Also your, your prebiotics, your probiotics are going to help that gut lining. So again there are options to go in being intentional.

Histamine intolerance and gut restore

Speaker 3 (43:49):

So even if you’re going to have a small amount of alcohol and you don’t want to disrupt the work you’ve done. Or you feel like, Hey, I’m in a really good place and I don’t want to mess it up, take some, take our multi-sport powder, take a scoop of that before you go to an event. If you have histamine intolerances, that’s where using a a histamine block. You know, reach out to me do one of our free consultations and I can help guide you through that.

Speaker 3 (44:03):

On, on how to do that safely. Limiting your alcohol is important so that you don’t destroy your gut during the holidays. The fifth one is take a probiotic. And think of this as your protector of your intestines, your immunity and your overall health. Without it, you’re very vulnerable. Kind of like we talked about, you know, the stomach acid and having digestion dialed in how it impacts the downstream effects.

Speaker 3 (44:44):

This can be your protector. If things aren’t right in your digestion quite yet, the, the probiotic can be a great backup until you get that restored. So again, you want blends of lactobacillus, bifidobacterium and Saccharomyces Boulardii, those three combos. That’s why I like our, our Ultimate Gut Restore combined with our Saccharomyces Boulardii. Because those two products have everything in it that you need to really protect you and to maintain a healthy bariatric metabolism. They have the, those are your tools.

Stress management to protect your bariatric metabolism

Speaker 3 (45:33):

Those are your defenders that can really protect you during the holidays so . His is your, protect your gut bacteria for a healthy bariatric metabolism. So we’ve covered all of those so. Now we’re moving into practice stress management for influencing your bariatric metabolism. And, and I would say this is probably the most influential of all of them. You can eat perfectly, maintain a perfect blood sugar range, add all the supplements to help digest your food, take the probiotics to protect your gut bacteria and consume the right foods to enhance it.

Speaker 3 (46:14):

Work on your muscles consistently. But if your stress is unmanaged or you have unresolved trauma, it can negate all of those efforts that you have put in. So stress management is super important, and I talk about it a lot. I try to incorporate it into most of my messages because it is that important and I think it is under-recognized and under taught on how to manage it. And I think that’s where we have to change this narrative.

Speaker 3 (46:53):

We have to change how we are teaching health and really teaching each other how to regulate your nervous system. When your nervous system is dysregulated, none of these other things are going to be as impactful. You’re going to be chasing, you’re going to, you’re going to be throwing things at it just to chase your symptoms. Whereas your nervous system needs regulated first. And then we can attack these other areas with intention.

Speaker 3 (47:33):

So chronic anxiety, depression, irritability, agitation you know, all these are signs that your nervous system may be dysregulated and working with a therapist can help you establish protocols that can work best for you. So, enlist a therapist to help work through strategies in stress management. Now, there are also things you can just do for yourself. There are bazillion meditation apps. I like the Calm app, Headspace, Insight timer, CBT-i coach. Any, any of those.

Speaker 3 (48:03):

And there’s, I know tons more, but those are ones that you can use to help yourself and build on it. Start with a few minutes a day, and it could look like you do that every morning, first thing in the morning or right before bed that you kind of, you know, get your, you know, do a body scan check where everything is, or your shoulders all tense, or your hands all tense and you know, you’ve been, you know, experiencing a stressful day and you didn’t even recognize it.

Speaker 3 (48:46):

That’s where those meditation apps can really help you realize. That, oh my gosh, I’ve been tight all day long and I didn’t even realize it. So I really want you to consider during the holidays to just maybe do a two minute body scan, a five minute body scan when you wake up in the morning or before bed. And evaluate and turn it off, turn those stress indicators off. So that you, one, you sleep well, or one that you just have a better day.

Speaker 3 (49:04):

You, you align your intentions and your, your thoughts in a better place when you aren’t stressed. So your body, you know, when you’re having these symptoms, your body is, it’s your, it’s messaging you, it’s saying, Hey, I’m having some issues here. My nervous system needs some support, it needs help. It’s, it’s dysregulated. And that’s where those meditations can really help turn that off and get you in a good place to help yourself.

Maintain muscle mass to protect your bariatric metabolism

Speaker 3 (49:51):

The last one is maintain your muscle mass. So if you want to protect your metabolism after a bariatric surgery during the holidays, you need your muscle. And think of muscle as the ultimate metabolism optimizer and.  It, so if you’re looking to protect your bariatric metabolism this holiday, then you’ve got to maintain your muscle mass. And you can do that just simply. And that’s what I would encourage you to do is, is, you know, over these next few months, keep it simple.

Speaker 3 (50:44):

Don’t, you know, require yourself to do all these long workouts or anything. Maybe just do 10 minutes. 10 minutes a day, and all you’re doing is focusing on some muscle work. And you are, you have maybe some exercise bands or maybe some small weights or or you’re just using your body weight or maybe you grab a couple cans from the pantry or maybe a half gallon jug that you put, you know, a certain level of fluid in to change the weight.

Speaker 3 (51:04):

All you need is resistance. You need some type of resistance that can help work your muscles. You have to work your muscles to keep your metabolism tuned in and at a high rate. So if you want to have a healthy bariatric metabolism this holiday season or a resilient one or a health, you know, you just want to enhance it this holiday season. These are the things that you can focus on. Do a few.. 10 minutes of muscle or resistance training. Do really focus on your protein, your fibers, and your healthy fats at every meal.

Conclusion 

Speaker 3 (51:54):

Take your probiotic and prebiotic combo, dial in your digestion and decide if you need some additional things like digestive bitters or digestive enzymes. So that you can you know, provide everything that your body needs to have healthy digestion. And then enlist some meditation so that you can turn on that parasympathetic state and turn on rest and digest so that you can keep your nervous system balanced and not dysregulated.

Speaker 3 (52:20):

And this is what it means to be intentional. This is being intentional. You are thinking through what colors have I had today on my plate? What proteins, what fibers, what have I done? And you’re. You’re doing the check boxes each day, what am I missing. And what can I make up at the next meal? And that is building a lifelong practice that provides you with a very healthy bariatric metabolism, lifelong. So I really hope this has helped and I hope that you enjoy your holiday season this year and beyond. Have a great day. Bye-Bye.

Your future health awaits…