(Dr. Axe Leaky Gut)
In this post, I am talking about digestion. It's not something we think about on a daily basis unless we have an issue. We eat, we get full, we get hungry and we repeat until something feels wrong. Our digestive system has many functions, under optimal health those are:
*Ingestion (Eating our Food)
*Secretion (Gastric Juices)
*Mixing (Churning in the Stomach, etc)
*Digestion (Breakdown)
*Absorption (Nutrients!)
*Defecation (Pretty, I know!)
EVERY organ depends on our digestive system to work properly for the rest of the body to work properly. The most common complaint about our digestion is "heartburn" or an "upset" stomach. We don't give much thought to when we pop a pill to "remedy" these issues. We all are under the impression that bloating, gassiness, belching are all a normal part of what happens after a meal. Shocked if I told you that those reactions are the bodies way of telling you there is something wrong?! Tis true my friends! There are many signs we are out of balance, bloating from being stressed while we eat and gulping our food down. This is just another good reason to sit down away from distractions (yes, that includes, television, cell phones, computers) and chew your food slowly. Not just 5 bites and swallow. I mean chewing until there is nothing to chew anymore. Imbalance of your gut microbiota, gluten, irritating food additives, GMO's, and just plain eating too much. Let's not forget about low stomach acid either. Here is a post from Dr. Sara Ballantyne, aka The Paleo Mom entitled The Stomach Acid Connect. In this article, she explains why low stomach acid is a problem, even if you are following a clean diet.
Let's back up for a minute. Let's review how digestion begins. Would you think I was crazy telling you it begins in our brains?! Some are saying yes it's crazy, it's OK! Digestion starts when we see and smell food. Our brain registers these senses and you notice you start to salivate. We take a bite of food and thus begins the chemical breakdown of our food. The breakdown of carbohydrates begins in the mouth with the enzyme, salivary amylase. Once swallowed the stomach breaks down food even further with HCL (Hydrochloric acid) and pepsinogen. Let's stop here for a second. You have eaten some food and get heartburn. Too much stomach acid you say, that's what everyone says. I need a Tums! On the contrary! You need more acid. Very few people have too much (90% have too little -Hypochlorhydria) and I have never run into a gastroenterologist that will test the levels of HCL in the stomach.
OK, let's get back to it. Our stomach is designed for acid, around 0.8 pH (normal is between 1.5 and 3.0). The role of acid is to do the following:
*Disinfects
*Kills Bacteria and Parasites
*Activates Pepsin, to digest proteins
*Stimulates gastrin
Can I point out something here? KILLS BACTERIA AND PARASITES. Now, if a majority of people have low stomach acid (90%), doesn't that mean we are letting bacteria and parasites enter our body. Scary stuff here! Let's continue moving south and the small intestine and those fabulous accessory organs; the liver and the gallbladder. As our now digested food (chyme) enters the small intestine (through the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum), mucus is secreted to coat the chyme since that content is pretty acidic still at 1.5 to 3.0 pH. Two hormones are secreted as well, Secretin and CCK (Cholecystokinin). The secretin stimulates the pancreas to release bicarbonate (raise the pH) and pancreatic juices (complete breakdown of proteins, carbs, and fats), while the CCK stimulates the gallbladder and releases bile (break down fats). Whatever is left is now passed down to the large intestine. There are a few things that are supposed to happen here under perfect conditions:
*Recycle water
*Recycle waste
*Grab any leftover nutrients
*Removes waste
Perfect conditions with the elimination of wastes. Hey, everybody poops so there is no need to be shy here!
The BIG issue now is the dysfunction that happens. I can't say I have yet to meet someone with perfect digestion. Does it even exist?! I wonder now as I write this. Just as proper digestion begins in the north (brain) dysfunction also begins there as well. It starts with that fact that we are chronically stressed and always in a hurry! Stress comes in so many forms! We think we have it under control, but take a look at that picture below, looks familiar, doesn't it? We eat food in a rushed, stressed out state, we barely even chew. Our brain has zero opportunity to respond to what we are doing. How can our body process this hardly digested food? We have little to no breakdown of carbs (saliva in our mouths), we have undigested particles entering our colon which begins to create a dysbiosis down the digestion tract and feeds candida (under perfect conditions candida is ok). Our stressed-out state affects our acid production in our stomach. Factors that inhibit production:
*Stress
*Excess carb consumption
*Nutrient deficiencies
*Allergies
*Excess alcohol consumption
So, back to that bold state above. Our defenses against bacteria and pathogens are severely compromised. How about GERD (reflux). Here is a recent article from Nutrition Review on Gastric Balance: Heartburn Not Always Caused by Excess Acid. Symptoms and complications are many as a result. Treatment can begin with natural remedies, but few know about. The undigested foods come back into our esophagus and cause that burning sensation, our esophagus is not designed to withstand the acid in our stomachs. This is the point we reach for the Tums or another similar antacid blocker. This is the beginning of our carbs fermenting and, proteins rancifying along with fats. Why are we under the guise that these are miracle work? Because that is what the commercials told us!
These acid blockers neutralize the acid in the stomach so when the reflux happens there is no "burn" because the acid is neutralized. However, this is not a good solution. Why? The now partially digested food in your stomach is too alkaline and the pyloric sphincter doesn't want this food to pass. So it sits in the stomach and rots and bacterial infections begin, the pancreas doesn't get to do its job to neutralize the acid since no acid exists. The gallbladder begins it's dysfunction too because there is too little acid. This can also happen when diets are low in fat too (keep that in mind). The bile is not released and becomes viscous and then is unable to be released. Rancid food continues through the digestive system and impacts the villi of the small intestines. This is where leaky gut happens. Undigested proteins and fats pass through the gut and overwhelm the immune system. Even food that is good for us can impact us negatively if we have a leaky gut. To read other's viewpoint on leaky gut, check out Diane Sanfilippo's post from 2010 - Is Your Gut Leaky? Then head on over to Sarah Ballantyne - aka The Paleo Mom and check out her post - What Is A Leaky Gut? The most in-depth article is on Robb Wolf's site with a guest post written by Carolyn Dolan titled - Could Leaky Gut be the Hidden Cause of Your Health Problems? In the large intestine, these undigested food particles disrupt the healthy flora that is living there. Can we say candida overgrowth?! This leaves the colon to inflammation, diverticulitis and other serious conditions, such as (so much more than this!):
*Irritable Bowel Syndrome
*Crohn's Disease
*Colitis
*Celiac Disease
With all this new knowledge you may be asking how do you heal a leaky gut or how do you avoid getting leaky gut in the first place? The Weston A. Price Foundation has a great write up on How To Restore Digestive Health. The write up is from 2004 and the economic stats for treating leaky gut are astounding and I'm sure by now those numbers have at least double, maybe more.
How have I treated my leaky gut and consequential autoimmune condition - Hashimoto's? It's a continual work in progress. The first thing is to remove grains, gluten, industrial oils (vegetable, soy, corn etc.) and dairy from the diet. Gluten-free grains could be added in later depending on the condition. You can certainly heal, but you can't just go hog wild either once you do and eat things you once did. You have to maintain it. Testing for food allergies is a great place to start, BUT you won't always test positive for everything (Test don't guess). I know it sounds odd, but it's true. I find I can only eat nuts and peanuts a couple times a week otherwise my face breaks out. But I don't test positive on an allergy test. I also have issues with dairy, eggs, bananas and fermented foods. But, your face breaking out has nothing to do with your digestion! Think again. Your skin is the largest organ and if there is an issue that could be one of the first places it shows up. It can also show up as belching, bloating, etc..... see the big picture now? There are supplements that can be added to help things along, but it's not a one size fits all, everyone is going to be different.
You can contact me by DM to go into some more details because everyone is completely different in their healing process like I have mentioned. I wish I could tell you that it's a simple fix, but it does require dedication and work. I have had many people contact me on how to restore their health and I hope you do too. This is just a small dive into the digestive system and I could go on. Let me know your thoughts and if this information has helped and how I can assist you in your journey to health.
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment