Check-in May 27-30, 2019
Wishing you all a wonderful Monday and an amazing week 
The bacteria living in your gut have a huge impact on the way you feel.
Some studies suggest that your gut microbiota may factor into your risk of developing neuropsychiatric illnesses like OCD, ADHD or chronique fatique.
Our microbiota con control our behavior such that it benefits them but also do the opposite.
Imagine, for example, one strain of bacterium that feeds on a particular compound found in our food. If we eat that food, thus feeding these bacteria, and they are able to reward us with a dose of happiness through the chemicals they produce, so much the better for them. The chemicals they produce in us could cause us to crave the food they feed on. This would make us return to the location where we got the food, maybe to the fast food restaurant or the bakery to get more. Consequently we are boosting that strain of bacterium, producing further chemicals and extra cravings.
Some ways to keep the gut healthy is to eat a wide range of plant-based foods. A healthy gut has a diverse community of microbes, each of which prefers different foods. Eat more fibre. Most people eat less than they should. Fruit, vegetables, pulses, nuts and wholegrains feed healthy bacteria. Avoid highly processed foods. They often contain ingredients that either suppress 'good' bacteria or increase 'bad' bacteria.
What you eat can quickly change your microbes, but are you eating the right foods to help your good gut bacteria?
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@amiablePeace77
Hi there I like this idea I know I feel better when I eat beter Since I dont really like fruit and veggies I make smoothies and sneak them in wherever I can but now that summer is here the good fruits are in season like melons!!!
@Dancersoul
I find smoothies are a great way to go if one does not like to eat fruit and vegetables and both can be mixed well in the blender. I like those more than juices because one still gets all the fibre and can also choose fruit not too high in sugar.
Melons are great, good sources of folate. What is your most preferred type of melon?
Hi. I just started coming to the 50 and older community so I
@Itstoughouthere
my thought, if he is not in love with another, maybe they could work on the marriage with professional help. Also, she has you, and that is different than your experience. Still, expect a few years to properly grieve, and adjust. Rebuilding when your relationship ends, by Bruce Fisher, excellent reading. I held on tight to the concepts in this book when I went through divorce.
@Itstoughouthere
I am glad that you came and opened up whether it relates to the daily post or not. Important is that you talk about your feelings. There is also a particular section here in 50+ under Challenges We Face.
So sorry to hear about what happened. It seems to have brought back the memories about your divorce and make you go through the trauma again with all the emotional suffering.
It's shocking to see a marriage falling apart particularly when things look so good on the outside and one never sees couples arguing. I believe though that healthy arguments are part of a good relationship to "clean the air" and express each others points of views and boundaries.
I hope things will be alright in their way. Your daughter needs support now but you can only help if you are okay and not getting pulled down by it too. This site has a section about Relationship & Friendship support https://www.7cups.com/home/relationships/. I wonder whether that could be of any help to her?
@Itstoughouthere My first husband ended up being gay and I was just as shocked only a lot older. I agree with Chickadee that this is a different situation just as mine was different. Your daughter has you and she has many years ahead of her. 🙂 None of us can know the outcome and really that is for your daughter to figure out. Who knows, she may meet someone even more fabulous. She may discover a new career. Change isnt always bad. Just be there for her🥰. Its nice to meet you here and Im sure you will meet many with divorce stories and will find support and compassion.
There was a study done recently in the use of probiotics to treat depression. They had promising results.
@mutter3
Mutter, thanks for sharing, I am going to try to get that study. Most of the information I have comes from a book called "10 % Human" which I found very interesting. After reading that book and the information I received. I changed how I "see" my guts. They are truly our "2nd brain".
@amiablePeace77 universityhealthnews.com/daily/depression/best probiotics for mood can't figure out how to post the link😂
@mutter3
Thank you so much for sharing, this is really amazing!
To get a link posted as a link where people can click on:
Under "New Post" (the field in which you write your post) pls click on the box with the picture (next to smiley), insert the address in the "url" field and click okay. when posting the message it will apprear as clickable link.
@amiablePeace77 thank you for this informative article. I have seen articles written on this too.
I like probiotics or plain yogurt as part of a balanced diet with many veggies.
@soulsings
Researchers seem to be more and more interested in our guts the effect on mental health.
Plain probiotic yoghurt is definitively a good food to include into our diet and it does not need to be always dairy neither.
Hi- Thanks again for sharing that reserach about the gut and emotions!
It's about 7:00 pm here and I realize that I'm tired and my anxiety flares up when I'm tired....I don't like this time of night. :(
I was thinking about @Itstoughouthere and her daughter and how awful that shock must be for them both and I thought of my situation with my daughter... which causes me anxiety and panic....AND I can't help but wonder why- why the anxiety and panic?
What is that one thing that gives us the illusion of control? Is it hope, hope that everything will be ok? Hope that bad things will not repeat itself? Hope that this situation is different? Hope that we didn't make a mistake when we trusted? ...I don't know the answer, but I do know that when that one thing is gone...we feel as though we've lost control. And the sad thing is, I believe, that that control was always just an illusion.
I know this is heavy but I'm tired and my heart is starting to beat a bit harder and my head is starting to feed my panic. I hate this time of night!
@Lifer
Sorry that you had to go through a similar time with your daughter too and that it is still triggering HUGS.
You brought up an interesting point - control. The more we want to control what is happening the more we will be disappointed in my opinion. Complete control of external things is an illusion, we can only take care of what is happening inside of us.
I am just trying to be patient and not freak out when my medical insurance company consistently drags their heel and fights the whole way when I try to get the authorization for the medical procedure my neurologist requests authorization for. Meanwhile I am in constant pain and I can
@bgdave
Some insurance companies try to get out of everything to save money. I can see how frustrating it must be for you. I hope you get what you need though.
Anger needs to be dealt with, otherwise it's eating us up from the inside. Have you tried to write a letter to them without sending it, putting all your anger in words?
HUGS 
@amiablePeace77
Thank you for your kindness, I will journal about my frustration.
@bgdave I am sorry you are in pain and suffering. It is not easy to cope but there are work arounds like mindfulness. In this short video is an introduction by Jon Kabat Zinn that introduces the topic. https://youtu.be/KqS9qHEWnaA
He has more videos on chronic pain management. We also have a mindfulness session for adults on Monday at 3:30PM EDT and Thursday 5:30PM EDT with amiablePeace77 hosting in the Mindfulness Group Support room. .
@soulsings
Thank you for letting me know. Today I am dealing with another wave of grief as the Fathers Day advertising is ramping up. I am so sad with the loss of my Father. June 10th is my brother and fathers birthdays. Having just lost him in March this will be the first birthday and Father
@bgdave I am so sorry for the loss of your dad. It must be a tough time for you around holidays.
Everyone grieves differently but for me the loss of my dad took some months before I realized that I had really lost him for good in this world and that I had to reinvent who I thought I was. I could not think of myself as the person hoping that he would recognize me as me and not the way he secretly hoped I would be. I had to let go of my hopes and expectations. I had to look at my own mortality and that I have a limited time on Earth. In many ways it was a wake up call that made me really look at me and to stop isolating and reach out to grief support groups and a professional to help me manage the grief. I think the most important thing for me was to start reaching out to people. That really helped.
For me, I went on a holiday to his grave site and honored him with a flag and talked to him like I always wanted to talk to him. I felt that he knew I was recognizing him or I knew I was honoring him and his life. It was a weight off my shoulders. But that was after many months of grieving in private and in support groups.