Microbes in the intestines digest our food for fuel, kill invading germs, activate (or deactivate) hormones and send signals our brains. This means the digestive system determines both physical health and mental health. These highly adaptable organisms react to and reflect the environment the body is exposed to. From food (high chemical preservative processing/sugar to organic plants and animals) and water (BPA's from plastic, parasites, pure/mineral) to stress (over training, lack of sleep, constant fight/flight, passive recovery/meditation) - all alter intestinal health for worse or better. If you're feeling sub-par, performing sub-optimally, feeling irritable - not yourself, or depressed try tending to your intestines.

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/healthy_aging/healthy_body/the-brain-gut-connection

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170820075017.htm 

What do your feet, ankles and knees have in common with your neck and shoulders? Their performance is determined by the position of the pelvis. Unfortunately the pelvis must constantly adapt to the internal pressure of the heavier right side organs pulling it toward the right leg. This causes rotation at the center fulcrum of the body altering all the joints above and below. Loading this faulty structure leads to overuse and acute injuries. Learn about this extensively researched natural phenomenon and how to counteract its effects to eliminate aches and pains, prevent injury and maximize performance.

https://www.posturalrestoration.com/

Everyone knows exercise helps improve bone density but these benefits can be thwarted and even negated by chronic inflammation, insufficient dietary nutrients and hormone levels as we age.  Dr. Suzy Cohen (https://suzycohen.com/) explains how adding anti-inflammatory foods and supplements that reduce stress on the entire body can help maintain or even improve bone health for a great, drug free, option.

https://totalhealthmagazine.com/The-24-Hour-Pharmacist/Healthy-Bones-Without-Drugs.html 

The American Academy of Dermatology has named probiotics a beauty breakthrough! What you see on the outside really does reflect the health of what is on the inside. Healthy gut = healthy skin and healthy everything else. 

Good news - probiotics are everywhere in foods like yogurt, kimchee, sauerkraut, cured meats and aged cheese.  They also come in a stabilized capsule form and do not have to be refrigerated. 

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/07/08/dr-max-gomez-for-acne-sufferers-probiotics-may-be-a-skin-sensation/ 

As we mature our health concerns change shifting to coronary artery disease. Many tests only screen for the presence of C-reacitive protein and an elevated level could send them into a state of worry. 

However, C-reactive protein elevates any time the body fights infection and may increase in the absence of heart disease. Instead an inexpensive CBC (complete blood count) that includes white blood cells and their subtypes, hemotracit, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate present a more accurate picture of the absence or presence of coronary artery disease.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3568280/ 

Not only can you still build muscle after menopause - Omega 3 increases your gains in strength and muscle and functional capacity beyond weight training alone. High Omega 3 food sources include berries, leafy greens, avocados, grass fed meats and eggs from grass fed chickens.  

If you prefer a supplement make sure it is processed from mercury free fish.   If you have digestive trouble with pure fish or krill oil a great alternative is flax seed oil.

https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/95/2/428/4576792#fit 

We monitor our blood work, carefully choose our food and select exercises for our muscles but rarely stop to consider how well we take in the most essential ingredient for optimal health - oxygen. The simple act of inhaling doesn't just provide fuel for aerobic activities. Our bodies are amazing multi-taskers balancing joints, muscles and emotions with each breath. This paramount need also means that we will do anything, including alter our posture, joint relationship and muscle and nerve function, to get the air we need. Here are some signs and symptoms that you're not getting enough "vitamin O".

Our nervous system allows us to prepare for any situation we may face.  When we constantly stimulate it the system becomes hyper-sensitive resulting in a wide variety of diseases.  See if your current ailments, issues or complaints might have stress as their root cause.  Enjoy Sally Gray, ND

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5qDjuyTfSw&list=PLfPbBsNLlAaeUrphf3KftsWlhQc5_7Y8X&index=10

We always associate exercise with physical health but science is proving it is equally if not more important for our brains.  Movement, in our evolution, increased the size of our brains to be better gatherers and hunters and continues to nourish it today.  It continues to help us make new brain cells increasing our intelligence and decreasing depression, Alzheimer's and other disease.  Enjoy John Ratey's lecture - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H61hjnQgUzA&list=PLfPbBsNLlAaeUrphf3KftsWlhQc5_7Y8X&index=12 

Hot and cold, random joint pain, disrupted sleep, fatigue and forgetfulness - symptoms of a common cold or flu.  However, when these symptoms persist for weeks instead of days it might be Lyme's.  Left untreated it can contribute to chronic pain, neurological decline and intolerable sensitivities.  Enjoy Dr. Sandison's article - 

https://www.northcountynaturalmedicine.com/mold-lyme-ruining-health/ 

And if you're on Facebook Dr. Christine Schaffner has a great interview with Dr. Jay Davidson 

https://www.facebook.com/pg/SophiaHealthInstitute/videos/ 

If we could only take a pill tor a shot o help speed our recovery from training or injury.  Thanks to groundbreaking work on peptide research we can!  BPC157 is completely natural and works with the body's immune system to facilitate tissue repair and rejuvenation.  In the case of a tendon injury injections of BPC157 have been proven to promote tendon repair and resilience reducing recovery time and strengthening the injured site -

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21030672

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20190676

In the case of recovery from fatigue, minor injury or overtraining BPC157 capsules can be taken.  Be sure to get a high quality supplement from a reputable source like Dr. William Seeds.

Hormones guide our entire lives managing everything from how we grow and heal to how we look and feel.  While they travel throughout out bodies hormones are produced by our glands and gut and the excess regulated by the liver.  Disease, chemicals, stress can all interfere with production, receptor connection and elimination causing a myriad of symptoms and making a diagnosis difficult.  If you're experiencing a wide variety of recurring illness, weight gain/loss, fatigue and reproductive issues consider evaluating your endocrine system.  Here's a fantastic overview from Dr. Jay Davidson:

https://drjaydavidson.com/hormones-and-lyme-disease/?inf_contact_key=50e5761e7dbd0eda4871a815608843357e470d92b8b75168d98a0b8cac0e9c09

I recently had an opportunity to speak with the amazing Tracee Gluhaich from High Energy Girl ( https://highenergygirl.com/ ) about the physical foundation that is so important for balance, alignment and sports performance.  You can catch this and other great talks at:

https://highenergygirl.com/beth-kais-postural-alignment 

The medical field believed for 100 years in the blood brain barrier theory with the brain being a "sterile" environment existing separate from the rest of the system.  As a result the only recommendation for recovering from a concussion was rest.  

Fast forward to today where research has proven that nutrients and waste continuously pass back and forth between the brain and the circulatory system.  PUFAs (poly unsaturated Fatty acids) easily enter the brain providing both healing and prevention for tissue damage.  To quote the first article link "With evidence of unsurpassed safety and tolerability, n-3FA (PUFAs) should be considered mainstream, conventional medicine, if conventional medicine can overcome its inherent bias against nutritional, nonpharmacologic therapies."

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07315724.2016.1150796 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5531869/

Prevention - 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4003707/ 

I recently had an opportunity to catch up with two amazing practitioners - Ewell Gordon III and Christoper Costa on their podcast Performance Talk.  We could discuss athletic performance and training techniques for hours!  With a self-imposed 60 minute time deadline I was left wanting to share more about my understanding of the importance of IAP (intra-abdominal pressure).  You view my additional thoughts and can catch our (and other) informative discussions at:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/performance-talk-ewell-gordon-iii-chris-costa-up-beth/ 

In revisiting the amazing contributions of Dr. Serge Gracovetsky I came across this fantastic lecture from the 2007 Fascial Congress.  In order to be effective muscles need the pressure and tensile strength of the supporting structures.  These organs and fascia allow the muscles to intermittently rest preventing joint compression and tissue degradation.  This lecture stands the test of time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLNZCNM8XtU