The HAPPY GUT® Holiday Gift Guide | 2021

Like 2020, 2021 was another tough year. We dealt with unprecedented challenges and most of us experienced higher levels of stress and anxiety than usual.

Who’s tired of feeling stressed and anxious?!?? (Raise your hands…). But, wait…

Enter: GRATITUDE  

 

 

Gratitude not only feels good in the moment, it’s scientifically proven to increase happiness and lower stress and anxiety . In fact, I believe so strongly in the power of gratitude that I created my HAPPY GUT® Gratitude Video Series . 

If you want to gift the power of gratitude, or experience it yourself this holiday season, the best place to start is with the Grateful Peoples Gratitude Journal. Why a journal, you ask? Writing down what we’re grateful for is simply more powerful than just saying it in our heads. There’s just something about putting pen on paper that makes something feel real. I always recommend writing down your goals, intentions, and the things you’re thankful for, even if they’re something that on the surface you think you should actually be upset, irritated or angry about.

“A grateful mind is a great mind that eventually attracts to itself great things.”

— Plato

These journals are not only a great way to escape negative thought patterns and feel happier, they’re a great way to support your local community, too. The founder of Grateful Peoples, Teddy Droseros (a personal friend), donates the journals to schools to bring the power of gratitude to the younger generation, too. Plus, they’re all made from  100% recycled paper and printed with plant-based ink. 

Knowing this, what are you waiting for? Gift a journal, support a charity, and increase your own gratitude all in one! 

Grateful Peoples Gratitude Journal ($18) 

[Use discount code: HAPPYGUT2021 for 20% OFF any order]

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that a healthy detoxification system is key to overall health. 

Unfortunately, our world is chock full of toxins and chemicals that threaten to overload our liver’s detoxification pathways. These chemicals are in the air, our water, our cosmetics and cleaning products, and yes, even our cookware!

 

 

Cookware, especially those non-stick pans that are sitting in your kitchen cabinets with the cooking surfaces partly scraped off (it’s not a pretty sight!), can contain fluoropolymer coatings like Teflon, which give them their amazing non-stick surface, but also break down when exposed to high heat and release toxins. Guess where those toxins go?!?? Other chemicals sometimes found in cookware include aluminum, copper, and BPA. 

Whenever I talk about eating for a healthy gut, I make sure to mention that it’s not just what we eat that matters — it’s how we prepare our food and what we prepare our food on .  

So what do you use instead? I recommend opting for cast iron, stainless steel, or these ceramic pots and pans from the brand Caraway . They’re made with naturally smooth ceramic, which means no toxic chemicals leaching into your food and your body.

You can also check out 360 Cookware , which makes their American-made cookware out of non-toxic stainless steel. These pots and pans are a great gift for anyone who loves the kitchen but might be cooking with toxic cookware. You can buy one or a full set. (Oh, and we snagged up a discount for you guys here as well. Go to 360 Cookware and use HAPPYGUT2021 to get 20% OFF . Yeah, I know, we love you, too!)

 

 

Check out these sets, pans, and baking sheets:

Caraway: Cookware Set ($395), Frypan ($95), Baking Sheet ($40) 

360 Cookware: Saucepan (149), Roasting Pan ($159) 6 Quart Stockpot ($249)

As America’s Gut Doctor , it goes without saying that I’m a big fan of probiotics.

Probiotic bacteria restore the balance of healthy and pathogenic bacteria in the gut microbiome and can influence our immune system, our metabolism, and even our brain health and mood. It might seem strange that there’s such a strong connection between your mood and gut health, but more research comes out every year proving just how strong this link actually is! In fact, I recently wrote a blog post on how gut health and anxiety are intricately connected. 

The bottom line? You can’t have a healthy brain without first having a healthy, happy gut. 

The good news is that probiotics — specifically ones that are meant to bolster the gut-brain connection, called psychobiotics — can help calm your nervous system and improve your mood. For example, one review of 21 studies revealed that 36 percent of them showed probiotics were effective in reducing anxiety symptoms. In my practice I find that getting a patient on the right psychobiotic can really move the needle on their anxiety symptoms. 

For that reason, I recently teamed up with top supplement brand NatureMD to formulate a psychobiotic specifically to support mood that is so revolutionary that they decided to name it RevBiotics. 

 

 

Paying attention to the gut-brain connection is a great idea all year long, but it’s especially helpful during the holidays when anxiety levels tend to rise. Not to mention the last two years with the stress of pandemic life, the burden of anxiety and depression in our society has skyrocketed. There’s never been a more important time to understand the connection between gut bacteria and mental health , and give the gift of a healthier gut-brain connection to someone you love. This is the perfect gift that says, “I’ve got you.” 

RevBiotics Psychobiotic ($45) 

We often praise the benefits of hydration during the sweaty summer months only, allowing our talk of water intake to all but disappear during the colder months.

But the truth is that hydration is important all year long! In fact, in winter the air is dry and we’re more prone to colds and the flu, which makes proper hydration critical to staying healthy. 

But here’s the tricky thing: Staying hydrated isn’t as simple as just drinking enough water. Why? Because not all water is created equal. Research from the Environmental Working Group shows that that municipal drinking water can contain as many as 400 contaminants — anything from microbes to pesticides to lead and other heavy metals and radioactive isotopes. These contaminants can leach into your body, disrupting your gut bacteria balance, the intestinal lining, and ultimately leading to chronic health issues. 

The good news is that a highly effective water filter from AquaTru can remove these contaminants and help you hydrate the healthy way. 

 

 

AquaTru makes top of the line reverse osmosis water filters that filter out more than 83 contaminants. What first caught my eye was a video I saw on YouTube. In a simple experiment, this brand put Diet Coke into the pre-filter tap water tank of their countertop model, and I watched in amazement as pure water came up into the post-filtration tank! Clear, crisp, devoid of any coloring. Pretty incredible, isn’t it? The great news… Unlike some of the reverse osmosis brands out there, they also have countertop models that don’t require you to spend valuable time and money on installation. 

Reverse Osmosis Under the Sink Water Filter ($299), Countertop Water Filter ($449) 

 

In September I wrote a blog post about zero waste eating . In it, I explained why food waste is such a big problem in this country.

Did you know that America wastes nearly 40% of its food, which costs us more than 200 billion dollars per year? Part of the solution involves reducing food waste on a systemic level by stabilizing markets and improving food processing, but another big piece of the equation has to do with us — the consumers — and our habits. After all, we’ve all found rotting fruit or veggies in the back of the fridge at least once in our life! 

 

 

Some ways we can reduce food waste include planning better and meal prepping, but we can also start composting old food to make it new again! For this, there’s no better tool than the Lomi Kitchen Composter , which composts food overnight, turning it into odorless soil. Unlike other home composters, the Lomi isn’t bulky or ugly so it can sit right on your kitchen counter. This is the perfect gift for someone with a garden since they can save the soil created for whenever they plant. 

Pre-order now to get your Lomi Composter by March 2022, just in time for spring! 

Lomi Kitchen Composter ($49) 

It’s not uncommon to start January feeling bloated, sluggish, and like you’ve gained a few pounds over the holidays.

If you can relate to this, you’re far from alone! We all tend to slow down and indulge a little more this time of year. That’s why one of my favorite holiday gifts is the HAPPY GUT ^® RESET: 7-Day Detox. In fact, I often gift it to friends or family members that need a reset after enjoying a little too much holiday eating and drinking (since the fresh start of a new year makes January the best month for a cleanse )! 

 

 

This powerful program is designed to support your body’s detox pathways and reset the gut after all those rich holiday meals (and maybe one too many glasses of wine or cocktails). In just 7 days you will feel less bloated, have more energy, and manage to crush cravings and fatigue that would otherwise linger well into January. I carefully crafted this detox program using over 20 years of research on gut health and liver detoxification; it includes a multi-strain probiotic, a cleansing shake, comprehensive support for both phases of liver detox (phases 1 and 2), and a doctor-created plan to help you say goodbye to uncontrollable sugar cravings, bloating, feeling tired, and lack of focus. It’s the perfect gift for anyone trying to make healthier lifestyle choices, dealing with the consequences of indulging a little too much over the holidays, or with big health and fitness goals for the new year. 

And what’s better than one detox?! Double the results, buy two, save money, and do it with a buddy or loved one!!  

HAPPY GUT ® RESET: 7-Day Detox ($385) 

While supplies last… Buy 1, Get the 2nd for 50% OFF!!!

[Use promo code: DOUBLEDETOX at checkout ]