Greetings from snowy Raleigh, North Carolina!

We woke up to a wintery wonderland this morning and while this former New Englander isn't a huge fan of wintery weather, I secretly think the snow today is rather beautiful. 
 

This winter I've been taking more time to write. 
In fact, I'm going back to my microbiology roots and talking about the gut microbiome and its influence on metabolism and whole body strength. 
My new project is called "Strong butts and guts: increasing whole body strength with microbiology and natural daily movement"...or something like that..

For those of you that don't know, before I was a trainer, I worked in microbiology, first on the health front at the National Institutes of Health, then as environmental microbiologist at the University of Arizona and finally finished with a masters in soil and agricultural science at North Carolina State University. 
I. LOVE. MICROBES. 

My husband has been a pest management professional  and self-proclaimed "bug geek" for close to 15 years now and the other day I realized,
"Oh my goodness, I'm totally a bug geek too!" 
Just a different kind of bug....the microscopic kind!

The amazing thing is that I never ever ever would have thought that my love for microbiology would be SO RELATED to my job as a trainer and lifestyle coach. 

But we are learning more every day about the far-reaching influence of the trillions of microbes that live in our gastrointestinal system (the gut). 

Nutrient absorption, to metabolic regulation, cravings, energy, sleep, muscle synthesis, hormonal regulation (very important for both metabolism and building lean muscle) the gut is an INTEGRAL part of all of these functions of the body. 
 

One of the biggest issues that we are facing in modern life is that lack of movement, little time outdoors and the Standard American Diet are all killing the ancestral strains of microbes that have been evolving with us since the beginning. 
These strains are designed to keep us alive and well and fully functioning, because we are engaged in a symbiotic relationship that is mutually beneficial!

They keep our bodies running like a top, we provide them with a safe place to live, aka, food and shelter. 

BUT these strains of bacteria (many of which derived from the soil, we inoculated ourselves by being outside and eating foods that were grown in the dirt) are not happy. 
In fact, they are dead (or close to it) in many a gut!

Herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics, oral contraceptives, many prescription medications, loads of processed sugar, food additives (like guar and xanthan gums), and artificial sweeteners (Splenda!) are killing off the good guys (dubbed "Gut Guardians" by Dr. Grace Liu) in our gut microbiome,  and leaving room for nasty ones that historically were kept in check by the guardians. 


Consequently we are seeing more and more food sensitivities,  autoimmune diseases, inflammatory bowel syndromes and diseases (which by the way are symptoms, not medical conditions), chronic fatigue, inefficient metabolisms, mental emotional health conditions....and the list goes on. 

 

My interest was peaked when I realized that the pelvic floor is strongly impacted by the gut, makes perfect sense since they are neighbors!

So I have launched a whole research project into better understanding how our lifestyle, and nutrition habits are impacting our guts and how our guts are impacting our abilities to build strong bodies!

AND logically, I'm writing an ebook on the topic. 

I'm not totally out of depth here, I am a published author in a bunch of other super obscure topics (look to the right!)
But never have I ever written something about which I feel so much passion. 

So, e-book is coming. 
As part of my Inner Circle you will be learning about how your gut is impacting your body and ways to get it on board with you and your personal goals. 

Today I am sharing a link to a recent blogpost that I wrote on the interactions between the gut and the pelvic floor. 
 

It's written to coaches and trainers, and I know that some of you are that!
BUT it's about all of us, so don't skip it if you don't work in fitness. 
YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS STUFF in order to protect yourself and possibly even get to the bottom of some chronic health issues that you've been ignoring!

The post is mostly about diarrhea, constipation, bloating and how irregular digestion is negatively impacting our pelvic floor, potentially causing pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence of ALL kinds. 

I'd love for you to check it out here and leave comments!

This effects us all!