For the Greater Gut
We all want to be healthier and feel better. For many of us, we associate being healthier with being slimmer, fitter, stronger. Often, we forget to look at what is going on inside, to look inward...literally. Navel gazing, once a neat descriptor for a spot of existential reflection, can mean so much more! Checking in with your gut and it’s needs, can dramatically improve feelings of wellbeing - from the inside out.
We must learn to listen to our gut. The gut quite literally has feelings. Fear, excitement, trepidation, anticipation, love – they are all felt in the gut. Having a ‘gut feeling’ is real. Globally, across the scientific community, the gut is having a moment. There is now much published analysis and research focussed on recognising and proving the fundamental role of the gut, to not only strong immune system, which is now widely accepted, but also mental health and emotional resilience. The entric nervous system (ENS), an extensive network of neurons, is now understood to be the ‘second brain’. The ENS operates independently of the brain and spinal cord, our central nervous system. Pretty cool stuff. Writer Adam Hadhazy of the Scientific American puts it like this, “...the little brain in our innards, in connection with the big one in our skulls, partly determines our mental state and plays a key role in certain diseases throughout the body”.
Being committed to maintaining a healthy gut is crucial to overall health. Probiotics, prebiotics, fermented foods, water, fibre, mindfulness, exercise and sleep are all imperative to maintaining gut health. Turning our collective focus to the power of the gut, is the purpose behind World Digestive Health Day, an initiative created on the anniversary of the formation of the World Gastroenterology Organisation. World Digestive Health Day raises awareness around the scale and scope of digestive issues, concerns, treatments and learnings, across the world. At Hilbilby we celebrate the growing awareness around all things gut. In honour of World Digestive Health Day 2021, it’s time to turn inward. For the greater gut.
Hilbilby is a family business specialising in traditionally cultured food and drink. Creating delicious, nutritious, health supplements designed to get your system back on track is our mission, our purpose, our religion. Hilbilby uses only organic produce, sourced locally right here in Torquay Victoria. For World Digestive Health Day on 29th May, we celebrate our Fire Tonic range.
Hand made in small batches, our Fire Tonic range is an infusion of organic and locally sourced ingredients designed to give you the nutrients and microbes to support a healthier gut. Each ingredient has been specifically selected for a particular medicinal and healing property. The heart of our range is our unfiltered apple cider vinegar tincture, brimming with the original, Mother of Vinegar. Fire Tonic is a ‘cultured’ drink. While this many infer that the tonic listens to classical music, appreciates fine dining and recites poetry by moonlight, in fact, it simply means it is alive. Cultured drinks are designed to sustain single-celled organisms called microbes, that allow your system to achieve balance.
Feeling bloated, sluggish or lethargic, easily irritated, forgetful or emotionally fractious, should not be your norm. These feelings or moods, can be attributed to poor gut health. Excess fatigue can make finding the motivation to go to the gym feel almost Herculean. Looking after yourself, takes energy and commitment. Seeking out and prepping healthy food, moderating sugar intake, getting enough sleep, minimising screen time, making time to meditate - these are just the basics and attempting to manage them all well – can add to the overwhelm of daily life.
Apple Cider Vinegar has long been thought to help aid digestion by increasing stomach acidity, reduce bloating and even reduce reflux. Low stomach acid is thought to result in food fermentation, resulting in gas production and increased levels of acid reflux. Increasing stomach acid naturally, may help reduce symptoms of acid reflux and help your system digest protein more effectively. Apple Cider Vinegar is also an antimicrobial substance, meaning it may help kill the bad bacteria in your stomach and intestines. It is these bacteria that are commonly understood to contribute to bloating. Apple cider vinegar may also inhibit the enzymes that help digest starch. Starch feeds the growth of healthy gut bacteria and therefore the right balance of healthy gut bacteria, results in a stronger immune system. Supporting and improving digestion is key to the efficacy of apple cider vinegar and our fire range tonic.
Energy and clarity are integral to wellbeing. Nurturing your gut biome, aiding and facilitating digestion and proactively addressing any gut issues can greatly improve your health. It is common for those who suffer with gut issues to assume that it is simply bad luck or bad genetics, untreatable, unresolvable. This is far from true. Turning your mind and your attention to your gut, experimenting with diet, supplements, tinctures, and cultured drinks can have a remarkable effect.
As we head into winter, there is never a more important time to strengthen our immune system. For some this involves taking well regarded supplements such as vitamins B, C and D, zinc, olive leaf extract and echinacea. Diet, exercise, sleep, rest and flu vaccinations are all integral to staving off the winter woollies. Add to that our Fire Tonic and you introduce a potent immune booster to your health maintenance repertoire.
If your gut is out of balance, then so are you. Many studies suggest an unhealthy gut microbiome can contribute to weight gain, joint pain, exhaustion and poor sleep. The herbal infusion in our fire tonic, is a metabolic stimulant designed to transform your gut microbiome giving it the rev it needs to drive towards balance. The impact of a healthy gut on overall health, can not be underestimated. Handmade at Hilbilby HQ, with organic, chemical-free ingredients gifted to us by Mother Nature, our Fire Tonics, work for your wellbeing.
Kick start Winter and celebrate World Digestive Health Day (WDHD) the right way. Go with your gut. For the greater good.
With the Original, Black label or Vegan recipe, there is an option to suit every gut. Make Fire Tonic part of your daily routine and be rewarded with a happier, healthier you. You will feel it in your gut.
Get clicking to see our Fire Tonic range and start loving your gut - https://www.hilbilby.co collections/master-tonic