I’ve been occasionally feeling a little run down lately. I’ll go through days where I just don’t have as much energy as I usually do and to be honest my stomach still hasn’t been 100% ever since I had that flare up about a month ago. If you’ve read my health history on my About Me page, you’ll know that stomach issues are something I’ve dealt with for a long time. But, a few years ago, after getting serious about changing my diet, they went away. It wasn’t until recently that they started to come back. They aren’t debilitating but just very uncomfortable and it makes me question everything I eat, which can be extremely frustrating. There is also an itchy raised rash that started creeping back on my neck this week, and those are signs my body is giving me to tell me something is not right. I talked to my functional medicine nutritionist who mentioned that I could possibly have the Epstein-Barr virus or leaky gut again (something that can come and go based on inflammation in the body), or that I could have other intestinal issues going on (including parasites, viruses, yeast, or bacteria). There are numerous studies showing the link between gut health and disease so in order to treat the disease it’s best to first address the gut. She advised me to take a stool analysis test which detects a wide array of intestinal issues (including those I mentioned). I’m waiting on those results but in the meantime I’m trying to get serious about healing and sealing my gut again. It’s so important to pay attention to the signs your body gives you. Don’t ignore them, because that’s often when things will get worse. Find a good functional medicine doctor who will get to the root cause of the problem instead of just masking symptoms. And don’t get discouraged. I know how frustrating it can be to try so hard to heal and then take two steps back again, but don’t give up! It’s only temporary.

Today for lunch I made a very simple and quick soup! I heated bone broth over the stove (I get a case of organic chicken bone broth from Costco) and added a couple handfuls of fresh greens & fresh parsley, 1/2 an avocado and salt. I also added the shredded chicken (about 1 chicken breast shredded) that I prepped yesterday in the instant pot! It was the perfect combo for good gut health!