Power Five Week One ⚡️Intro: Announcements + Overview 📣Phase One: Happy Gut, Happy Life 💆🏽♂️Phase Two: Gut Mobility 🙆🏽♀️

Good morning! You are now reading Issue One of The Power Five, a health & wellness series brought to you by our sponsor GEM!

For well over a year now, I’ve been feeling and living great. I’m taking my health more seriously, prioritizing sleep, diet, and nutrient intake.

Though I am disciplined, much of this credit goes to GEM for making my routine fun and easy.

That’s why GEM is partnering with Down to Earth to bring you cutting-edge insights and actionable strategies with this five-week series. Each week, we’ll delve deep into one crucial aspect of health, providing you with comprehensive understanding and practical advice.

GEM offers whole-food vitamins that come in delicious, all-natural snack bites.

They’re loaded with minerals, probiotics, and prebiotics for foundational health. It’s a no-brainer for those who want to enhance their well-being.

Saving countless hours of vitamin shopping and sourcing, GEM makes daily health rituals an enjoyable experience. So I’m singing their praises.

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I’m all about clean, natural ingredients and no funny stuff, making Down to Earth and GEM a match made in heaven.

The GEM Bite is made with science-backed real-food nutrients to fill the daily nutritional gaps in your diet the way nature intended. Not only are you getting essential nutrients with every Bite, but you’re also getting powerful phytonutrients, antioxidants, prebiotics and probiotics. We’ll talk about why you need these later.

Get GEMI love GEM Bites because they are:

• Powerfully simple 🤌🏾 Nutrition shouldn’t be complicated ❗️GEM goes back to the basics of food-fueled, science-backed nourishment. The bites are vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free.
• Convenient ✅ The best vitamins are the ones you take every day — it’s easier and more enjoyable to eat a delicious Bite than gulp down giant pills or chalky green powders.
• Delicious nutrition 😋 GEM has an in-house pastry chef to make sure each Bite is as delicious as it is nutritious.

Jimmy Neutron combined all the flavors in the world to create the best-tasting candy ever. GEM is the healthy version of that.

Gem is reinventing the multivitamin, replacing dozens of pills and powders with one delicious Bite of food. I’m happy to represent this cause and share the love with you.

However you kickstart your wellness journey, make sure it’s an easy one with GEM’s Daily Bites.

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Gut Biome Buddies 🫃🏽

Let’s talk about some natural ways to boost gut health (no poop transplants this week, sorry) and the billions of living organisms that support it.

We’ll first brief you on the importance of gut health, and why it should be a priority.

Gut health plays a fundamental role in both physical and mental health. It influences everything from immune function and inflammation to neurotransmitter production and stress response.

• Nutrient Absorption 😌 A healthy gut maximizes the absorption of nutrients from the food you eat. This is vital for all bodily functions. It helps to repair cells, and gives you more energy. Remember that overall health starts in the gut.
• Immune System Regulation 🤺 The gut microbiome educates and regulates the immune system. 70-80% of the immune system resides in the gut. Would you expect to perform well if your home was a chaotic mess of threats and discomfort?
• Digestive Function ⤵️ Good gut health means efficient digestion, which helps prevent issues like bloating, constipation, and diarrhea.

For years, I suffered from gut issues like acid reflux, GERD and bloating, primarily inflicted by my diet. I was eating food that contributed to a toxic environment inside my body, killing essential bacteria and allowing the problematic ones to thrive. Since was vegan and vegetarian for my entire life, (until 2023) my diet consisted mostly of snack foods, grains and meat replacement products, all while not eating enough green vegetables. No bueno.

Mental Health 🧠

1. Gut-Brain Axis 🛜 The gut and brain are connected through millions of nerves, meaning the state of the gut can directly affect mood, cognition, and mental health.
2. Feel-Good Chemicals ⚛️ The gut microbiome produces neurotransmitters, including serotonin, which regulates mood, appetite, and sleep. Serotonin produced in the gut helps control mood and reduce feelings of depression and anxiety.

When I was constantly eating processed foods, including those high in sugar and refined carbs, my gut lining suffered. I’d often wake up with heartburn and a closed throat, and since your gut directly affects your mood, my attitude was, let’s say, less than favorable to be around.

I was also missing out on essential foods for gut health. We don’t come in contact with these key nutrients in our modern diets unless we make a concerted effort to find them, which can be difficult. How many foods do you know with prebiotics, turmeric, ginger and algae?

This is a big reason why I love GEM. It has all the stuff you need in the right amounts. With all of the health benefits of a healthy gut wrapped into one bite, I achieve peace of mind quickly and easily with no doubt or guilt. That sounds a lot like ad copy, but it’s true. The importance of these vitamins and nutrients cannot be overstated.

All of these foods work together naturally and bring out the best in each other. For example, the black pepper in GEM’s bites increases the bioavailability of nutrients, meaning other ingredients like curcumin in turmeric are absorbed more easily by the body, enhancing their overall effectiveness.

GEM’s Gut-Friendly Ingredients 🍯

• Beta Glucan 🌾 Beta-glucan is a type of soluble fiber derived from yeast, oats, and barley. It helps maintain healthy gut bacteria and supports the immune system by enhancing the gut mucosal immunity.
• Pumpkin Seeds (Zinc) 🎃 Zinc is crucial for maintaining the integrity of the intestinal lining, helping to prevent leaky gut syndrome and other intestinal issues.
• Turmeric 🏵️ Turmeric contains curcumin, which has anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce gut inflammation and may be beneficial in managing conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and Crohn’s disease.
• Algae (Vitamin D3) 🌞Vitamin D3 might be the most important vitamin, and the one people are most deficient in. It is essential for the immune system and maintaining the health of the gut lining.
• Prebiotics 🫘 Prebiotics are fibers that feed the beneficial bacteria in the gut. They enhance the growth and activity of healthy gut flora.
• Probiotics 🧫 Probiotics are live beneficial bacteria that add to the population of healthy microbes in the gut. They are essential for proper digestion, nutrient absorption, and immune function. Think of them like an airdrop of soldiers into a war against pathogens.

This is the reckless party the unhealthy bacteria in your gut has when sugar is present.

I treat my gut like a little child who needs nurturing and care rather than junk and abuse. And like a child, I know what to expect if my stomach is upset. I’m a stickler about what goes in, and careful when treating discomfort. When I’m eating well, fully hydrated and on schedule with my vitamins, my brain and body thank me.

It’s time for you to return the favor. Where do you start?

There’s nothing like a good belly rub to show your gut some love.

Rub Dat Belly (Gut Mobility) 👋🏾

Belly rubs. What would an issue on gut health be without one?

Your hips, knees, ankles and shoulders (all joints) need consistent movement and care to be fluid and mobile. The same goes for your gut. While most massages focus on the back, shoulders, and neck, abdominal massage addresses the core, where many vital functions occur. It houses major organs like the stomach, liver, and intestines, which work best when moving with strength and fluidity.

The abdomen is also a key center in the body that can hold stress and tension.

Nothing like a good ‘ole rub to reduce that.

Even if you’re not experiencing uncomfortable symptoms, the wide-reaching effects of this massage can significantly improve your quality of life. Remember, your gut’s mood is your mood.

I usually do this self-massage after a big meal or at bedtime. I find that a calm stomach gives me high-quality sleep and relaxation.

Buddha is often depicted as having a big belly, signifying plentitude, ease, and contentment. You can bet he rubs it.

Focusing on the Abdomen is Important 🔎

Abdominal massage supports the body’s natural detoxification processes. The lymphatic system, which plays a crucial role in removing waste and toxins from bodily tissues, benefits from the increased circulation that massage stimulates.

This video illustrates the technique pretty well. Just identify where the organs sit, and apply downward pressure for as long as it takes to get some relaxation down there.

How to Perform Abdominal Massage 💆🏽‍♂️

Here’s a simple guide to performing a basic abdominal massage:

1. Get Comfortable: Lie down on your back on a comfortable, flat surface. Relax your body, particularly the abdominal area.
2. Warm-up the Area: Place your hands on your abdomen and gently rub the skin in a circular motion, gradually increasing the area covered. This helps to warm the skin and muscles, preparing them for deeper massage.
3. Apply Gentle Pressure: Using the flat of your fingers, apply gentle pressure in circular motions. Start near the right hip, move up towards the ribs, go across towards the left rib cage, and then move down towards the left hip, and back across to where you started. This follows the path of the large intestine.
4. Deepen the Massage as Comfortable: Depending on your comfort and the response of your body, you may gently increase the pressure, always ensuring it remains comfortable. Be mindful to avoid too much pressure, especially in sensitive areas.
5. Finish with Soothing Strokes: Conclude the massage with light, soothing strokes to help the body relax and integrate the benefits of the massage.

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