LIGHTEN UP DAY 28 - GUT HEALTH
I adore restaurants. I love the whole experience of choosing which foods to indulge myself, and relaxing at these places of fine-dining. I think it comes from childhood, when I played "restaurant" outside and pretended I was privileged to go to a restaurant. I made a lovely salad with wild greens of grass, dandelion leaves, weeds, or whatever was growing at the time. I seldom ate them.
I've traveled all over the world and when I think of a place, such as Naples, Italy - I think of pizza and peaches. Two main foods I enjoyed while living there. When I think of being in Paris, I think of light, delicious soups and appetizers, and when I think of Virginia Beach, I think of Hot Tuna, she-crab soup, and many other fantastic dining pleasures.
While in Alaska, I have fond memories of moose and halibut.
But through the transformation process of LIGHTEN UP 33, the dining out restaurant experience has been ruined. Perhaps, foods are more toxic than they have been in the past. It is difficult to eat out. Many friends are telling me they are having the same gut-problem-issues from restaurants. It seems that eating out now causes indigestion, heart-burn and the inability to sleep well, even when we make good choices. WHAT THE PHO?
As you heal and become healthier, digestion will more than likely change and the foods you ate in the past will not serve you well, now. That's the bad news. For some good news, check out this article on GUT HEALTH on how to heal this situation.
In the meantime - BE WELL. BE SAFE. BE HAPPY. LIGHTEN UP.
Love Lynne & Deb
Understanding Gut Health
http://www.medicalmedium.com/blog/understanding-gut-health
There is a great deal of misinformation on gut health today. The claims against leaky gut and candida are especially prevalent and misleading. It’s essential to understand the truth about commonly diagnosed gut conditions so that you and your loved ones can learn the right information to facilitate healing. Candida to SIBO In the 1980s, the conventional and alternative medical worlds were completely separated. The few practicing natural medicine doctors were severely undervalued. And at the same time, countless patients complaining of illness were being told by conventional doctors that they were lazy or insane and sent home with antiquated blood test results that appeared to be fine.
There is even a diagnosis on the medical books called, "Crazy Woman Syndrome." This label was given to women who complained about various aches and pains but could not be verified by so-called modern medicine methods of diagnosis.
During the 1980s, the number of practicing naturopaths exploded and around this time, the candida diagnosis was born. When the candida diagnosis first appeared, it was an incredible relief for many people who knew there was something wrong with them but hadn’t been given answers or support. The trend of killing one’s overgrowth of candida in the gut began. Unfortunately, Candida was not the correct diagnosis for those suffering. In actuality, many unknowingly suffered from a proliferation of bacteria in the gut stemming from streptococcus.
Today, many in the alternative medicine world have switched from blaming candida for people’s health struggles to blaming SIBO. Although science and research do not understand the cause of SIBO, it will someday learn that SIBO is caused by an overgrowth of antibiotic-resistant strep in the gut. Check out the radio show "Streptococcus Revealed" for more information about SIBO. Understanding Candida Without candida in the system, a person would die. Candida is constantly trying to save your life by absorbing any food or debris in your body that could feed streptococcus, E. coli, Epstein-Barr, shingles, or any other harmful virus, bacteria, or toxin.
When candida in the system is forced to gobble up too much of the offending food and debris while trying to protect you, an overgrowth of candida occurs. If you are diagnosed with candida, do not attempt to kill off the candida in your system. Instead, eliminate the foods feeding the bacteria that is triggering the inflammation.
Removing dairy, eggs, gluten, and grains from the diet will help starve the bacteria and reduce intestinal inflammation. Adding fruit to your diet, although some doctors may suggest otherwise, is another critical step. You can read my chapter on Candida in my frist book "Medical Medium." Leaky Gut
Be aware If you visit a gut health doctor, you might receive an incorrect leaky-gut diagnosis. Many who suffer from intestinal tract issues are told they have leaky-gut. Others, who don’t even have intestinal tract issues, but suffer from Epstein-Barr or shingles symptoms, are incorrectly diagnosed with leaky-gut as well. Even if you’ve been given a leaky gut diagnosis, it’s highly unlikely you have it. If you had leaky gut, you would be suffering from sepsis and an incredibly high fever. You would be in the hospital, possibly in a near-death condition. At some point, misinformation surrounding the leaky gut concept widely circulated and even today, books filled with completely inaccurate leaky gut information are being published. The truth is that leaky gut does not involve intestinal permeability as some doctors suggest.
If one endures constant heavy stress, eats a fat-laden diet or a diet high in processed sugar and fat, the overtaxed liver can become pre-fatty or fatty, bile production in the liver can minimize, and while this is happening hydrochloric acid can decrease.
When there is low hydrochloric acid in the stomach, food doesn’t digest properly and begins to rot in the intestinal tract. This rotting food produces ammonia, which is an agent that can move through any part of the body like a ghost through walls. Ammonia moves through even the most pristine intestinal lining and can leak out of the skin.
When ammonia spreads through the entire body, the name I’ve given this is ammonia permeability. Although it starts in the gut, ammonia permeability has nothing to do with candida or leaky-gut, but can result in fatigue, skin problems, restless sleep, anxiety and more.
In addition to producing ammonia, the rotting food in the gut is also a perfect source of fuel for streptococcus, C. Diff., E. coli, and MRSA. By rebuilding hydrochloric acid levels, you can strengthen your digestive system and eliminate the issues caused by poorly digested food. Hydrochloric Acid and Digestive Issues Although there are many theories as to what occurs, no one knows what happens to food once it enters the stomach. Yes, absorption, digestion, and assimilation take place, but there is much more at work, and it will take another thousand years before medical science and research understand much more of this God-given miraculous process. Unknown to research and science, we are all born with furry, microscopic hair on the inside of our intestinal tracts. These hairs help harbor elevated biotics and other beneficial bacteria. The throng of good bacteria blocks harmful bacteria from getting into the lining and triggering diverticulitis or other painful conditions.
Hundreds of years ago, these hairs were plentiful, but today, frequent antibiotic use and poor diet choices quickly wipe off the hairy lining, and the bare intestinal tract and colon become highly susceptible to callous growth and bacteria. You might respond by using more antibiotics, but they only exacerbate gut health conditions. The loss of this sensitive internal terrain is the beginning of digestive distress. Another primary reason for digestive troubles involves hydrochloric acid. Medical research and science do not know that hydrochloric acid is not one acid, as taught today, but rather a blend of seven acids. Acid reflux occurs when the seven blends of beneficial acid diminish and bad acids produced by bacteria and viruses take over.
Gastritis is another condition that arises with the overgrowth of bacteria. A high amount of gas in the system is not due to a fungus, yeast, or candida as some may think, but due to the bacteria that is overgrowing in the digestive system. Certain viruses, like the shingles virus, make the nerves in the body extremely sensitive. If you are suffering from viral issues related to shingles or Epstein-Barr or suffer from a heavy load of toxic metals, the nerves in your incredibly sensitive system might feel food rub the lining of the intestinal tract and colon as peristalsis takes place.