Why I am Passionate about Gut Health

I was doing some training this week with a new coach who asked me about my story to help her understand me a bit more. So, I thought perhaps it is a good time to share more of my story with all of you. You will understand why I am passionate about health and gut health.

From a very young age I was constipated but didn’t know it and had no clue as to what it was or how to sort it out. I was admitted to Crumlin Children's Hospital several times in absolute agony with stomach pains. I was always being checked for kidney infections and appendicitis, but I never once remember anything being mentioned to me about constipation. No one asked me about my poop or how often I went, well not as far as I know.

I was a fussy eater; white bread, jam, rashers and raspberry yoghurt were it for me. My poor mother must have had her head melted trying to get me to eat anything. She was clever and fooled me into eating things and thank goodness she did!

The real thing that I think helped keep me healthy was sports. My parents started us running from a young age, and I really believe that consistent level of movement helped get my bowels moving, even though I never knew it.

As I got older, I figured out that things worked better when I consistently exercised

But it took me a while to realise if I changed my food, I would change my health.

When I hit puberty, my skin became a big issue. It wasn’t cystic acne, but it was there and would never heal no matter what I did. I had it on my face, but the chest and back were the worst. At least my mother never worried about me going out in skimpy tops!!! I dreaded summer but lived in t-shirts which thankfully in the 80’s was on trend. Getting into a swimsuit was a horror for me.

I thought it would pass like for other people around me but it just continued on into my 20’s. Obviously this affected my confidence and I think that’s when I started to depend on alcohol to boost myself when I was out. If I felt like crap and thought I looked like crap, then I’d just cover it all up with a few drinks and get into the party mode. I was still constipated but it was my normal and no one ever spoke about it, certainly not when I went to doctors about my skin or my mood.

My food and lifestyle were out of balance

By now I was working crazy hours in a stressful job in finance with lots of flying, so food and lifestyle were very out of balance. IBS type symptoms would kick in when I was at home and off work. I’d be out in the pub and end up with awful pains, so bad that I had to go home. Or I'd be out for a walk and have to rush back to the house to make it to the loo! Then back to work and a week of not going and eating rubbish late in the evening and having a few drinks. Can you image how toxic my poor gut must have been at this stage not to mention my liver. No wonder I was prone to kidney infections and had bad breath! And my skin was doing so much work dealing with the toxic overload it was always erupting.

I did make changes to my food and things did get better but never enough to resolve everything. I did bouts of no alcohol, no junk, I did juicing weeks once a year and it all helped. But even after a year of living in the Mediterranean sun, with the best possible diet, losing stones in weight and exercising more, I still had constipation and skin issues.

That’s when I had my first colonic! And for me it was the moment the lights came on

I had about 9 colonics over the summer and my mood definitely lifted. I didn’t feel so cranky and short fused any more. Nothing felt like as big a deal as before. I became more relaxed, and I believe it was because my gut was no longer overloaded with toxic waste. At this point I stopped drinking alcohol because I didn’t like it and knew now it was doing nothing for me. Because my body was cleaner, I could taste things better and I just didn’t enjoy the drink, and because my mood was better I didn’t need it to boost me anymore.

The skin on my back was still quite bad so I did a juice cleanse with colonics and some supplements to boost the detox. Within a week it was totally resolved. It only flares up now if I go mad on sweets and sugars or have a few drinks. Which is rare enough now. I just don’t feel the need to do that to myself anymore.

The other major thing that has happened is my weight has stabilised. I don’t work hard at it in any way, but I keep myself moving consistently and I choose my food and drink well. I regularly juice only for a few days and still have colonics every 3 months.

So now you know why I am so interested in gut health...

...and how to make it be the best it can be! I hope it can help even one person out there see colonics as a positive way to help them feel better!

Sarah

Helping you be your best self!

P.S. If you would like to book in for a colonic, please visit www.sarahbreslinwellness.com/b-o-o-k-i-n-g-a-n-d-p-r-i-c-e-s