It’s common to overlook the health of our gut, even though it contains 10 times more health-determining bacteria than the rest of our body. Protecting us from infection, supporting our metabolism, and promoting healthy digestion and elimination.
There are over 100 trillion organisms in the gut, that make up ¾ of our immune system.
Unfortunately, the majority of the population now has inadequate beneficial (good) bacteria, excessive damaging (bad) bacteria, and a lack of bacterial diversity. Largely because of any or all of the following:
- Stress – can alter digestive secretion, gut permeability, blood flow, sensitivity, and even change bacterial composition
- Over-medicating (antibiotics, birth control, NSAIDs, antacids)
- High-sugar diet
- Inflammatory foods (wheat, polyunsaturated oils)
- Hormone imbalances
Not surprisingly, the same things that destroy our gut flora, can compromise our gut barrier and promote something called ‘leaky gut.’ Sadly, many don’t realize they have either problem, as many times the symptoms present themselves in what would appear to be an unrelated condition – skin problems, allergies, mental illness, chronic fatigue, and even metabolic dysfunction.
Although the gut is inside our body, it’s actually an external organ, that’s main role is to prevent harmful substances from entering our body. Problems arise when the barrier that’s supposed to separate us from the external environment is compromised (leaky gut). When this happens, large foreign molecules are able to pass through to the bloodstream, and serious damage ensues as the body launches an immune response to protect itself.
Aside from potentially causing damage to any of the organs and tissues in the body (including the heart and brain), this can result in a serious auto-immune disorder like MS, type 1 diabetes, or inflammatory bowel disease.
So what’s the solution?
Restore Gut Flora + Rebuild Intestinal Barrier
How?
- Eliminate foods that are damaging your gut
- Improve your sleep and actively reduce stress
- Take a probiotic and/or increase intake of fermented foods
- Work to improve stomach acid and enzyme production
Fortunately, we’re already taking care of steps 1-3 with Live It NOT Diet!. And if you read last month’s post, we’re fixing your hampered digestion. Performing this test is not only essential to making sure you’re absorbing the nutrients in your food, but it’s critical to avoiding the discomfort and disease associated with improper breakdown.
The proteins that decay in our gut because of an underactive stomach not only cause digestive discomfort, but we run the risk of having them pass into the bloodstream via the damaged intestinal barrier. Aside from the potential damage already discussed, the immune system registers these proteins as ‘harmful,’ and this can lead to future intolerances to these once benign foods.
A stomach low in acid and undersecreting pancreas can also result in something called SIBO (small-intestine-bacterial-growth) because of an inability to properly breakdown carbohydrates. This usually presents itself as acid reflux or excess gas at first, but can eventually turn into something more serious like candida (yeast overgrowth), or any of the gastrointestinal, autoimmune and metabolic diseases already discussed – IBS, Colitis, Chron’s, type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
A study from 2000 in the American Journal of Gastroenterology identified SIBO in 84% of IBS patients.
I’m not trying to scare you, but this is serious stuff. I know you’ve eaten (or eat) high-sugar inflammatory foods, so you need to repair your gut lining. And if you’ve been stressed and used antibiotics, you need to repopulate your gut flora. Unfortunately, it only takes one antibiotic treatment over a short time period to cause a loss of number and diversity of benefical flora, so we need to take an active role to repair the damage.
Along with preventing the overgrowth of bad bacteria with Live It NOT Diet! and restoring our intestinal juices with the Digestion Protocol, consuming a probiotic supplement (or consuming fermented foods) appears to be the only way to rebuild the beneficial bacteria in our gut.
Sadly, it also seems to be the only way to continue to save our health from the damaging foods, medications, and behaviors that are characteristic of the 21st century.
Stay Lean!
Coach Mike
RELATED ARTICLES:
More Antibiotic = Less Probiotic
Test Your Digestion (The HCL Test)
Zonulin - Connecting Wheat & Leaky Gut?
STOP Taking Antacids For Heartburn & Reflux
Don't Mess With the Microbes - Gut Bacteria, Obesity & Disease