It’s been a rough week.
I typically like to post on Tuesdays and Saturdays, but my health has been on a downward slope recently. For whatever reason, my gut is not happy. It’s getting better, but no matter what I did or ate it just wouldn’t give me a day off.
After ruling many things out, I’ve come to the conclusion that it may be my body’s adjustment to the water here. If you haven’t been following my blog for long, I’ve just moved from Texas to Australia in the last couple of months. Huge change. And now my body’s paying for it.
I’ve had water retention, been bloated, have had sharp pains in my lower abdomen and have just been having that overall “full” feeling. Similar to being gluten-ed but not as bad. On that note, here are a few things I’ve been doing to keep my gut in check for at least a portion of the day:
- Kombucha — helps restore good bacteria (mentioned in my October Favorites)
- Digest tea — relieves stomach pains (best to drink at night)
- Coffee — gets my digestive system going in the morning
- Boiled water (or filtered) — chemicals are released from tap water
The past few days I’ve discovered that boiling my water has made a huge difference! I did some research and discovered that tap water along with all its chemicals to keep the water “clean” is actually killing all of the good bacteria in my stomach, which is causing that bloated feeling and all of the other symptoms I described earlier. I’m not sure how long it will take for my body to fully recover, but I’m glad I’ve found the root of the problem (hopefully) and will just have to keep boiling my water from now on — or just get a filter.
Since then, my days have been much better.
Today my husband and I went for a little adventure at Lake Barrine. The lake is surrounded by a rainforest walking track and is home to the Lake Barrine Tea House. I love to explore new places and had been itching to do a little rainforest exploring. The neat thing about it was that it was actually raining during our walk, which definitely added to the ambiance.
We explored amongst the Rainforest Giants (very tall trees) and the hanging vines. I learned from a passerby that this rainforest was once filled with Rainforest Giants, but the locals started chopping them down and using them to build homes and other things.
Afterward, we stopped at the tea house for a brunch: eggs benedict is a breakfast staple in Australia. I definitely recommend it with smoked salmon. The best part was that they had gluten-free bread and alternative milk to order a nice breakfast with a coffee and keep my stomach happy.
bonitappétit 