Let's Fix It

   Several weeks ago we talked about the importance of the health of our gut.  And boy am I relearning this lessons as I have had a reoccurrence of Clostridium difficile that has put me out.  I am by no means an expert on this so I won't pretend that I know what the best treatment is.  I do know that I will continue to take Sacchromyles Bourdii the rest of my life to help keep a recurrence from happening again.
   Today we will talk about how to repair the gut.  First I want to start by sending you a great link to a study that was just released about the connection between leaky gut and autoimmunity. leaky gut connection.
   The first thing to do which is not always the easiest to do is to change your diet by stop eating foods that damage and inflame the lining of the gut.  It can take a minimum of three months to heal the gut and can take up to two years.  The best diet to heal the gut is a strict paleo diet.  This includes removing all grains, legumes, sugar and for the most part dairy products.  I always like to remind people when transferring from the American Standard diet to paleo its perfectly ok to go slow.  Some people like to just jump on board and change their diet all at once, if you are one of those go for it.  If diet change sends you into stress induced panic then go slow, start by cutting gluten out, then sugar, then dairy, then grains, etc.  Don't let it overwhelm you.  Once switching to paleo and you're still not seeing the results you want try cutting out nuts, eggs and or nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and potatoes).
    Second, begin to get rid of any gut infection including bacteria, yeast, parasites, etc.  If you are unsure if you have any infection I recommend that you see a functional medicine doctor, nutritional therapy practitioner or functional diagnostic nutritionist to help you find out what may be going on.  if you want to go it alone both Great Plains Laboratory and Entrolab offer at home test kits that can be ordered. (I have no connection with either one but have used Great Plains Laboratory in the past.)  Depending on what may be going on there may be different approaches to take.  Some of the supplements I have had success with over the years are Oregano oil, Kolorex, caprylic acid, Humaworm, food grade diatomaceous earth, pau d'arco tea.  Make sure to rotate whatever you take every four days.  Most of the supplements will help with bacteria, bad yeast and parasites.  Some people may need to cut out natural sugars and fruits in order to completely get rid of whatever may be growing inside.
   Third restore gut flora.  You need to replenish your gut with lots of healthy, good bacteria.  This can be done at the same time as the first two steps but don't take in the good bacteria at the same time of the day as you are taking the supplements to kill the bad guys.  This can be done several different ways and I have found that it is best to to do more than one thing.  Some of the cheapest and easiest ways are to eat with each meal a fermented food.  This not only fills the body with good probiotics but enzymes as well to help your body break down and use the food you are eating.  Some fermented foods to start with are keifer (dairy or coconut), sauerkraut, kimchi, homemade yogurt.  Kids will really love some homemade yogurt with a little fruit.  Check out Cultures for Health for many great recipes.   Adding in a probiotic in a pill form can also be very beneficial.  My favorite brands are VSL#3 for those who can tolerate dairy.  It can be bought at Costco in the pharmacy department with out a prescription.  I personally take HLC brand that I love.  There are many great brands that each do great things.  Please chime in and let me know if there is a brand that you've been helped by.
   Fourth heal the lining of the gut.  This process should be done concurrent as the other steps.  It will take longer to heal the gut though if you are eating foods that are damaging it or there is something growing in there that shouldn't be.  (Doesn't that sound lovely.)  Foods that help heal the gut include bone broth.  Bone both is the holy grail of gut healing.  This is because it is cheap to make and it has so many great benefits.  It heals leaky gut, overcome food intolerances, improves joint health and reduces cellulite.  This occurs when the bones are simmered and they release compounds like collagen, proline, glycine and glutamine.  According to the Weston A Price Foundation bone broth also contains minerals including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and others.   The magic happens from collagen and gelatin.   Collagen/gelatin is the jiggly layer in bone broth.  It contains the amino acids arginine, glycine, glutamine and proline.  Proline and glutamine are especially helpful for healing the gut.  If making your own bone broth seems overwhelming or your in a busy stage of life like I am now there are other things you can do.  Taking a grass-fed gelatin contains great amino acids and other properties that help in healing the gut.  A tablespoon twice a day can really help.  One of my favorite supplements is Metagenics Glutagenics.  It contains L-Glutamine that has been proven to heal the gut lining, DGL (licorice) and aloe.  It is very healing and soothing.  Happy gut healing.

Gut Health: The basics

    What a boring title, almost as exciting as feet.  I'll work on making my titles a bit more creative.   As someone who has had their fair share of health issues and as someone who has read extensively on healing I have come to the conclusion that a healthy gut is key to healing.  Wether it be healing from a cold or flu or from an autoimmune disease or even from cancer healing the gut should be the first focus or done in conjunction with treating whatever ails you.
    Why is healing the gut so important?  Scientist estimate between 70%-85% of the immune system is in the gut.  If the gut is not functioning properly or in the best of working order your immune system won't be running as good as it needs and your body won't be able to fight off the virus, infection or whatever.
    Lets first talk about what causes the lining of the gut to break down.  Many factors can and do but the most common and destructive are antibiotics.  Antibiotics wipe out all bacteria both good and bad.  This leaves the gut with an unbalanced amount of good guys versus bad guys.  This provides the perfect breading ground for yeast, parasites, viruses and bad bacteria to take over. This is also known as gut dybosis. Good bacteria are needed to create enzyme secretions that helps the body remove all of the waste from the body.  Beneficial bacteria also break down hormone secretions that discharged from the liver to the small intestine. For instance, if you lack the bacteria to break down estrogen and the intestinal permeability has been altered, now you are reabsorbing estrogens in their original state.  I know this to be true from first hand experience. At the age of 5 my daughter started showing signs of puberty, much too early for any girl.  We put her on a strict GAPS diet and healed her gut.  She will turn eleven next week with no signs of puberty on it way.                                                                                          
      Another cause of gut issues are dietary factors like alcohol, grains, dairy, food allergies and sensitivities.  While foods that contain grains, dairy or the occasional alcoholic drink may not bother some people, there's a growing percentage of people that do have a problem with these foods. Enzymes are needed for the body to properly break down, use and dispose of foods that we eat.  As we age our bodies decrease the amount of enzymes made.   When there is a constant onslaught of these foods that the body can't break down food allergies and sensitivities will appear.
    Other medications can cause the gut to work at less than optimal levels. These medications include over use of antacids, NSAIDs like aspirin, Excedrin, Advil and Tylenol.  These medications are bad because they inflame the intestinal lining and cause a widening of spaces between the cells.
    Other factors also include lifestyle factors like chronic stress, consistently not getting enough sleep, and over activity including working out too much.  In other words, self care is important and should be a priority in your life.
    Our bodies need a healthy mucosa to allow nutrients to pass the barrier while blocking the entry of toxins.  In a healthy small intestine the epithelium maintains tight cell walls. The mucosa is important because it contains components that neutralize any toxins that it comes in contact with.  It also helps  the small intestine absorb vitamins, minerals and enzymes that the body needs.
   Next week we will talk about what test to run to check gut function and what can be done to heal the gut.