Happy Bowel Breakfast Cereal
Your digestive health is of high importance to your overall health. We can put the freshest organic whole foods into our mouths, but if we can’t break that food down to its nutrients and absorb them through the digestive lining and into our bodies, we’re missing out on much of their value. Your colon is responsible for the excretion of many of our toxins, hormones, and other wastes via stool. So if your stool is regular – that is, a bowel movement 1-3 times a day, with form but not hard, and with ease of passing, it’s a good sign that you are able to get those wastes out of your body. Because if they are not going out, then they’re still in, and your body may have to deal with them over and over and over. More work, less benefit.Colon HealthOne of the 5 pillars for colon health is, of course, fibre. Although fibre is not assimilated into the body it creates bulk in our stool to aid in the removal of these wastes. Fibre can also provide fantastic benefits for our blood sugar, as it helps to slow down the release of sugars into our blood stream. Aiming for more fibre in our diet does not mean adding more products like All Bran Buds or Metamucil. All plant foods have fibre – it is a vital component of their cell walls – so start by adding more vegetables, fruits, beans and legumes, seeds, nuts, and whole grains. That change alone may work wonders for your regularity.Cereal MixesThere are whole foods based products on the market that can be very beneficial to our colon health and function. For example, cereal mixes like Holy Crap or Qi’a are mixtures of seeds, grain-like seeds, dried fruit, and spices. When added to a little milk substitute or organic yogurt, they feel filling and can be an aid to your digestive health. Both of these brand-name products contain chia seeds, which are native to southern Mexico and Guatemala, and are a good source of omega 3 fatty acids. Chia is quite mucilaginous – it becomes slimy – when soaked in liquid. This slimy factor does a great job at coating the digestive tract, aiding in healing and repair. The fibrous slimy mass is also a great binder of toxins, helping to remove them from the body via our stool.The bulking stool cereal mixes can be a bit pricy when purchased off the shelf but quite reasonable when you make your own. Keep it in a glass container in the fridge to better protect the oils in the ground flax seeds. For breakfast or a quick snack, add a little milk substitute and perhaps some raw honey if you are craving more sweetness. Simply satisfying!Colon HealthCereal Mixes
Ingredients
- 1 cup buckwheat groats
- 1 cup chia seeds
- 3/4 cup hemp seeds
- 1/2 cup flax seeds, freshly ground
- 1/3 cup dried apple, chopped
- 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients (organically grown when possible) in a glass container. Store in fridge. Feel free to substitute – vary your dried fruit or substitute with other nuts and seeds.
- Have 2 or 3 tbsp as a serving. Serve with milk substitute, organic yogurt, apple sauce, or about a ¼ cup warm water and let sit around 5 minutes. Sweeten if desired with raw honey or maple syrup.
Notes
Photo by Gaby Yerden