Last week, I wrote about the signs that you might have food sensitivities. If you suspect that you do, your next question might be "Why?" One of the main causes of food sensitivity may be something commonly called "leaky gut." There has been debate during the past twenty or so years between medical doctors and natural health practitioners over the legitimacy of the term, but the scientific research is catching up quickly. What is a leaky gut?The scientific term for leaky gut is impaired intestinal barrier permeability or intestinal hyper permeability. I'll call it leaky gut throughout this article, though, since it's the term you're more likely to hear. Leaky gut is a dysfunction in the permeability of the gut lining. This can be either a breakdown in the lining of the gut or the function of the lining. This allows large molecules, toxins, pathogens, or even otherwise good bacteria to pass through the intestinal wall, where they aren’t supposed to be. While there is some argument about whether macromolecules can pass through the gut lining to enter the bloodstream, it is becoming increasingly accepted that toxins or food particles are entering the mucosal lining of gut, which leads to inflammation.
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Be sure to grab your free Food Sensitivity Detective Journal:Fill out the symptom questionnaire before you get started, then eliminate your most likely culprits, fill out the post elimination diet questionnaire, then record the results of the reintroduction phase. Since the beginning of the year, I've been writing about the connections between chronic inflammation, gut health, and chronic diseases and conditions. As the body of research grows rapidly, more and more connections are between the three are being discovered.
And, if you've been reading for awhile, you know that my own and my son's dramatic results from changing diet are convincing (especially to me).
Also, because I don't believe in being too rigid, it's quite possible to go off track. Have you experienced that?
So, while I had been limiting the amount of gluten containing foods I ate for awhile, I decided after this past Christmas to eliminate them completely. Within a few weeks, I was noticing a significant reduction in joint pain, especially in my knees.
I've kept to it pretty well. I noticed such a big difference that it became much easier to simply say "I don't eat gluten," even when I'm staring at the yummy fresh bread on my table at my favorite Italian restaurant. Did I tell you they make the best herb infused olive oil to dip it in?
Then I threw a party for my husband's birthday a few weeks ago. I decided that I would be fine if I ate a small piece of his chocolate birthday cake.
This week, I am presenting several stories, or case studies of how food can impact the behavior of children.
The reason I'm talking about children is first because that's how I came to focus on the impact of food choices and second because the gut-brain connection is more obvious in children because they are less capable of filtering their what they're feeling.
I begin with my story, but be sure to scroll down to my interview with Matt Wright. It's interesting to here his story of how his childhood behavior issues were solved by food changes from his perspective as an adult.
A little bit about the gut-brain connection.
I'll go deeper into the gut-brain connection in a future blog post, but I want to provide some background for the stories I'm telling now.
The gut is being considered the second brain. It has more neurons than the brain and the spinal cord put together. Neurons communicate and transmit information throughout the body. It was thought that the brain controlled the action of the neurons in the body, but now we know that they are controlled in the gut as well. Fermented foods and beverages are another way to increase the probiotics in our gut, therefore increasing our gut and overall health. They are a great addition to taking probiotics. Before I began immersing myself in the study of gut health, after my son was sick five years ago, I instinctively was having him take probiotics after his month long, heavy duty course of antibiotics. I tell the longer story in other places, but the short version is that my son began having severe behavioral issues after he came off the antibiotics that healed is Osteomyelitis (a staphylococcus bone infection), just as he was beginning first grade. When nothing I was trying made a signicant difference, I put him on a type of elimination diet I had come across. I also began feeding him sauerkraut, which he loved and began making homemade kombucha in addition to the homemade yogurt I had always made, which he also liked. I'm sure that those foods and drinks contributed to the healing his digestive system and the "return" of my son. What Exactly are Fermented Foods?Prebiotics make it all possible by feeding the good bacteria in your gut.The last few weeks, I've been writing about the benefits of probiotics. And because they do so much for our health, we can't forget to feed them to receive maximum benefit. That's where prebiotics come in! Prebiotics are defined as anything that feeds the beneficial bacteria in your gut, or stimulates the growth of probiotic bacteria in a way that improves health. Prebiotics are soluble fibers that your body can't digest, so they pass through your stomach and small intestine to your large intestine, or colon where they are available for the good bacteria. Yes, the large intestine is one and the same as the colon! In the colon, the prebiotics are fermented by the beneficial bacteria. In this way, they produce the byproducts your body needs, such as short-chain fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. Benefits of PrebioticsBy definition, prebiotics exclusively benefit the good guys.
Last week, I wrote about the most commonly available probiotics and some of their benefits. This week, I'll debunk some common probiotic myths and share what you might expect when you begin taking a probiotic. As I also mentioned last week, you may benefit from taking a probiotic if you've taken antibiotics in recent years, you eat processed foods (or have in the past), or you live or grew up in an urban area. Even if you're generally healthy, you may benefit from taking a probiotic. Because of our Western lifestyles and diet, most people have a compromised microbiome. Also, please keep in mind, if you have SIBO (small intestine bacteria overgrowth), you may not benefit from taking a probiotic. You would want to remove the overgrowth before taking a probiotic. If you are immune compromised, you will also want to avoid taking a probiotic. Even good bacteria could overload the body. Probiotics are a preventative, not a treatment for any condition. Please see your medical provider to see what's best for you. Common Probiotic MythsThe word "probiotic" is thrown around everywhere. What are they, really?The literal definition of probiotic is pro-life. In terms of how probiotics are applicable to us, they are living organisms that are beneficial to health when administered in appropriate doses. Probiotics are the same bacteria as the beneficial bacteria in our gut. Because of exposure to antibiotics, anti-bacterial soaps, and poor diet, most of us have fewer beneficial bacteria in our guts than we need. So how are the different probiotics, or gut bacteria beneficial?There are four major types of probiotics widely available: Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, soil based bacteria, and spore forming bacteria. Of the four types, there are many different strains that are beneficial depending on your individual gut microbiome.
This part's exciting...at least to me. I guess I'm a bit of a nerd.Simple lifestyle changes go a long way in reducing chronic, low-level inflammation. As I wrote about a few weeks ago, here, chronic, low-level inflammation plays a part in many disorders, such as, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, dementia, Alzheimer's, arthritis and more. When chronic, low-level inflammation shows itself as an auto-immune disease, your body is unable to turn the immune system off. That's basically what's happening before we ever get to a disease state. The three most common symptoms of chronic, low-level inflammation, are brain-related, joint-related, and digestive system-related. Read more here! The first two almost always lead back to the digestive system, or gut, even if you don't have any digestive system symptoms. The three main causes of chronic, low level inflammation are stress, damage to the digestive system, and toxic overload from environment factors. Read more here. As I wrote in last weeks post, stress and toxic overload, also cause damage to the gut. In fact, researchers are now linking 90% of chronic diseases to an unhealthy gut. Think about it, when you're feeling stressed, worried, or anxious, where do you feel it? If you're like me, it's right in the pit of your stomach. How can you fix it?It's easier than you think, for the most part!
Have you recognized some of the symptoms of chronic, low-grade inflammation in yourself? If you haven't read my last two articles on inflammation, click here for a description of chronic inflammation and click here for my article on the symptoms of chronic inflammation. So, what causes chronic, low-level inflammation?I don't usually eat gluten containing foods much. But this year I hosted Thanksgiving, and I love good old fashioned bread stuffing. My favorite Thanksgiving memories are the smells of onion and celery being sautéed in butter first thing in the morning. So since I love bread stuffing so much, I made a double batch because I DID NOT WANT TO RUN OUT! I didn't run out, in fact I had enough for leftovers for at least one dinner and probably a lunch, too. By Sunday, I woke up with a horrible headache. The kind of headache that doesn't go away with a cup of coffee and doesn't go away by sleeping it off, either. I knew that it was the gluten, so I swore it off. Again! I was pretty successful until the Christmas holiday rolled around. It's just too easy to arrive at a holiday party starved and make bad food choices. So between eating those yummy crackers and cheese, and staying up later than I like, I ended up with the two day headache again the day after Christmas. Doesn't everyone get headaches? |
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Women's Wellness Circle: Create Your Extraordinary Life AuthorHi, I’m Crystal! If you'd like to access my Farmer's Market Friday posts from 2018, click here!
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