Healing a Leaky Gut All disease begins in the gut Hippocrates

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2 Healing a Leaky Gut All disease begins in the gut Hippocrates Do You Have a Leaky Gut? Your gut is a barrier between the inside of your body and the outside world. As unintuitive as it may be, the food and other matter on the inside of your digestive tract is actually outside your body. But, the gut is a unique barrier. Its job is to allow important nutrients inside the body while keeping out everything else. This makes it a highly selective, semi-permeable barrier. The inner lining of your intestines acts as a physical barrier, closely controlling what is absorbed and allowed to pass through. Maintaining the integrity of this barrier is crucial. The inner lining of your gut wall is one cell thick. These single-celled warriors stand side by side, forming what is known as a tight junction. Nothing is able to pass in between these single cells, unless it is a vitamin, mineral, or a food particle that has been thoroughly digested and broken down into the smallest possible size. Your gut is sealed tight from foreign invaders, such as bacteria, toxins, and large undigested food particles. When these tight junctions begin to break down, it is known as intestinal permeability or leaky gut. In other words, the one-cell barrier of your gut becomes inflamed and develops holes that begin allowing for the passage of bacteria, toxins, and undigested food particles that normally are too large to pass. And worse, with the lining of your intestine inflamed, it is unable to perform the crucial job of absorbing nutrients. You have a double blow of not allowing the good to be absorbed while the bad barge on through. While the technical name for this is intestinal permeability, most of us now refer to it as leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut is a condition whereby toxic food particles, environmental chemicals, and bacteria leak through your digestive tract and enter your body. Leaky gut is most readily associated with the signs and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, such as constipation, bloating, diarrhea, indigestion, nausea, gas, cramping, or discomfort. Many have these symptoms initially, however, if not resolved, the chronic systemic inflammation it causes can have a far-reaching effect in other parts of the body. Some of the major symptoms include joint and muscle pain, headaches, mood swings, eczema, weight gain, and fatigue. Many of these symptoms occur together simultaneously. It s the perfect storm. How does this happen? Once food particles, bacteria, and toxins are allowed to pass through and into your bloodstream, your immune system launches an attack and begins the inflammatory process. If this occurred just once, it would be not big deal. But most of you have had a leaky gut for a long time, and this has perpetuated a chronic inflammatory environment for many years.

3 Do You Have a Leaky Gut? 7 Signs You Have a Leaky Gut 1. Digestive issues (bloating, gas, diarrhea, or irritable bowel syndrome) 2. Seasonal allergies or asthma 3. Autoimmune diseases, such as celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, or lupus 4. Chronic joint pain, muscle pain or fatigue 5. Mood issues, including depression, anxiety, ADD 6. Acne, rosacea, eczema 7. Food allergies and intolerances Leaky Gut and Your Pain When foreign invaders pass through a leaky gut and enter the bloodstream, they are known as an antigen, which is basically a foreign substance that induces an immune response in the body. In return, your immune system creates antibodies to attack and destroy the foreign invaders such as bacteria, viruses, or undigested food particles or proteins. The antibody will bind with the antigen in an attempt to render it harmless. This binding of antigen and antibody is called an immune complex. However, with a persistent leaky gut, there is an over production of immune complexes, which can act like antigens of their own and may cause chronic systemic inflammation. These immune complexes circulate around the body and are deposited in various tissues and organs. Now when I say organ, most people think of the heart, liver, or kidneys. However, most fail to recognize that the largest organ in your body is skeletal muscle! Many of these immune complexes are deposited in your joints, muscles, synovial membranes, and tendons throughout your musculoskeletal system. Once deposited in tissues, they cause yet another local inflammatory response. At times your immune system can even attack your body s own cells, tissues, and organs. The immune complexes can set off inflammation in any joint or muscle, which will cause pain, swelling, and stiffness, and you unknowingly believe the problem is localized to a specific joint or joints. Now you know the root cause of your inflammation actually stems from your gut! Leaky Gut and Autoimmune Disease Leaky gut is also a critical factor when it comes to the approximately 50 million Americans who suffer with an autoimmune disease. One in twelve Americans and one in nine women will develop an autoimmune disorder. And since it is clear that not every patient with an autoimmune disease is correctly diagnosed, the prevalence is certainly higher than that, with women suffering more than men. There are as many as 80+ different types of autoimmune diseases. Many of them have similar symptoms, which makes them extremely difficult to diagnose, and upwards of 15 percent have more than one autoimmune disease at the same time.

4 There are three factors that are needed for autoimmunity to develop: 1) A genetic predisposition 2) A trigger 3) Leaky gut. You need ALL three; just having one, such as a genetic predisposition, is not enough. Something must trigger a gene to express an autoimmune disease. A poor diet can be enough of a trigger to cause leaky gut and turn on a gene for autoimmunity, which leads to pain. Many with a leaky gut are on a continuum of autoimmunity, some with subtle symptoms and others more advanced with two diseases to battle. By healing your leaky gut, you will put out the fire that feeds your inflammation, calm your immune system, and decrease your pain. Contributors to a Leaky Gut In addition to the food you eat there are other things that contribute to leaky gut syndrome. To heal from a leaky gut it is important to look at other factors in your life and eliminate or limit them as much as possible. Review the list below and check off each one that may be of concern: Alcohol Corticosteroids Stress High sugar diet Food intolerance & allergies Overtraining/endurance exercise Infections Toxins Candida NSAIDs Small intestinal bacteria overgrowth (SIBO) Nutrient deficiencies Caffeine Yeast overgrowth Antibiotics Low fiber diet Sedentary lifestyle Intolerance to the 5 Foods (gluten, soy, dairy, corn, sugar, eggs)

5 Total Items Contributing to a Leaky Gut! Your goal is to decrease or eliminate as many of the above from your life. The less of the above are part of your life the faster your gut will heal. A healthy gut equals a healthy body! Symptoms of a Leaky Gut Most are familiar with the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome such as gas, bloating, and constipation. However the signs and symptom can extend far beyond the gut with symptoms in almost every part of the body and organ system. Use The Inflammation Index to rate each of the following symptoms based upon your typical health profile for the past 30 days. In addition to contributing to pain, inflammation can affect many body systems and organs. Use the scale below to rate yourself from 0 (no symptoms) to 3 (severe symptoms). Point Scale 0 Never have symptoms 1 Minimal symptoms 2 Moderate symptoms 3 Severe symptoms HEAD Headaches/migraines Dizziness Trouble sleeping Faintness NOSE Stuffy nose Sinus problems Hay fever Sneezing Mucus THROAT Chronic coughing Frequent need to clear throat Sore throat or hoarseness Discolored tongue, gums, lips SKIN Acne Rash/hives Hair loss Eczema Excessive sweating

6 HEART Irregular heartbeat Racing or pounding heartbeat Chest pain DIGESTION Nausea Diarrhea Constipation Bloating Gas Heartburn Stomach pain LUNGS Chest congestion Asthma, bronchitis Shortness of breath Difficulty breathing MUSCULOSKELETAL Pain in joints Stiffness or limitation of movement Pain in muscles Weakness/fatigue WEIGHT Excessive weight Binge eating Cravings Compulsive eating ENERGY Fatigue, sluggishness Lethargic Hyperactive Restless BRAIN Poor memory Confusion Brain fog Difficulty making decisions MOOD Mood swings Anxiety, fear, nervousness Anger, irritability Depression Grand Total

7 Add up your totals and notice the specific areas where you seem to have the most issues. After completing the Heal Your Pain, Heal Your Life Program, take the quiz again and see if your total score has decreased and/or if some of your problem areas have disappeared. Many who struggle with persistent pain often have higher symptoms in the categories of musculoskeletal, digestion, mood, and brain. Follow the program and eliminate the 5 Foods for 21 days to eliminate pain. Maintain your results by keeping the foods you react negatively out of your diet 90% of the time. For those with chronic pain and symptoms in multiple areas it is highly recommended that you follow the three steps outlined below 1. Add Healing Foods to Your Diet Coconut milk Avocado Organic extra virgin olive and coconut oil Cold water fish (salmon, cod, sardines, anchovies) Aloe juice Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries Spices (ginger, oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, turmeric) 2. Remove as many contributors to a leaky gut as possible. 3. Follow the Gut Healing protocol below. Gut Healing Protocol Gut Healing Smoothie 1 scoop Activ Healing Vanilla or Chocolate All-In-One Protein Powder 1 serving Active Healing Extra Fiber 1 Serving Leaky Gut Support 8 ounces Unsweetened Coconut Milk 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds Gut Healing Protocol Digestive Enzymes Daily Probiotic Gut Healing Smoothie 1-2 capsule with meals 1-2 capsules with meals 1 each morning

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