| Beth Manos Brickey | December 2018 |

This author's original and complete post, 9 tips for good gut health during the holidays, was sponsored by MegaFood and published on Tasty-Yummies.com. All opinions and text are her own. We enjoy working with bloggers who share our vision of nourishing the world!

The holidays are a busy, busy time full of hustle, bustle and go go go. It’s also a time where we are certainly exposed to foods that are a bit more rich and indulgent than our usual fare. Our gut is often at the receiving end of the worst discomfort. For some of us it may be accidental exposure to gluten or maybe a bit more sugar than the rest of the year, or even a couple of cocktails – it happens! This time of year can feel particularly challenging to our vitality due to the added stress, travel and lack of sleep. All of this combined can be a bit rough on our bodies and particularly our digestion.

For many of us, it doesn’t take much for the symptoms to arise. Rather than managing the consequences and putting band aids on the list of resulting symptoms, I want to offer you some of my go-to tips for supporting your gut during the holidays to avoid the discomfort and so you can feel your very best and enjoy this magical time of year!!

1. Incorporate Healing Foods* – A well rounded diet abundant in nutrient-dense whole foods is crucial to delivering key healing nutrients to your gut and ensuring that it can properly do its job of delivering those nutrients throughout the body, as needed. Some of my favorite healthy gut supporting foods to prioritize especially during times of stress are bone broth (or try my healing bone broth latte), dark leafy greens and other fiber-rich vegetables, along with the usual clean quality proteins and healthy fats you should be including at every meal.

2. Avoid/Limit Trigger Foods – Be aware of the foods that can trigger inflammation, discomfort or other responses. These foods are different for everybody, but the most common suspects are gluten and grains, dairy, processed foods, sugar and artificial sweeteners, alcohol and refined vegetable oils. The levels at which each of these should be limited or avoided altogether will be dependent on the individual. Listen to your body, if a food doesn’t make you feel good, if it leaves you feeling zapped of energy or sick and bloated – probably best to remove or reduce it.

3. Manage Stress (physical and emotional) – Do your best to limit stressful situations, especially those of the chronic variety. This can certainly be hard during the holidays so at the very least, make time and space for your self-care – take solo walks in the fresh air, implement your favorite self-care practices, make time for meditation, deep breathing, yoga or workouts. Dance in the living room. Diffuse your favorite essential oils. Everyone manages stress differently, find the stress relief activities that work for you and prioritize them.

For tips 4 - 9, visit Beth’s blog, Tasty-Yummies.com

Gut health tips for a happy new year.

*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.