Digestive Health: Why You May Be Suffering From ‘Leaky Gut Syndrome’ And How You Can Fix It
“Life and death are in the power of the intestine. Those who master it will prosper in their health. Those who do not will gnash their teeth in disease.” -Uzo Onuwkugha, M.D.
You are not just what you eat; you are what you ingest, digest and assimilate. Everything you’ve eaten since you were a baby contributes to your overall health and well-being up to this point. Every cell in your body has an immunological memory and imprint of everything you’ve eaten. The law of sowing and reaping works behind the scenes. Some people don’t even understand that there are dietary laws that govern optimal health. We should stop focusing on the type of disease and start asking, “What kind of person has the disease?” Your cells tell the story better because they have a record (biological clock) of your state of health even when it has not manifested itself with symptoms and no medical examination has been able to detect it.
Well, you are only as healthy as your individual cells. There is a law in science that says that in a closed system, any large-scale phenomenon also repeats itself in a smaller time frame. Therefore, your cells hold the key to your overall health. To be precise, the focus is on the cells of the intestines. My zoom lens is on your small intestine, where most of the absorption and digestion of food takes place. The word ‘intestine’ is somewhat vague because it could refer to the digestive system, part of it, or even the stomach.
Now, do you know the best-selling drugs in the United States? It doesn’t matter if it’s over-the-counter or prescription drugs. The most sold medicines are antacids or remedies for intestinal diseases. You probably know all the brands: Gelusil, Sucralfate, Mylanta, Pepto-Bismol, Tagamate and all kinds of laxatives. Keep in mind that taking antacids makes the problem worse because these patients suffer from a lack of acid. This is because your acid-making enzymes (hydrochloric acid) are depleted. Neutralizing the little acid has given you symptomatic relief and tends to make the problem worse.
Target diseases include heartburn, gastritis, flatulence, dyspepsia, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, colorectal cancer, chronic constipation, and other forms of digestive ailments. Some of the diseases may not even have a well-defined symptom or signs that fit into a definite clinical pattern. That is why they are often called syndromes.
Many times, clinical tests will reveal nothing, and yet the patient continues to die. What is the underlying cause of these diseases? The answer is not what you think. It’s an uncharacterized phenomenon that most doctors don’t talk about. The name is ‘leaky gut syndrome’. You are simply saying that your intestines are sick because they lack energy, so they have become porous. I prefer a more scientific term called “leaky gut disease.”
The onset coincides with the depletion of functional enzymes in the body. This is the time when the resilience of youth tends to be weaned off. Depending on your dietary habits, it peaks around your twenties or early thirties. Rapid aging seems to pick up at this point. It is a process that sneaks up on you. At this time, your hair begins to thin and fall out. His head went bald. Some of your hair may even start to turn gray due to depletion of nutrients, especially the B vitamins. The symptoms of intestinal disease seem to get worse at the same time. People begin to notice bloating, gas, belching, constipation, and lactose intolerance.
The key to explaining ‘leaky gut syndrome’ lies at the cellular level. The small intestine has the hardest working cells in the human body. These complex cells can even work harder than brain cells. (No wonder they’re called ‘brain in the gut’ because they have all the chemical messengers found in the brain.) In fact, the intestine is considered the center of life and intuitive thought. People tend to call it gut instinct, a meeting point of supernatural and physical energy. The Japanese call it the ‘center of power’. The cells of the intestine are arranged in the shape of a finger called villi, designed to increase the surface area for the absorption of nutrients. This process is an energy dependent mechanism called active transport. (Water is absorbed by osmosis and does not depend on energy.)
Therefore, 85% of our lifetime energy is used in the digestion, absorption and assimilation of food. You might imagine that only 15% is reserved for the rest of the body for active work and other functions. Do you see why your digestive health is very important? Everything in life is energy and disease is nothing more than a lack of strength. Either you take care of your digestive health or you live at the mercy of the medical community. Most of the time they are confused because most doctors are not trained in nutrition therapy.
Furthermore, the intestine acts as a semi-permeable membrane. In other words, it has a gate mechanism that allows some nutrients to pass through while removing others. For example, essential nutrients such as minerals, vitamins, and essential fats are absorbed while toxins, bacteria, parasites, and partially digested or allergic foods are prevented from entering the blood. These wastes are eliminated through the feces. However, if the linings become porous like an old filter, it all passes into the blood without restriction. Now the gut is said to be leaky. Keep in mind that most junk food is full of energy-deficient and nutrient-depleted elements called oxidants, or free radicals. Because these substances lack electrons, they are highly reactive and attack the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane. The tight and open junctions between cells also give way, creating more holes in the membranes.
As unwanted substances and chemical toxins pass through, they now set up a chain reaction. The body hates these intruders just like you hate spam. The body strives to fight these free radicals as foreign bodies. Oftentimes there is no help from the sufferer who continues to eat junk and nutrient depleted food which causes more free radical damage. These allergens and carcinogens have already set the stage for the autoimmune reaction (allergens are foods that cause allergies and carcinogens are risk factors for causing cancer). At this time, the body’s defense mechanisms are also down giving rise to all sorts of degenerative diseases or even cancer depending on the end organ and nutritional deficiency involved. Leaky gut also triggers a premature aging process. The victim also suffers from chronic fatigue. (Food should give energy and not deplete your reserve).
Foods that cause leaky gut include fast sugars, trans and partially hydrogenated fats, wheat gluten, yeast, bacteria, viruses, canned nuts, dairy products, smoking, alcohol, corn syrup solids, food additives, and flavors. Acidic foods and free radicals make the whole scenario worse. All non-living foods, chemicals, processed foods, and all junk food depletes the body of existing enzymes, leaving it open to attack by all sorts of diseases. For example, a teaspoon of sugar shuts down your immune system for two hours. Also, if you eat in a hurry without chewing your food or meat very well, you are a candidate for leaky gut syndrome. Digestion is a process and it starts in your mouth along with your mood. Stress is a powerful contributing factor.
Here’s the good news: “Anything that can prevent disease can also help cure it,” said Dr. Bernard Jensen. These foods boost your immunity, attack free radicals, strengthen your intestinal walls, aid digestion and absorption, cleanse and detoxify you, give you energy, and add more years to your life and more life to your years. The list of healthy alternatives is many. But my favorite is a bunch of green superfoods: barley grass, wheat grass, chlorella, green kamut, wheat grass, alfalfa, and spirulina. Add avocado to your staple diet. Also a mixture of essential fatty acids (omeg-3, 6 and 9), multivitamin and mineral supplements, aloe vera-papaya, periodic fasting and colon cleansing. Avoid junk and processed food. Drink eight glasses of water a day. Our body is 70% water. Water supports metabolism and helps flush out toxins that cause disease and the ravages of premature aging. Don’t forget the recommendation of at least five servings of green leafy vegetables a day. Minimize acidic foods and eat more alkaline foods. Practice combining foods to ease your digestive enzymes. Do not eat for at least 3 hours before going to bed. (The body heals itself at night.) Otherwise, the body will use energy for regeneration and repair to digest food. This makes you feel tired when you wake up.
I must add that I drink lemon juice and green tea regularly. Just stop drinking coffee, it can make leaky gut worse. Lemon is great because all disease-causing bacteria hate anything bitter. They love sugar because they can multiply in nanoseconds. Both lemon juice and green tea aid digestion (they have vital enzymes) and boost your immunity and strengthen your enzyme reserves while cleansing your system. Both are powerful antioxidants that fight free radicals that cause lack of energy and aging. A lifestyle of regular exercise must be added.
Exercise is so important that it requires special emphasis. Lack of exercise causes some kind of intestinal paralysis. This gives undigested food more transit time to settle in the intestine and for toxins to seep into the blood and trigger degenerative changes, allergies, and a stagnant immune system. However, when you exercise, nature cooks your food twice, both in your stomach (more acid is mixed with your food) and in your intestines. This improves digestion and waste elimination. In general, many people notice a bowel movement during or shortly after exercise. Also, exercise draws air into the body, which is more efficient in fighting off disease-causing insects. Disease does not exist in the aerobic environment. All cells start to age when they don’t get enough oxygen. Many other benefits of exercise are beyond the scope of this article.
Simply put, if you do these basic things, including adding raw foods to your diet, you will improve the quality of your life and enjoy optimal health every day of your life. The key is to take responsibility for your own health. Be careful what goes into your mouth. Learn about how your body works. Listen to your body. Give him what he needs to serve you better. Your life is in your hands; not the doctor. Do not fool yourself. You don’t put water in your gas tank. You? Don’t think you are a machine. Even the machines break down. Before you blame God and your parents, first change your eating habits. There are healthy alternatives to the junk you see around you. Good health is a lifelong journey. The sooner it starts, the better. Good luck on your quest for optimal health!