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.
   

School is back in session, here come the germs

    Germs by themselves aren't bad, in fact exposure to germs can strengthen the immune system.  Germs become a problem when our immune systems are run down and unable to fight off of the dreaded germ.  Last week my kids came home from school feeling less than great.  I immediately took action.  The first line of defense is to boost and protect the immune system.
    Here's what we did:
    A couple of days before, on a whim, I had brewed a big pot of pau d'arco tea.  I prefer the loose leaf and brew for at least half an hour.  According to the website www.exhibithealth.com pau d'arco tea increases red blood cell counts.  Bernhard Kreher a Munich researcher wrote his doctoral work on the immuno stimulating effects of Pau d’arco and found that the body’s defense system activity increased by more than 48% when Pau d’arco was regularly consumed.  My children enjoy it cold with a little stevia in it.  Honey would work nice too.  
   Next we upped our probiotics.   There are numerous ways beside pill forms to do this such kombucha, fermented foods, yogurt with low sugar.  I prefer the pill form when sickness is knocking at the door to avoid consuming any extra sugars that can feed what ever is trying to invade.

    Two completely free and very important things to do are increasing water intake and getting extra sleep. Proper hydration is key to healthy immune system.   It flushes out any toxins, keeps things moving and keeps our cells hydrated and working properly.  I try to remember to put a pinch of Himalayan sea salt in their (and my) water.  It helps the body's electrolyte system stay balanced by providing the appropriate minerals.  My children know that if they come home feeling less than great it means an early bed time. If you need motivation for getting more sleep here's a great TED talk on the importance of sleep.TED talk-sleep.

   To help the immune system we also began to take homeopathic remedies.   If you don't know much about homeopathy I encourage you to learn more.  Maybe I'll even do a post about them.  The basic principle is that "like cures like".  I really like the brand Professional Complementary Health Formulas.  (I am in no way associated with them).  We took the formulas Immune System Stimulator Drops and Bacterial Immune Stimulator.  

    Just by doing these things my son was back to normal within 48 hours.  My daughter took a little longer and ended up with a lingering cough that we used essential oils for.  We used eucalyptus and lavender oil down her spine.  This really helped her to sleep and helped with congestion.  

   A few other things to do include sweating it out, either through a hot epsom salt bath or even better an infared sauna.  Sweating is great because it not only excretes toxins, it increases your red blood cell count.  It's a natural antibiotic and can actually kill bacteria that  can cause infection through antimicrobial peptides.  Supplements like echinacea and colostrum can boost the immune system.  We are unable to take colostrum due to the dairy content but love Xymogen's IgG 2000 DF. (Again no way affiliated.)  And last but not least good old chicken soup.  Bonus points if its made with homemade bone broth.     

   What else would you add to this list?