Thoughts?

Maybe ‘random thoughts’ would be more appropriate.

My mind is wandering in several directions about things I want to share with you.

First, I hope everyone was able to enjoy beautiful moments this past weekend as Mother’s Day was celebrated in the United States. Whether in a shared event together, or in a precious memory of your own mother or mother-figure in your life, I hope you were able to honor that mothering influence.

Second, because of a great conversation with my dental hygienist recently, I am re-reading Breath – The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor.

In 2021, I wrote two posts about breathing, HERE and HERE, because his message was life changing in its simplicity and in its depth.

“What do you mean?” you ask. “How hard is it to breathe?”

Whether you are a new or old subscriber to foodtalk4you, I urge you to read those two posts. I also hope you will be intrigued enough to purchase and dive into his book.

My hygienist understands the very tight connectivity of all the elements that affect our health, and we both agreed that those connections are probably even tighter than we had imagined.

To wit – could my reflux be tied to other issues in the GI tract, and is it causing the need for throat clearing at night, and could that all be due to breathing abnormalities while asleep?

Oh, my. So many questions.

But I do know to look inward for most of my cures – both from exploring my mindset and in exploring my actions in eating, moving, and living.

A couple of months ago, I was relieved to hear that I could safely take my antacid twice a day. Man! That second dose around 5 pm really helped with late evening reflux – for a while.

After that conversation with my hygienist, a switch flipped in my brain. Our stomach is supposed to maintain an acidic environment.

What was I doing while trying to neutralize everything?

What was that doing to the rest of my GI system? The balance in my small intestine – home to my microbiome – would surely be affected.

And how about the quality of my sleep? While not a mouth breather, maybe I was just not taking in enough air because of my poorly constructed nasal passages.

Should I resume wearing a nose strip to keep my nostrils more open?

Hey, I stopped using those nose strips a couple of years ago … just when that reflux started to ramp up!

In truth, I cut my nose strips into three strips because that was enough to do the job.

That very day, I had a different mindset. Following the creed that ‘we are designed for health,’ I rooted around to figure out what action I was doing impeding my health.

So, I resumed my nightly nose strip ritual and have not taken a single antacid since.

Continuing to closely monitor normal dietary reflux triggers – spicy foods, bending over too soon after eating, and excessive alcohol – I am feeling I am on the road to straightening out some health issues.

My message to all is, how we breathe makes an enormous difference in health matters that may seem far removed from the nose.

If you or someone you know is frequently clearing their throat, there is a strong likelihood there may be a reflux issue involved. There may also be inhibited breathing.

Maybe a sleep study will be needed for some people if the recommendations in Breath do not help, but it’s worth checking out, getting informed, and following up.

It’s a beautiful day to breathe freely and clearly. As always, sharing this post is easy using the options under the MORE button below.

In health –

Deidre