I said in my “Are You Fighting Aging?” Blog “For “Fighting Aging” for my Body my Focus is my Core, my pH and my Gut.”  80% of our Immune System is in our “Gut.”  The e-mail article, “How Good Gut Health Can Change
Your Life” from “Eat This, Not That!” states:

What if we told you the keys to solving your health and weight issues aren’t just cutting calories, exercising, and drinking less soda. It’s also making sure you eat more bugs.
No, we’re not talking about those bugs. We’re talking about the trillions of helpful bacteria that live in your gut and play a fundamental role in maintaining a healthy and happy body. (And yes, we said trillions—many estimates equate that number with making up three pounds of your total body weight!) This community, referred to by scientists as your “gut microbiota” or “gut microbiome,” can be composed of around 500 species which each supply their own benefits: Some of them break down your food and extract nutrients; others hunt for food pathogens; and others help protect you from colds and flus. In fact, they play such a critical role in our health that many experts have started to refer to the microbiome as its own organ. All of this sounds like a good thing—so what’s the problem?
The problem is this: When we eat too much junk food (especially sugar) and take too many drugs (like antibiotics or antidepressants), we can knock our digestive systems out of whack and disrupt the composition of our gut. When your good gut bugs are depleted, bad bacteria can take over, causing health issues that range from skin conditions to depression. What’s more, researchers are finding that obese people have different gut bugs than healthy-weight people, suggesting that cultivating a proper gut garden may help solve weight troubles.
So, if you’re struggling with weight-loss, anxiety, stress, skin issues, fatigue, or chronic sickness, you might want to start looking at your gut. The good news is that you can empower your gut microbiota and help it fight back against the invaders by feeding your beneficial bacteria the foods they—and you—need to stay healthy. Below you’ll find out the cutting edge science behind why nurturing a healthy gut is essential to maintaining a healthy life. And no worries if your gut bugs seem to have taken a vacation; we’ve also compiled the top tips for how you can start healing your belly biome!
A Healthy Gut…
Tips The Scale In Your Favor
Our weight is dramatically affected by these little buggers. In fact, countless studies have shown us that obese people have higher levels of bad bacteria from the phylum Firmicutes while lean people have higher levels of bacteria from the phylum Bacteroidetes. So, are probiotics helpful in fixing this? Well, a study in the British Journal of Nutrition thinks so. Researchers found that when obese women were given a daily probiotic supplement on top of a calorie-restricted diet to lose weight, their average weight loss was significantly higher than women who followed the same restricted diet but were given a placebo.
Decreases Inflammation
When you constantly eat inflammatory foods (fried foods, refined flours, sugars, etc.), you can force your body into a state of chronic inflammation. Which, in turn, causes weight gain, joint pain, fatigue, and increases your risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity. One of the ways it does that is by starving your gut microbiome. (Bacteria need food, too!) Let us explain: These inflammatory foods are typically lacking in their natural fibers—a critical nutrient that not only keeps you fuller longer but also feeds your gut bugs. Your good bacteria nosh on and ferment these fibers into a fatty acid—known as butyrate—that encourages more efficient fat oxidation. Higher levels of butyrate reduce inflammation in your body and also acts as a defense against bad, pathogenic bacteria, according to a review in Advances in Nutrition.
Can Prevent Colds
Does it seem like you get a cold every other week? If so, your microbiota might be to blame. Your gut is home to 70 to 80 percent of your body’s immune cells, so it’s no wonder so many autoimmune diseases have been linked to unidentified gastrointestinal problems. Several studies have found that the regular intake of a probiotic may prevent the occurrence or reduce the duration of respiratory and gastrointestinal disease, and a meta-analysis of 10 studies published in the Korean Journal of Family Medicine found evidence that the administration of probiotics can even prevent catching the common cold.
Alleviates Skin Conditions
Eczema, psoriasis, acne, and many other skin disorders are not merely “skin deep.” Because our microbiome helps regulate our immune system, its composition and health play an important role in combating inflammatory diseases like skin conditions. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that the immune system (of which the majority is located in your gut) helps select which microbes live on the surface of the skin: participants with a weak immune system harbored a different collection of microbes that were found on healthy individuals. Therapeutic research in the field is in the preliminary stages, but experts believe administering probiotics to those suffering from skin conditions can reduce patients’ levels of inflammatory proteins and alleviate symptoms. And just like skin, the health of your hair is moderated by multiple unseen factors.
Extract Nutrients From Our Food
There is increasing evidence that the composition of our microbial community influences the nutritional value of food. How is that? Isn’t food the same no matter who eats it? Not exactly. Our gut bugs help digest and break down the proteins, carbs, and fatty acids in our foods so we can extract its nutrients, including essential vitamins such as B vitamins 12 and 9 (folate) and vitamin K. Folate is important for keeping your DNA control mechanisms functioning properly—i.e. keeping your fat genes switched “OFF!” In fact, research has shown the Bifidum species of bacteria—which is typically lower in obese individuals—is particularly active in producing folate. So, less Bifidum means less control over your genes and more belly fat.
Helps With A Healthy Hoo-Ha
Probiotics are particularly important for women’s vaginal health! “There’s a naturally acidic PH in [your vagina],” says Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN. “And some of the most helpful foods are those that also have good bacteria.” Maintaining a healthy gut will help balance out your vagina’s PH levels to keep things fresh down there. Another plus to probiotics? They help ward off bad bacteria as well, keeping infections down there at bay.
Keeps Us Happy
You may have heard the best way to someone’s heart is through their stomach, but there may be more truth in that saying if you switched heart to brain. Mounting scientific evidence is showing that the composition of our gut microbiota plays a critical role in influencing cognitive behaviors and emotions such as anxiety, depression, stress, autism, learning, and memory through our “gut-brain axis,” according to a review in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. And an astounding 95 percent of your happy hormone serotonin is made and stored in your gut. Who knew?
In fact, a study in the journal PNAS found that when mice were infected with an anxiety-inducing parasite and then given a strain of probiotics, reduced levels of stress hormones and less anxiety- and depression-related behavior resulted. And researchers at the Office of Naval Research discovered they could improve moods of anxious mice by feeding them healthy microbes from calm mice. Both studies have opened doors to the possibilities of using probiotics to treat neurological disorders such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression.
...And Sane
Those intuitive “gut feelings” could actually be your gut microbiota trying to tell your brain something. We just read how gut microbes can make us happy, but other research is showing these little gut bugs might be affecting your brain in a more direct, physical way. According to researchers at University College Cork, gut bacteria play a role in regulating genes that are crucial for proper nerve signal functioning. Microbiota-deficiency results in the breakdown of the product of these genes, myelin, which is also a symptom of the disease multiple sclerosis—a condition where the immune system attacks the brain and spinal cord, leading to severe tremors, temporary vision loss, pain, fatigue, and impaired coordination. Beyond the fact probiotics might act as a therapy for MS, this study also shows us how a healthy gut is necessary for proper brain signaling.
Prevents the Growth of Pathogens
Keeping a dense and diverse microbial community will also protect your gut from being colonized by pathogens as well as minimizing the overgrowth of disease-causing organisms, according to a study in Nature Immunology. These harmful pathogens—which you can ingest from mishandled food, untreated water, or improper hygiene—can cause mild diseases like food poisoning to more severe issues like tuberculosis.
Controls Your Appetite
One way in which your microbiome affects your weight and metabolism may be connected to your gut bugs’ ability to regulate appetite. According to researchers at New York University, a stomach bacterium called Helicobacter pylori can actually change the levels of the hunger-stimulating hormone, ghrelin, in your body. With the rise of antibiotics and a diet based on refined foods, the levels of H. pylori have decreased in our belly biomes. And that means less of its inhibiting effect on our appetites—perhaps reason for why many of us are always hungry.
Can Protect You From Heart Disease
Researchers found that when patients with hypertriglyceridemia—a coronary-artery-disease precursor characterized by elevated triglyceride levels possibly caused by obesity and sedentary habits—were given a daily probiotic supplement for 12 weeks, their triglyceride levels improved along with an additional decrease in risk factors for heart disease, according to a study in the journal Atherosclerosis.
...And a Host of Health Issues
Think of your gut like a college admissions board: it likes diversity. There are hundreds of known bacterial species, and a happy gut should have a lot of them. Research is showing that the diversity (both the number of different species and the evenness of those species) of your microbiome is an important part of your health. In fact, a study in the journal Nature found that individuals with a low bacterial diversity were characterized by more overall adiposity, insulin resistance, abnormally elevated cholesterol and lipid levels in the blood and a more pronounced inflammatory phenotype. Yikes. How do you increase your gut’s diversity? Feed it with a plant-heavy diet, play outside (there really is some merit to “rubbing some dirt in it!”), and stop killing off species with microbe-murdering villains like antibiotic-laden meats, processed foods, and sugar.

I said in my “Are You Staying Active and Productive?” Blog “The next Important Factor in ‘the simplicity that is in Christ’ is people must KNOW When, Where and How to draw the ‘Line.’”  There is so much Health Information out there.  People not drawing a “Line” is why people try every new gimmick that comes out.  A Relationship with God through the Holy Spirit is how people learn to draw the “Line.”  God put EVERYTHING people need for a Complete and Total Life on the inside of them before the Foundation of the World.  The EVERYTHING includes how to stay Healthy.  People must learn to look to the inside instead of looking to the outside.  A Relationship with the Holy Spirit is people looking to the inside.  A Relationship with the Holy Spirit, the Word of God and Action, which is God’s Process (Posted at this Website) gets EVERYTHING to the Surface.  The Spiritual of Reading the Bible Daily, Purpose, which God’s Process gets people to and Fasting make the Natural of Exercise, Diet and Sleep Work.

ARE YOU GETTING YOUR INFORMATION TO THE SURFACE?
 

Continuing from my “Are You Fighting Aging?” and “Are You Sure You Are Doing What God Wants You To Do?” Blogs “Fighting Aging” means people must take control of their own Life and Health.  “7 Ways To Take Control Of Your Health, Even In A Crisis” is an e-mail I received from “MBG (Mind Body Green).”  The article states:

I study people who heal from cancer against all odds, usually after their doctors have sent them home saying there’s nothing more to be done. My decade of research on these incredible survivors is summarized in my book Radical Remission. But today I want to talk about one thing these survivors have in common: taking action.
Across the board, these cancer survivors made a shift from being passive about their health to being incredibly active. They went from being “good” patients who simply did whatever their doctors told them to becoming empowered patients who read up on the latest research, requested copies of their lab results, and sought out second opinions. In other words, they became the CEOs of their own health.
Take Shin, for example. Shin Terayama was a Japanese businessman who was diagnosed with kidney cancer at the age of 48. He did everything his doctors told him to do, including surgery, chemo, and radiation. Unfortunately, none of those worked, and he was eventually sent home for hospice care.
That’s when he started taking action. He began with simple baby steps, such as drinking filtered water and watching the sunrise every morning. As the months went by, he eventually changed every part of his life—from his diet to his stress levels to his spiritual practice. Three years after they sent him home for hospice care, Shin’s doctors couldn’t find any evidence of cancer in his body. Today, he is alive, well, and still cancer-free 28 years later.
How did he do it? Of course, this is just one story, and while we may never be able to prove exactly what caused Shin’s remission, studies suggest that people who take control of their health—including their physical, mental, and spiritual health—tend to live longer.
For example, researchers have found that cancer patients who feel helpless die sooner than those who feel that they can do things—even little things—to help their mood, comfort level, or immune system.
Here are some ways you can start taking control of your own health and shift out of helplessness into action:

1. Read the latest scientific research.
Knowledge is power, and a great place to gain knowledge is PubMed.gov. Known as the “Google” of medical journal articles, this site allows you to stay on top of the latest research.
Try typing some simple words into the site’s search bar, such as “cancer yoga,” and voilà! You’ll be able to read the latest studies on how yoga can benefit cancer patients.

2. Maintain an active lifestyle.
The evidence is clear: Sitting at our desks all day is killing us softly. The good news is that movement is the easy answer. One 2007 study of breast cancer survivors showed that exercising 30 minutes a day, along with eating a vegetable- and fruit-rich diet, cut their risk of dying in half.

3. Fill up on nutritious vegetables.
Sugary foods may taste better than vegetables, but they won’t help you live longer the way carrots do. For example, this study showed that eating carotene-rich vegetables leads to a significantly longer life span.

4. Practice stress management.
When we feel stressed, we stay in “fight-or-flight” mode, which means our immune systems get suppressed. Try shifting into “rest-and-repair” mode with a six-week stress management course, which has been shown to increase your immune system’s natural killer cell activity.

5. Keep laughing.
Decades of research have confirmed the age-old saying, “Happy people live longer.” When was the last time you belly-laughed? Try to do it at least once a day. YouTube is always good for a quick fix of laughter, whether it’s watching silly pranks or cute cat videos.

6. Meditate.
Absolutely fascinating things happen to your body when you meditate. You produce more melatonin, which helps you sleep better. You produce more antibodies, which strengthens your immune system. But perhaps most fascinating is that meditation can help you turn off disease-promoting genes.

7. Get help.
Some people can make lifestyle changes quickly and easily while others may need some hand-holding. Try signing up for a local exercise or meditation group for some in-person accountability. Or consider taking online courses (I recently launched one of my own) about how to take control of your health.

Here I go again with Exercise or an “active lifestyle.”  It is not just me, but most of the articles I read stress Exercise.  I have been researching Health and Nutrition and “read the latest scientific research” since 2004.  I said in my “Are You Fighting Aging?” Blog “For ‘Fighting Aging’ for my Body my Focus is my Core, my pH and my Gut.”  “Nutritious vegetables” is one way I keep my “pH” Alkaline.  Cancer cannot grow in an Alkaline Environment.  Acidic Environment is where cancer grows.  This “Health Tip” from “Healing With Nutrition” states some things that create an Acidic Environment:

Cancer thrives in an acidic environment, created by the following types of foods:  1. Fried foods (especially fried meats, as harmful acid-producing glycation occurs when sugar and protein in meat are heated together).  2.  Nutrient-deficient, high calorie fast foods.  3. Frozen/boxed/bagged foods (nutrient-depleted processed foods). 4. Soda, which contains sodium benzoate, caramel color, sugar (or aspartame) and phosphoric acid.  5. Baked goods (especially those made with white processed flour).  To minimize the risk of cancer, maintain a healthy body weight, and avoid foods which create an acidic, cancer-friendly environment in the body.

Speaking of cancer this e-mail article “These 4 Healthy Habits Can Cut Your Cancer Risk By 40%” from “Self” states:

New research finds that little tweaks to your lifestyle can have a major impact on your risk of developing cancer.
You’ve heard that maintaining a healthy lifestyle can lower your risk of developing cancer, but new research shows just how much of an impact it can have. According to a new study published in the journal JAMA Oncology, up to 40 percent of cancer cases can be prevented by making small healthy tweaks to your lifestyle.
For the study, researchers tracked more than 135,000 people and found that about 20 to 40 percent of cancer cases and about half of cancer deaths can be prevented by following a “healthy lifestyle pattern.” People who met that criteria never smoked or no longer smoked, didn’t drink heavily (women had one drink a day or less and men had two or fewer drinks a day), had a BMI between 18.5 to 27.5, and did either 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of “vigorous” physical activity a week. 
“There have been substantial data supporting the importance of lifestyle factors for cancer prevention,” lead study author Mingyang Song, M.D., Sc.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, tells SELF. “Our findings reinforced that.”
It seems pretty doable, and Dale Shepard, M.D., a medical oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, tells SELF it is. “These are all very attainable things,” he says. “With some simple, modest lifestyle changes, you can have a really big impact on your cancer risk.”
While the things that lead to the development of cancer are complex, Amber Orman, M.D., a radiation oncologist at the Moffitt Cancer Center, tells SELF that it’s “impossible” to deny that lifestyle factors play a major role. “What we do to and put into our bodies every day has a lasting effect, and we must never underestimate the power we have over our own health,” she says.
But why do these factors matter? Alcohol use, which has been linked with certain cancers, like colon, breast, head and neck, and primary liver cancer, can directly impact DNA repair, Shepard says. “It can keep cells from regenerating, so you have direct damage to cells,” he explains. Our bodies eventually reach a point where they can no longer repair this DNA damage, which results “in an environment conducive to cancer development,” Orman says.
Alcohol can also affect estrogen levels, creating hormonal changes that create an increased risk for breast cancer, Shepard explains. Not only that, it causes oxidants, a form of oxygen that causes damage to our health, to be formed in your body. “It’s an anti-antioxidant,” Shepard says.
Working out, eating well, and maintaining a healthy BMI can help lower your bodily inflammation, which has also been linked to cancer at higher levels. Excess body fat secretes many hormones and molecules that can lead to insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, cholesterol abnormalities, and a chronically inflamed bodily environment where cancer can thrive, Orman explains.
If you’ve been slacking on going to the gym and haven’t been so great about your diet lately, don’t stress. Experts say you can still turn things around. “I am a firm believer that our most powerful cancer treatment is prevention, and it is never too late to begin,” says Orman. “While I treat cancer, I spend a significant portion of my time counseling my patients towards positive lifestyle changes.” And, if you’re already doing them, it’s good to know you’re on the right track.

There is no better “meditate” than meditating on the Word of God.  Meditating on the Word of God is how people keep the Holy Spirit Built Up.  It is also how people renew their Mind.  My daily Bible reading says it best:

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Psalms 1:1-3)

The Bible and God’s Process (Posted at this Website) is where our “mental, and spiritual health” comes from.  Our body takes its orders from our Mind.  When our Mind is messed up our bodies will be messed up too.  The best way to keep our Mind from being messed up is making sure our Mind lines up with the Word of God.  I eat meat, but I only eat meat once a day because eating meat lines up with the Word of God.

There is no better “Help” than the Holy Spirit.  He navigates us through God’s Process.  God’s Process is how people fulfill their “Life Purpose.”  God’s Process is people “taking action” by doing their Acts of Faith.  Fulfilling our “Life Purpose” is another “Fighting Aging” Tool by helping people stay Young and Vibrant.  Sometimes the Holy Spirit has me dying “laughing” because He is good at showing us ourselves.  People must learn to laugh at themselves.  The Holy Spirit is called The Comforter because He even helps with “stress management.” 

ARE YOU TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE BY DOING YOUR ACTS OF FAITH TO FULFILL YOUR LIFE PURPOSE?