It’s not easy to stay healthy when restoring an old house. Increased demands on your time, your finances, the toxins in the materials you will demo & install, & the stress of making constant decisions, facing too many surprises mean that to stay strong, you need to maybe spruce up your lifestyle choices to compensate. And maybe you have to do this without no kitchen!

We already know that I think I’m everybody’s mother, but hear me out because I know some stuff. I learned it from my mother who learned it from her mother who, yep, learned it from her mother. I hail from a long line of totally badass women!

I also tend to be a bit of a natural health geek. As stated, I come by it honorably, but I also just tend to be a problem solver with a great deal of curiosity & a little  help from my friend Dr. Google. In addition, I enjoy helping people so I have made it my business to learn things that I feel will benefit others. (Little boasting here- I got 35 lbs. off my formerly chubby hubby & got his 70 year old blood work looking like that of a 20 year old.)

PIGS & OLD HOUSES

My grandmother, Sarah Emmeline Martz was a farmer’s wife who cooked for her family every day & tossed the slop to the pigs. During one season of household sniffles she noticed how healthy the oinksters were, compared to her own family, & considered what was in that slop. What she noticed was that she was giving the piggies the outsides of the food- the peels, the parts that grew in closest contact with the soil of her garden. Being a farmer’s wife, she knew where the nourishment for plants came from- the soil- & wondered if maybe she was throwing out the most nutritious part of her family’s food.

Decades later, my mother considered it a criminal act to use a peeling device. During my childhood I heard daily, “That’s where the nutrition is!” And tell us once again the story of Sarah Emmaline & the pigs.

Foods are the building blocks of our bodies whatever health problems we are experiencing or wanting to stave off are generally caused by inadequate nutrition & can be solved with making sure that we get sufficient nutrition. Recent scientific discoveries in labs all over the world as well as clinical trials have supported this belief and explained why it is true. It’s not just moms!

SO, HOW DOES FOOD SUPPORT LIFE?

The answer is in the beneficial tiny living beings – microorganisms- that live in and on our bodies, especially our guts. Each one of us harbors a unique set, our own community of microorganisms- our microbiota- microscopic life. Our own, personal microbiota, our own group of microorganisms differs from that of any other person as much as our own fingerprints do.  The effects of our microbiota on our bodies, are diverse & profound. I am going to concentrate on the microbiota living in our guts to address the subject of how to stay healthy when restoring an old house.

I have a YouTube playlist that has a great deal of information on this subject as well as many tips on how you can stay healthy when restoring your old house. I have attempted to include only videos that provide an introduction to the subject, but some of them may use medical term that yu have never encountered. If this is the case & you’d like to learn more about the subject, contact me & I will send you the glossary of terms that I created for myself when I was doing my own study on gut health. I am just a student myself, but I think that I have made it all the way to second grade!

HOW MICROBES HELP US STAY HEALTHY WHEN RESTORING AN OLD HOUSE

Here are some of the relationships that have been found between us & these microorganisms:

1. Mental soundness- in addition to increasing of energy for working, taking care of our families & running a construction crew, microorganisms directly affect mood. The gut is described as being the “second brain” & the imbalance of microorganisms is directly correlated to such things as insomnia, anxiety, depression & our reaction to that $14,000 bid.
2. Balancing hormones- These microbes control the endocrine system, and support or inhibit hormonal harmony, including estrogen, insulin & thyroid. This is especially important as we age, approaching menopause & beyond, when our endocrine system is especially taxed. The endocrine & the nervous systems work together to keep us sharp & jolly.
3. Increase energy levels- By helping us absorb & utilize nutrients & to get rid of toxins, energy levels improve, allowing us successfully take on challenges such as getting that $14,000 bid to rebuild the chimney.
4. Immune system- microorganisms help our bodies fight off disease by defending us from pathogenic (disease causing) organisms as well as allergens. They are the super women of the immune system.The demo process involves exposing & propelling allergens & pathogens into the air YOU BREATHE. Dust, mold, insect & animal droppings- it’s all there. (And don’t forget that PPE. You’re living on a jobsite.)
5. Reduce yeast & urinary tract infections. The good bacteria once again save the day by preventing disease causing bacteria from adhering to the bladder wall. I hate to be indelicate, but for those times the only bathroom bathroom is being reno’d…And incidentally-
6. Weight control- Scientists in labs have created obese mice from normal sized mice by giving them microorganisms (tiny living organisms) from obese humans, & have created lean mice by giving them microorganisms from skinny folks.
7.  Research has shown that a proper balance of microorganisms in the gut contributes to weight loss.  What’s in your gut determines how you will process calories & how you will store them.
8. The heart – Having a healthy gut allows cholesterol to be excreted by the bowel instead of accumulating at high levels in the bloodstream.You can see that these are some active critters, helping you to stay healthy when dealing with the rigors of renovation! I have a YouTube playlist that has a great deal of information on this subject as well as many tips on how you can stay healthy when restoring your old house.

STAY IN THE BUNGALOW KNOW!!!

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