08/13/2025
It's time for another "From My Desk " this week it's a health topic . How's your gut health? If you followed me long you know I'm a retired nurse . That doesn't mean I still don't learn new things and things I should do differently for good health everyday . So today we're going to discuss this topic that most of the time we don't even think about. We just eat things we like and never think about the nutrients we are feeding and fueling our bodies with. We often feel tired and sluggish, no energy! Or we have GI upsets often , Gerds ,or Constipation .Let's see we had a Bolgna sandwich and Chips for Lunch, we skipped Breakfast and picked up a hamburger and fries at the drive through for Supper . What nutrients did we eat today ? There was No vegetables , fruits , healthy carbs or healthy meat . Well maybe that was real grass fed beef in the burger . Probably not ! No wonder our bodies didn't won't to go . Just like a car you've got to put in the right fuel to get going ,or it will spit ,sputter or even stall on you . Back in the day when our Mother's and Grandmother's cooked .They canned , pickled and put up whole natural grown vegetables and fruits. There wasn't all the processed food . ( I posted a chart that tells about the gut and processed foods ) . We ate a lot of fermented food in their pickles, chow chows and the other things they added vinegar to . The fruits and vegetables were always washed and prepared prior to cooking. I was guilty of not being careful when eating out , especially raw foods like salads . Things have changed in our restaurants and not the same as years gone by . I'm not putting restaurants down, I love to eat out . Sometimes the time is not taken in the kitchen to wash the fruit and vegetables properly. Back at the end of April the first of May . I became sick ! I just didn't feel like myself. I didn't want to eat and couldn't stand to smell food cooking. Long story short after visiting my doctor and being tested. I found out I had obtained a bacteria in my gut from eating raw fruit and vegetables that hadn't properly been washed or prepared ( probably from a salad I had eaten out in a restaurant) . I had a very sick Gut and required 2 weeks of strong medication. It took me months to get my gut health back . I have always washed and handled my food with great caution at home but didn't even think this wasn't being done when eating out . For me I will only eat anything raw and not cooked at home . I only eat cooked hot foods out now . All that being said Gut health is very important. To be healthy you must maintain a healthy gut .There's so many foods that are good for the gut . I posted charts prior to posting this to help you add a few of these to your diet each day . Y'all know I love my Breakfast and my Second meal of the day Supper . I love good food but try to keep it balanced and indulge in the unhealthy yummy things occasionally. It's all about balance with good nutrition to keep your gut happy and your body running at high speed. Hope this is helpful and makes you more informed about the importance of a healthy Gut . Until next time " From My Desk "🙂😉❤️ Brenda Cooking, Gardening and Decorating with Brenda McNeely from South East Georgia.
