Be Yourself they said? It’s easy they said.

At what point do we become comfortable with being our authentic selves? It is often a key area of discussion amongst the Wellbeing community as once comfortable with yourself and your surroundings life tends to become that little bit easier, therefore having a positive impact on your overall wellbeing.

But it is indeed an interesting topic, isn’t it? Perhaps you have had a friend, partner or even a family member reject you based on, well; being you.

How do you bounce back from that? Would you hide away and isolate? Would you then push everyone away or would you shout from the rooftops ‘I AM ME’ and quickly move on with your life?

Are you the type of person who listens too much and allows those around you to constantly implode your life with their drama? If so, it is often you that can end up misunderstood, unappreciated, and ultimately put in the firing line of said drama. What we want to tell you is this…. Walk away, dust off your ego and simply accept that some people are naturally wired that way, they have been conditioned from childhood to take and often, to expect.

The age old saying of ‘do not be a drain, be a radiator’, yes, be the radiator, but surround yourself with fellow warm, snuggly radiators or you will end up completely drained and empty.

It is not always deliberate; some humans are unintentionally selfish and have absolutely no idea that they are being a drain. But if you find yourself having catch ups or attending events where no questions are asked of your week, your day, or your wellbeing, this is often an indicator that you are in the presence of a drain. Not all humans are wired to be together, be friends, or even be family. And that is okay! So, if you find you are being yourself and yet it just doesn’t feel right that’s cool. Distance yourself, life is too short.

Sometimes realigning yourself must become way more important than trying to help everyone else become realigned.

And remember…. You can choose your friends and family just like you can choose your choice of food, drink, exercise or going for a wee sitting down or standing up.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking” – Steve Jobs

Now, having got that off our chests, on to our topic of the YEAR, the Microbiome….

Your Micro-what I hear you say. Exactly where my head was at when I was first diagnosed with Microbiome dysbiosis. Let us rewind a little before we conquer those words and simplify all the science…

Towards the end of 2022 I was running out of my usual vigour that gets me through running multiple businesses, home-schooling my son, and keeping my husband, friends, and family happy. I’d lost my spark, my get up and go, my je ne sais quoi!

Lo and behold, bam!! I am totally knocked for six and running a temperature and coughing to high heavens. As it had gone on for some days, I managed to bag myself a face-to-face appointment with my doctors. I had been booked to see a nurse practitioner, lovely lady, but she wanted to send me home to let it all clear up on its own. Luckily for me, she was new to the surgery and had to have a doctor sign off on her decision, in comes the doctor and I am put straight on medication and sent to the hospital for an X-ray on my lungs.

Pneumonia! I scurry back to bed thankful that a second opinion was required. So, that was November 2022, it took weeks to recover and often I would think all was well, then go to work and realise I still needed to rest, easier said than done.

Come December the thought of Christmas in Malta was powering me through the busiest season for JK Wellness. I get on the plane, land, unpack and unwind ready for a week of eating, sleeping, and exploring. By day three my ears, head and throat are agony, and I honestly just thought my ears hadn’t popped right after the plane ride. Whilst I powered through and enjoyed visiting our favourite spots such as Valetta and Mdina City, I came home full of regrets for my lack of lustre.

Something isn’t right, that feeling of being infected is like a dark cloud and I was desperately trying not to be a hypochondriac and call the doctors a mere month after seeing them. You see, historically, I am not a sicky person, I’ve had tonsillitis a handful of times in my life, the odd summer cold, overall, I’m a lucky gal. But not this time, after a couple more weeks of distress I pick up the phone and call the doctor, who prescribes me with medication and ear drops.

Okay cool, I deal with that, didn’t really think much of it at that point, October-November pneumonia, December-January ear infection. Is what it is, I am getting older, I work hard, have had a busy year, lots of changes, it was bound to catch up with me at some point, right?

It continues; February-March I have several colds, including one where I lost my voice entirely. By April I am on medication for another lung infection. Then in May I have tonsillitis, losing my voice again, hallelujah you hear my husband say. Just as I recover from tonsilitis my lungs are being x-rayed, bloods being taken, and another lung infection is diagnosed.

During these six months I spent countless hours crying, feeling guilty and beating myself up. Why am I suddenly poorly so regularly? What is wrong with me? Am I going to die? Will my friends hate me? My husband and child resent me? Oh my god, my employees think I can’t pull my shit together!

Literally, no joke, it was as close to hell as I had felt for a very, very long time. I was constantly poorly or recovering from being poorly. The local Doctors surgery were actually pretty good at certain points, after the third lot of anti-biotics I voiced my concern and anxieties and was sent for blood tests which come back with no concerns, nothing, just bad luck then I guess.

After the tonsilitis I again express my concern, ‘it’s because of Covid Mrs Stewart, being back out in the world, everyone mixing, there is a lot going around’, okay I’ll take that, fine, I get it. My husband and friends all echo from the same hymn sheet ‘you’re run down, you do too much, slow down’,

Fed up going round and round in circles, I take the plunge and call a private healthcare hospital and book an appointment with a GP. For £250 you have the privilege of having a GP all to yourself for a whole hour. With my mind and body totally out of whack, I needed answers.

Before attending the appointment, I’m poorly again, which helps with the rhetoric on the day. The Doctor was great, she went through all my records with me on the NHS App, the results of my x-rays and blood tests. She then took all my vitals, went through my lifestyle and diet. Her conclusion, I am a healthy woman, she could send me off for lots more testing, at my expense, but she didn’t feel the need to do that if I just trusted her conclusion. Microbiome Dysbiosis. Sorry Doctor, Micro-what?

Yep, Mrs Stewart, Microbiome Dysbiosis. By this point my hour was up and I was sent away, advised to Google, visit a website written down for me and make changes. I had 3 months to get it right or next step would be a referral to Immunology at Southampton General.

I return home, on the one hand, totally happy that the doctor was so confident in her diagnosis but on the other hand totally dizzy from the terminology. Having paid £250 for the privilege of knowing what was wrong with me I couldn’t just ignore the doctor and sweep it under the rug.

Let the googling begin. Microbiome dysbiosis is a condition where the microbial communities in your body are imbalanced or disrupted. This can affect your gut, skin, and other microbiota and cause various health problems such as infections, inflammation, allergies, diabetes, obesity and more.

The core causes of Microbiome dysbiosis come from an array of avenues, antibiotics, poor sleeping patterns, physical or psychological stress, poor diet. One course of antibiotics can totally wipe out your good bacteria, a reason why they shouldn’t be given out regularly, they act to kill bacteria, good or bad. We need our good bacteria, to fight the bad bacteria, if there are no good bacteria to fight, we become prone to infection, disease and worse still, cancer, diabetes, heart or bowel disease, to name a few.

Here are some things that you can do to have a positive impact on your Microbiome:

Actimel

I pop mine into a smoothie, along with banana and mango/strawberries – top up with water or coconut water.

Kefir

I wasn’t a fan of the milk/drink so have been buying Kefir yoghurts, eating them as a standalone snack or mixing with some granola.

Prebiotic-Probiotic capsules

Having done extensive research I went for a middle of the range tub from Amazon amazon.co.uk/Probiotic-Prebiotic-Synbiotic-Probiotics-

Varied Diet

Imagine an Apple has a type of good bacteria, a banana has a totally different set of healthy bacteria. If you need to replenish your billions of bacteria, varieties are key. For example, this week I bought pears, melon, and apples and next week I will buy bananas, strawberries, and pineapple. Same goes for vegetables, the higher the variety, the better. Meat, cheese; all the good bacteria and nutrition is needed here.

Almonds, red wine, Kombucha, Kimchi, Garlic, Bananas are other examples of great sources of Probiotics and Prebiotics

Improve your stress levels and sleeping patterns.

Phones away by 8pm, read a book, have a chat.

If you need a day off, take a bloody day off.

Pre-Planned Food boxes

We chose Gousto because of the variety, value for money vs portion sizes. We only get 3 meals a week based on our budget, but it is a chance to try new things, vary our diet and minimise on food waste – check out discounts available by using this code – KESHI43767885

Why do the NHS not have leaflets about this? Why are we not taught about this in school? As parents? I don’t know, I could conjure up conspiracy theories I’m sure, but that isn’t my bag. I am just glad I now know that which I did not. I feel better, look better and touch wood, have not seen a sniffle or cough for 3 months. I believe my Microbiome Dysbiosis was present in my life for much longer than originally thought, is yours? You won’t know until you start making changes, I’ve done the hard part for you, click a link and buy some capsules, take a nap, and have a word with your gut, it needs you.

Keshia Stewart

Co-Founder at JK Wellness