"Just go with your gut feeling, that takes a lot of guts, a gut-wrenching experience” .... these are all terms we’ve used and heard hundreds of times. But what do they mean? Why do they depict such strong emotional and physical responses to a situation or experience? In recent years the validity of the gut to the overall health connection has been researched extensively. The scientific evidence is undeniable in proving the connection is substantial; something humans have known intuitively for years, as evidenced by these colloquialisms.
The state of your gut affects not only your physical health but potentially your mental health as well. As the principal nurturer, provider, and health advocate for our families, it is important to understand this connection in order to make informed decisions on matters that can conceivably improve or deteriorate the condition of our gut health. Let’s explore some of the ways your gut affects your overall health.
Remember the What to Expect books? Imagine a complete series concluding with What to Expect in Your Last Decade . It could be a guide for getting us to where we want to be later in life. What will your health be like? Imagine your future lifestyle, the prospects for your children and grandchildren. Will you leave behind a mark or a blemish? Almost every day the media tells us that the American Dream is collapsing, and today’s generation will not earn more than their parents. This is a frightening prospect. It’s important that future generations be successful, but maybe earnings alone are missing the overarching point.
Americans today are primed to shop and consume 24/7 but this doesn’t necessarily make us prosper and thrive in ways that truly matter. Many Americans, particularly our youth, are overhauling their priorities and paying closer attention to issues like the environment in their everyday lives. Yet we live in such deeply polarizing times that it’s often difficult (and exhausting) to keep up with the sheer volume of information, and even then, we can’t always distinguish between fact and fiction.
WEforum is a non-profit organization that began with a gem of an idea to promote health within our community. Instead of the typical fundraiser luncheon or silent auction, we thought a conference to educate our women friends and others about health issues would be a more impactful. As we began researching and preparing for that initial conference, we were shocked when we realized the poor state of health in our country and in our community.
As covered in our article last week, our nation’s health statistics are mediocre and are declining. The same holds true here in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Chronic diseases account for 50% of deaths in the United States and those diseases do not discriminate along wealth, zip code, or ethnic lines. They affect all of us and in some cases, impact those in the lowest income brackets to a much larger extent.
Our challenge was to come up with a model that enabled us to increase health and wellness education, and to provide access to resources and services for the entire community, not just those who could afford to attend the conference.
Realizing the state of health in our community and our country, WEforum was brought to life to educate, empower and engage women to learn, discuss, and advocate for better health and wellness locally. This started as a personal quest for me when I was looking for a way to educate myself a few years back. I had so many questions and couldn't access information or get easy answers or figure out what I should be focusing on with regard to my own health. In talking with friends, I realized that many were in a similar situation. Thus, the birth of WEforum.
As we approach our 4-year mark, we wanted to take a step back in an effort to re-engage with many of you and reiterate our passion for what WEforum represents. Over the next five weeks, we will be providing articles authored by our members that showcase WEforum , delve into who we are, what we do and how we add value to our community. Please give us five minutes each week to read along, learn what we are up to and why what we are doing matters.
“We all need to replant our roots and join the global interconnected root system of life.” - Greg Reitman
Greg Reitman is a producer, editor and videographer whose most recent documentary Rooted In Peace takes us on a nonlinear journey that begins with his simple, personal wish to do good by planting trees and eventually reveals to us the connection between environmental peace, world peace and inner peace.