Healing a “Leaky Gut”
Digestion is the foundation of health. If you want to enjoy good health, you must make sure your digestive system is in great shape. For example, you must have healthy digestion in order to recover completely from arthritis, multiple sclerosis, ADHD, asthma, and many other illnesses.
Your digestive system has two basic jobs. “Absorb the good stuff and keep the bad stuff out.” This means that your digestive system has to:
•Extract nutrients from food and make them available to your body, and at the same time
•Keep bad things in your gut from entering the rest of your body.
This is a simple job description, but if your gut is inflamed, it can’t do either.
Getting nutrition in:
In order to absorb nutrients, food is broken down into small particles (digested), and the digested particles are carried from your gut into the rest of your body.
Enzymes and stomach acid break food into small particles. You need strong digestive power to adequately break down food. For example if you do not make enough hydrochloric acid you will not be able to absorb iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, amino acids, and many other nutrients. The body’s ability to make enzymes and acid declines with age and stress, and by age sixty the average person produces one-fourth as much hydrochloric acid as they did at age twenty.
Once the food is broken down into small particles it must be carried across the intestinal wall and into the circulatory system. Carrier proteins shuttle nutrients across the gut wall, but if the intestine is damaged by inflammation, the carrier proteins don’t do their job. In this condition you can’t absorb nutrients no matter how good your diet or how many supplements you take.
•The low HCL – low mineral – low HCL vicious cycle: Your body needs strong hydrochloric acid (HCL) to absorb the mineral zinc, and it needs zinc to make hydrochloric acid. Low HCL causes low zinc, which causes low HCL, and on and on. Thus it is helpful to supplement zinc and HCL together in order to break this cycle. (See recommendations below)
Keeping toxins, bacteria and allergens out:
You have four pounds of bacteria in your intestines and so does everyone else. Some are friendly (providing vitamins and nutrients that we need) and some are unfriendly (secreting toxins). Friendly or not, we want the bacteria in our intestines, and not in the rest of our body. This barrier /exclusion function is so important that your immune system stands guard to catch any bacteria or other toxins that slip through. A whopping two thirds of your immune system resides in the lining of your intestines.
In addition to bacteria and toxins, it is essential that undigested food does not make its way out of your intestines into the blood stream. The immune system reacts to undigested food in the same way it reacts to bacteria and toxins. Immune reactions cause inflammation in your intestines, and in other parts of your body as well through a process called antigenic cross-reactivity.
•The inflammation – food allergy – inflammation vicious cycle: Inflammation from any source (including unfriendly bacteria, fungus, parasites or food allergies) causes the gut to become leaky (hyper – permeable). A leaky gut allows undigested food to enter the circulation, which causes more inflammation, which makes the gut more leaky, and on and on. The best approach is to heal the intestinal lining (see below) and to avoid food allergens simultaneously.
Raw nerves - Raw intestines: Neurogenic Inflammation
Your nervous system is like the magician behind the curtain. It coordinates digestive enzymes and the movements that propel food along your intestinal tract. It also reports problems like irritation and inflammation by sending messages of pain, bloating or pressure.
This next part is very important to understand. Once digestive problems are chronic, chances are the nervous system is not only reporting the problem, but also contributing to the problem. If the nervous system has received messages of discomfort and irritation for a period of time, it comes to expect irritation and discomfort. It can then cause inflammation in the intestines through a process called neurogenic inflammation. Neurogenic inflammation means inflammation caused by nerves. The nerves themselves release irritating chemicals in the intestinal lining that cause inflammation.
•The intestine – nervous system – intestine inflammation vicious cycle: Prolonged intestinal irritation causes changes in the nervous system that then feed back to perpetuate the inflammation. It is important to balance the nervous system and at the same time use diet and nutritional supplements to heal the intestinal lining.
Signs of poor digestion:
•Excessive belching, burping, bloating, or flatulence
•Offensive breath
•Difficult bowel movements: diarrhea and / or constipation
•Difficulty digesting fruits or vegetables: undigested food found in stools
•Stomach pain or heartburn
•A feeling that your bowels do not empty completely
•Lower abdominal discomfort that is relieved after having a bowel movement or passing gas
•A coated tongue or “fuzzy” debris on your tongue
Heal your gut!
Let’s get on with healing. As we get started, be aware of common pitfalls. Remember that if you have had digestive issues for more than a month vicious cycles develop that must be addressed from multiple angles.
Identify and remove harmful bacteria, parasites, or fungus
•Run appropriate stool and urine tests to identify pathogens.
•Use herbs to remove harmful bacteria and fungus, and medications for most parasites.
•I will coordinate lab tests, suggest herbal treatment, and refer you to a medical doctor if appropriate.
Identify and avoid allergens:
•Identify adverse food reactions with a food diary, a variety of lab tests, self-pulse testing, elimination / provocation testing, or muscle testing. I will discuss with you how to identify allergens.
•If you react to a food eliminate it completely for a month and then limit your intake to once or twice a week until your gut is completely healed.
Rotate foods and eat in a way that supports digestion:
•Take a break from foods that you eat frequently. If for example, if you eat bread and other forms of wheat frequently, take a break for at least two consecutive days each week.
•Eat in a relaxed atmosphere. Take time to enjoy your food.
•Avoid cold drinks immediately before or during meals.
Take supplemental enzymes, herbs and minerals
•Take digestive enzymes, especially hydrochloric acid.
•Build up deficient minerals, including easily absorbable forms of zinc.
•Take herbs and other nutritional supplements to heal the intestinal lining.
•I will recommend the particular herbs, enzymes and supplements that are most helpful for you based on your lab results and physical examination.
•We will adjust your supplement schedule as your body heals.
Schedule treatments in my office
•Physical manipulation, ‘brain-sound” therapy, and home exercises balance your nervous system and contribute to the healing process.
