Gut Health, Baby! How I Stay Regular & Keep Things Flowing 💩

It’s that time again, my loves. Time to talk about bloating, gut health, staying regular, probiotics & probiotics, and the shit (no pun intended) that actually WORKS when it comes to regulating digestion!! I am such a nerd about this stuff and I am so excited to go DEEP with you guys about it today!

It’s no secret around these parts that I have struggled with stomach issues for as long as I’ve lived. I literally came out of the womb that way. My parents say that for the first six months of my life I screamed every time I was fed and tensed my little body up while eating because food hurt my stomach so bad, and then I would cry and cry until I eventually threw it all up. True story… and also so sad, right?! 😢  And as my dad likes to joke now, NOT much has changed!!

Among my list of symptoms when it comes to these lifelong stomach issues are: extreme bloating, indigestion, pain after eating, food intolerances, constipation, hemorrhoids, heartburn, lack of appetite until later in the day, and an overall very sensitive system + body. But what has changed from my early years is that I have found tons of tools and hacks to help me digest food, stay regular, and stay out of pain (for the most part).

Getting diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease a few years ago only further intensified my stomach issues and sent me down a path of getting to the bottom of the pain and discomfort so that I could ENJOY life and not always be writhing in pain after eating. (I still have Lyme, but my symptoms are more managed now thank goodness.)

So!! Before I get into it I want to preface that what I am talking about in this post is not intended to cure or eliminate any of your stomach issues. It’s important to get those checked out by a doctor and I can only speak from personal experience and years and years of my own research! You never know what your secret sauce or secret formula will be, whether that be eliminating certain foods or eating within a certain window. But what I can say is that the product I am going to tell you about should certainly HELP (don’t quote me, we are all different!) and I can feel confident in saying that because it is backed by SCIENCE 🧪, baby, and they really, really freakin’ know what they’re doing. And I literally had to take a final exam with them before posting this. 😂

Seed, Seed, BABY !

( && you can use the code BLONDE for a 15% off discount. 😉 )

So what is this amazing product I am talking about?! It is SEED‘s Daily Synbiotic, which is a combination of a probiotic + a prebiotic — we will get into why that is important. When I tell you that I learned more about the gut microbiome in taking Seed University’s class for our partnership earlier this year than I learned in all of health coaching school, I’m not exaggerating! They really know what’s up in terms of teaching the science of the gut microbiome and all we can do to keep our gut health as healthy & diversified as can be.

Why diverse? We want a wide range of bacteria in our gut, so the good bacteria can outweigh the bad. And because so many of us are adjusting to a new routine this year, and a LOT of us are dealing with stress (which very much affects the gut), that can mean things are not really moving as they should. When it comes to alleviating constipation,  two different strains in Seed’s formulation were examined in a study for their beneficial effects in relieving intestinal discomfort, evacuation disorders, hard stools, bloating, and pain. And the results were there, big time. I have been major improvements with that symptom every since using Seed.

I take it every morning on an empty stomach with my lemon water, and within 30 minutes or so I am in the bathroom. This is BEYOND important for moving toxins through the body, maintaining a healthy balance in our gut microbiome, and even for our happiness levels! Did you know that serotonin levels originate in the gut?! So the more balanced our gut is, the happier we will be.

Seed is TBB approved for so many reasons. For one, their formulation combines a probiotic and prebiotic, and let’s get into why that matters!

The Probiotic + Prebiotic Life:

Gut health is a real issue these days, for so so many of us. That’s where probiotics & pre-biotics come in.

Probiotics are ALL THE RAGE right now, but the thing is…. You’re not really getting probiotics everywhere you think you are.

Yogurt? Kraut? Kimchi? Nahhhh. You’re not getting the probiotics you need there, as much as branding and product positioning may tell us otherwise. The reason being we don’t know if this bacteria is actually surviving to reach our colon. And just because a product tells you it has a very high CFU (colony forming units) does not mean it’s a better probiotic. The survivability is what matters!

Fun science-y fact: In 2001, the term probiotics was termed by a UN/WHO expert panel chaired by Dr. Gregor Reid (Seed’s Chief Scientist). By definition, probiotics are “live microorganisms that when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host.”

Probiotics are good for our heart, skin, metabolism, and immune health. They can suppress inflammation (yay!! Very important for people like me) and also neutralize pathogens and improve immunity. They work by interacting with our immune cells, gut cells, dietary nutrients, and existing bacteria in our colon. So that means they need to survive to reach our colon!

And then there’s PREBIOTICS — and I am just going to keep breaking it down for y’all, because I wish someone would have done this for me years ago when I was trying to figure this all out! Prebiotics interact with bacteria in the gut, and release byproducts into the colon called metabolites, and one of those is called butyrate. Butyrate strengthens the mucosal barrier lining your intestines. A stronger barrier means better containment of pathogens and absorption of nutrients.

So in non-science terms… probiotics and prebiotics both  really have an impact on our gut health and the overall health of our body. And what Seed has done which really sets them apart from other probiotics on the market is that they’ve created a SYNBIOTIC, which is a combo of the two! And since we’ve now learned that most bacteria do not make it to the gut, they’ve designed their capsule to deliver their probiotics to where it matters… straight to the colon!

Seed’s tested capsules protect against stomach acid and ensure viability through digestion. The capsule has a chlorophyll exterior to shield from light, a liquid prebiotic suspension to shield from oxygen, moisture, and heat. So that no matter what, once it hits your colon… it survives!

Not to mention it is dairy free, gluten free, allergy free, & vegan — which of course it needs to be in order to be TBB approved! Some key benefits of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic are that it helps maintain regularity, eases bloating, and alleviates occasional constipation. I can definitely say after taking it for the last month I have noticed all of those things. My digestion has been ON POINT you guys, and I really can’t say that about myself very often… especially coming off of a recent water fast for Lyme!

The Synbiotic also helps maintain healthy gut function, improves tight junction function, and helps to support gut barrier integrity. It supports heart health and supports key markers related to cardiovascular health. So with all of those benefits, WHY WOULDN’T YOU TAKE IT?! I MEAAANNN !! 🤯!!

They even put their probiotics through a human GI simulator to assess exactly how much arrives in your gut, and where. Their production cycle for that reason is 135 days ! They are a team of scientists, researchers, mothers, pediatricians, gastroenterologists, and more. They are seriously like no other brand I have ever seen when it comes to covering all of their bases and pouring their hearts into the science, research, transparency, and aims to make the world as a whole a better place (not to mention our individual bodies).

What else is so amazing about Seed?!

SEED is next level in the sense that it is vegan and gluten-free, and includes 24 clinically- studied, naturally-occurring strains, not found in yogurt or fermented foods and beverages, and lives up to the highest standards for human and planetary health.

Another HUGE bonus? Their commitment to sustainability with a refill system and all recyclable or biodegradable packaging materials. Did you know that International shipping represents 87% of total CO2 emissions from ships and planes each year? If treated as a country, it would be the sixth largest emitter worldwide. 🤯 To improve human and planetary health means we can’t pursue one without the other.

Seed introduced the Sustainable Transport Program to lessen the impact international shipping has on our planet. After your first month, you can continue opt in to receive a 3-month’s supply of the Daily Synbiotic at a time (and receive free shipping, saving $120 USD / year 💸 ). Following their lead, we can reduce shipment frequency and refill, not land-fill. Learn more about that initiative at seed.com/entire-world.

And I love their refillable bottle they send out to all customers so that every time you need a refill you aren’t using a NEW bottle, but rather receiving your capsules in 100% sustainable, biodegradable packaging and then sticking with the same bottle all year long! And their branding is cute AF, let’s be real, that is what drew me to them in the first place before I even learned about how incredible they are in every way.

Also, Seed is doing unreal things for the ecosystem! Head here to read all about their probiotics for bees initiative, which is incredible for the species at large. The company wanted to focus on honeybees for one of its early products because of the importance of the animals, both in producing food for humans and in natural ecosystems. Beyond that, they are working on a plastic-eating bacteria that could be used to break down plastic shopping bags… can you even believe that? It makes me want to cry even thinking about it because our Mother Earth 🌏 needs that so, so much.

Say Goodbye to Constipation & Hello to Staying Regular 😉

So let’s be real here: for the body, for digestion, for your health, for the environment, for the bees, for STAYING REGULAR 💩 … Seed is literally a godsend. AND you can use BLONDE for 15% off of their Daily Synbiotic on their website!! You guys, it is a must.

As always on my blog, all opinions are my own and I want to be super transparent with you guys in that I am partnered with Seed to share their benefits far and wide! I have learned so much from them and I am obsessed with their transparency and the education they share with their partners — I mean, like I said, I literally had to take a final exam from them before posting this. I am a genuine DIE HARD about their products though, which I think you can tell from my excitement in this whole post!! Hehe.

So, who is going to try?! Any questions?! Share with me below!!