Fit as a fiddle?
The spring cleanse as the ultimate vitality turbo
Do you feel the same way? You’re really looking forward to great outdoor activities and plenty of nature in spring, but unfortunately you feel quite tired, weak, and lacking in drive? Then we have a few helpful tips for you on how to get out of your current slump quickly and effectively. Do you already feel fantastic? Then a spring cleanse is still a sensible option! It gives you an extra boost to help you be well prepared against external influences such as environmental toxins or stress (including in the form of anxiety).
Gut good – all good?
Even Hippocrates knew: All diseases begin in the gut. And so it is no surprise that the most famous physician of antiquity was also of the opinion that the gut is the father of all misery. How relevant this knowledge still is 2,500 years later is shown by modern science, because it has long been proven that the gut and its microbiome are responsible for around 80% of our immune reactions and that around 70% of immune cells are located in our largest organ.
So when our gut gets out of balance, we usually notice it in many different ways. Starting with bloating and constipation, through diarrhea, and even serious health effects such as chronic diseases. A well-maintained gut flora is therefore not only worth its weight in gold, but also the basis for health, well-being, and balance.
The good-mood, bad-mood gut
Yes, you read that right! Many emotions originate in the gut. Before you think What nonsense! however, you should definitely ask yourself why common sayings refer, for example, to butterflies in the stomach or to the way to the heart is through the stomach? So listen to your gut feeling and read on in amazement:
- The approximately 100 trillion living gut microorganisms create a subtle emotional backdrop by constantly communicating via nerve connections, hormones, and other messenger substances.
- Probiotic bacteria produce, among other things, neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and GABA, which have a massive influence on our mood. GABA – an inhibitory neurotransmitter – calms our nerves as well as certain regions of the brain when they overreact due to negative stress, anxiety, depression, or panic.
- Around 95% of the well-known mood enhancer serotonin comes from the gut, with the vagus nerve representing the central connection between the gut and the brain and being continuously occupied with this activity 80% of the time.
“Spring is when the soul starts thinking in color again.”
Everything is turning green and blooming, our mood is noticeably more positive, and life feels lighter overall. But why is it that spring lifts our spirits and makes us happy? Certainly due to several factors, because in addition to the warmer temperatures and more abundant fauna, fresh fruit and summer vegetables also bring plenty of joy to our gut. Because when our gut is content, somehow we automatically are too…
Eat yourself happy!
That’s life: without yin, there is no yang! And that means: unfortunately, there are also many gut bacteria that can influence moods such as anxiety or depression. In this case, our originally balanced gut flora may have tipped out of balance, and yeasts as well as pathogenic bacteria may have multiplied. The result can be what is known as dysbiosis, which manifests itself as follows:
- Leaky gut syndrome (a so-called permeable intestinal wall)
- Increased immune and inflammatory reactions
- Increase in anxiety and depression
The good news: the microbiome – simply put, our gut flora – adapts flexibly to our respective nutritional situation. So you can quite easily and actively help your gut feel good again! How exactly do you do that? You can probably already guess: by consuming more “friendly gut bacteria.” You could also simply say: eat yourself happy!
Prebiotic and probiotic foods can help you do this particularly well. While prebiotics – indigestible dietary fibers such as vegetables or our vitality product ColoSTABIL® – ensure that the bifidobacteria in the gut in particular feel at home, probiotics are living microorganisms. Prominent examples include lactic acid bacteria and yeasts, which are usually found in lactic-acid-fermented foods such as kefir, buttermilk, or MyREGULATE.
Time for a (gut) spring clean
After all this health-related background knowledge, let’s return to our original topic: the spring cleanse. Just as we traditionally do a big clean in our own four walls, the body is happy when we give it an internal cleanse again. And this cleansing, also known in modern terms as “detox,” takes place largely in our gut. The effect after successfully completing a cleanse: you feel more vital, fresher, and more energized. A radiant complexion, a few kilos less, a good mood, and strengthened natural defenses are included. For this reason, many people also like to practice the traditional “May drink.” This type of immune cleanse goes back to the legendary abbess Hildegard of Bingen from the 12th century, who already knew in the Middle Ages about the importance of the gut as well as the beneficial effects of medicinal and bitter herbs. And so, with the May drink, a special wormwood beverage is drunk every third morning from May to October to strengthen vitality.
However, since wormwood is certainly not suitable for everyone and, in our view, a spring cleanse should include other important aspects, we have put together a few tips:
Listen to your gut and take care of your intestines by
- increasingly relying on probiotic foods such as buttermilk, kefir, yogurt, or our MyREGULATE.
- consuming more bitter substances, because these stimulate digestion already in the mouth. The more aversion you initially feel toward bitter substances, the more important they are! You can find them, for example, in chicory, radicchio, grapefruit, but also in our bitter herb aperitif HerbiGOLD (But be careful: this also contains alcohol.)
- avoiding carbohydrates, junk food, and sugar.
- eating more fiber or prebiotic foods. You can find detailed information in our article “Fiber – why is intake so important?” Suitable foods include many types of vegetables, as well as our ColoSTABIL® and our VitalBASE®. If you are unsure which foods are particularly suitable, use our practical fiber table.
- drinking plenty of good water or unsweetened herbal teas – nettle or dandelion tea are helpful companions during a cleanse, by the way.
- going to bed on time and giving your body enough sleep.
- planning conscious breaks and relaxing during them, e.g. by taking a walk in nature, meditating, or practicing yoga.
- following your urge to move. You don’t feel one or don’t feel like it? Don’t worry, the desire to move usually comes naturally during the cleanse… if it takes a while, then just “grit your teeth and get on with it” and move moderately for about 30 minutes a day. Brisk walking, hula hooping, or cycling are wonderfully suitable here.
- laughing a lot … but that will happen automatically – you’ll see.
We wish you every success and a wonderfully vital spring!
