Mushrooms are essential to all life, yet they are still faced with underfunded and understudied research. 

It wasn't until 1969 that mushrooms were recognized as their own kingdom of life because they were often thought to just be extensions of plants. 

For women, this is all sounding a little bit familiar…

As men were hunting beasts, women or the main foragers of mushrooms and plants, holding in preserving knowledge of the non-human worlds.

In early mycology, women did not have the same academic rights as men did. However, as self-studied mycologist, they were often the ones collecting mushrooms for male scientists and researchers.

Women have laid the foundation of mycology, weaving in a deep ancestral connection.

Today, women remain at the forefront of mycology, nurturing a vital relationship between mushrooms and our planet.

“Just because it’s gluten-free doesn't mean it’s healthy” 

“Despite the health trends and marketing schemes, a gluten-free diet is NOT for everyone!”

“When you start eating gluten-free products you reduce your fiber intake and increase your fat and sugar intake which could lead to weight gain.”

“When you remove gluten you also increase carbs which raises blood sugar and creates more inflammation.”

“The very issues you’re trying to avoid by eating gluten-free could actually be caused by a gluten-free diet.”

“If you don’t have celiac disease or a true gluten sensitivity cutting out simple carbs and eating quality whole grains might actually be what you need.”

“What other health trends do you want to see debunked?! Let me know in the comments!”

There is a misconception that the body's organ systems operate independently when in reality they’re all interconnected.

For example, the brain and gut communicate through what is called the gut-brain axis, sending more information to each other than any other body system!

This is why when you're looking for supplements for your brain health you want one that also targets gut health and vice versa.

After doing extensive research I found what could be the best supplement for just that! (hidden name of the product for client privacy) Chews.

They target the gut-brain axis by combining prebiotics, probiotics, and ashwagandha, an adaptogen that not only supports cognitive function but also reduces stress and anxiety- who couldn't use that?

These (hidden name) chews are also backed up by 20 years of scientific research making it the easiest yes I’ve ever said.

If you want to join me in addressing the body as one interconnected system for optimal healing, try (Hidden name of product for client privacy) Chews today!

Did you know that 85% of our clothes end up in landfills? (Show devastating footage of this reality) Releasing toxic chemicals and dyes into our rivers and oceans, the same chemicals that are also being absorbed by the skin.

One of the best things we can do to prevent the environmental impacts of fashion is to turn to companies like Compost Clothes, whose materials can be composted and safely returned back to nature. (Showing model composting in compost clothes)

Compost Clothes uses no harmful chemicals or dyes, and all dyes are plant-derived from plants she grows. (model outside walking barefoot in Compost clothing at sunset or in another pretty setting)

Just recycling isn't enough, as it takes 12 years to recycle what retailers sell in 24 hours. As consumers, we have the power to make better choices.

You can use the code ROOTEDREMEMBRANCE10 to save 10% off all orders from compost clothes.

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and these numbers will continue to rise if we don't do something about it, If this information doesn't reach more people.

Because we have the power to turn this around, and it starts in our guts.

Through centuries there has been a basic understanding of digestion's influence on human behavior, which our ancestors likely observed.

However, around the 17th and 18th centuries, we see more efforts focused on this gut-brain connection as physicians took a constitutional and holistic approach.

In 1765 Robert Whytt, a Scottish physician found that the gut had a network of nerve endings and coined the term “nervous sympathy” to describe these findings.

Then in the 19th century, a London-based doctor named John Abernethy took this idea further publishing several books highlighting the gut and brain connection linked through the nervous system.

Before the 19th century indigestion and digestive disorders were seen as a sign of wealth, connecting the food consumed to increasing digestive complaints. However, by the 1840s digestive disorders were rapidly increasing in every demographic and even referred to as a national disease.

Around this same time, Dr. William Beaumont who is known as the father of gastroenterology found through his studies on the digestion of food that emotions affect digestion.

Perhaps most notably, in 1904 physiologist Ivan Pavlov demonstrated the first brain-gut interaction through the cephalic phase of digestion which is the release of gastric and pancreatic secretions in response to sensory signals.

Things took a reductionist turn by the 19th and 20th centuries when physicians focused on localized studies of the gut rather than looking at the body as a whole, however many people like Franz Alexander who is a founder of psychosomatic medicine continued to push psychological science connecting the brain and gut.

Today through a mending of somatic, laboratory, and psychological scientific approaches we understand just how closely connected the brain and gut are.

with these understandings, we have the opportunity to change the future of our neurological and cognitive health.

We have all felt this gut-brain communication whether we realized it or not.

Butterflies in your stomach, gut-wrenching news, or losing your appetite when you're sad—these are all powerful examples of the intricate conversation between your brain and your gut.

We can no longer look at just one system in the body because they’re all interconnected. 

The gut and brain are like best friends who text each other all day through what is called bidirectional communication. 

They talk so much that more information goes from your brain and gut than any other body system!

This communication is made possible in a few different ways.

First, the vagus nerve which links your enteric nervous system- or the neural network in your GI tract- and your brain. 

This neural network in your gut contains between 200-600 million neurons! This is more neurons than your spinal cord!

It's no wonder the gut is called our second brain!

Second, hormones produced in the gut send signals to the brain like ghrelin which is called the hunger hormone because it tells your brain it's hungry.

Third and most fascinatingly, the gut microbiome plays a huge role in this communication.

We have trillions of microorganisms found in our guts that regulate our mood, memory, and disease susceptibility. 

The gut microbes help and produce neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin.

In fact, 90% of our body's serotonin, which is essential for mood regulation is produced in the gut! 

Because we know that our gut interacts with the brain through these neurotransmitters this also means that our gut health can make mood disorders like anxiety and depression better or worse depending on the health of our microbiome.

A team from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine set out to see if there was evidence to support the improvement of anxiety symptoms by regulating intestinal microbiota. They looked at 21 studies that included 1,503 people.

11 of the 21 studies showed a positive effect on anxiety symptoms by regulating intestinal microbiota through taking probiotics and dietary changes, meaning that more than half of the studies showed this approach to be effective.

We also know that Increased levels of systemic inflammation due to an imbalance of the gut microbiome are linked to a heightened risk of neurodegenerative diseases. 

Chronic inflammation can accelerate the progression of disorders such as Alzheimer's, with research suggesting that inflammatory markers are up to 50% higher in patients with cognitive decline.

In another study from the Journal of Neuroinflammation, increased gut-derived inflammation can accelerate amyloid deposition in the brain, a key feature of Alzheimer’s pathology. The study highlights that inflammatory cytokines from the gut can exacerbate brain inflammation and amyloidosis, suggesting that controlling gut health could slow Alzheimer's progression.

But what leads to these imbalances in the first place?

As our food quality declines cognitive and digestive disorders incline.

As I mentioned, in the mid-19th century digestive disorders were thought to be a disease of the wealthy but as food processing technology was developed these disorders became more common.

Today studies like a recent one from the American Academy of Neurology show us that people who eat more ultra-processed foods have a higher risk of stroke and cognitive impairment.

Additionally, highly processed foods change the gut microbiota leading to digestive diseases like IBS.

Another piece of this I find interesting is the rates of autism increased from 3 per 10,000 in the 1970s to more than 30 per 10,000 in the 1990s- around the same time ultra-processed foods took hold.

Though not fully understood studies support the idea that autism and neuroinflammation in early childhood are linked.

Other things that can negatively impact your gut microbiome and in turn impact brain health are alcohol consumption, medications, and stress.

Avoiding highly processed foods like refined carbs, sugary drinks, and fast food and making healthy lifestyle changes like managing stress and reducing alcohol intake can all make for a happy and healthy gut and brain!

We’ve only touched the surface of how important gut health is to brain health, but you can join my FREE webinar to access more of the latest science and steps you can take to heal your gut and save your brain by checking the description below!