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Are you More Interested in Knowing the ROOT CAUSE of your Irritable Bowel Syndrome rather than just trying to keep the symptoms at bay?
If so……you are not alone!
Can you believe just how many people in America currently have Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
45 MILLION with IBS!!!
These numbers are staggering!
IBS is the fastest growing affliction next to heart disease and cancer. Western Doctors have very little to offer for those with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
More and more people are searching for a better solution. No one wants to live with gut wrenching symptoms such as gas, bloating, pain, constipation or diarrhea.
As cliché as it is- healthy gut healthy you.
Here’s some very important information that you definitely want to have on the journey in saying goodbye leaky gut:
We have more bacteria than human cells!
70-100 trillion bacteria line our digestive system, responsible for many physiological functions:
• Immunity – 70% of our immune system is in our gut. This is important for so many reasons, particularly in fighting off infection.
• Neurotransmitter Production – every single category of neurotransmitters are found in our gut, including 80-90% of serotonin. (Yes, your anxiety or depression is linked to your digestive issues- see “happy” return from repairing the issues).
• Energy – microbes get energy from food as it is being digested.
• Metabolic Regulation – our microbiomes play a role in everything from appetite, fat storage, sleep cycles, hormone regulation, even sex drive.
• Production of key vitamins and cofactors.
The #1 reason you are experiencing unwanted, gut wrenching digestive symptoms is because of dysbiosis- no matter what the symptom.
Dysbiosis is a fancy word for a microbial imbalance resulting in an impaired micro-biome. Think of your micro-biome as your personal eco-system.
This microbial imbalance is often caused by a bacterial overgrowth, but not always; other things such as yeast, candida, parasites, worms, and fungi can be the culprit. It’s never one thing……
Once the 80/20 ratio (good guys to bad guys) is tipped, therein lies a perfect invitation for the whole range of other unwanted pathogens to come set up shop. The problem is that some of these bad guys are sometimes seriously bad!
Genius Microbe’s
We are talking about pathogen’s that are wicked smart, harder than heck to kill, hide inside other cells so that you can’t get to them, create what’s called biofilms around them as a community to protect themselves (think goo/slime like fortress) and actually have the ability to temporarily mimic themselves as other entities (cells) so that the immune system cannot discover them!
And, have the ability to mutate into completely different things once we begin taking a drug or a supplement that begins killing them to become resistant.
Wow!! It’s no wonder we remain sick.
It can be a long, arduous journey. But often long treks bring the most breath-taking scenery. Let’s rid gut wrenching symptoms- healthy gut healthy you.
You can conquer this.
Let’s break it down Functional Medicine style with a black and white platform to work with so that it doesn’t feel so overwhelming:
It’s all about the four R’s- 4 steps to healing leaky gut.
#1 – The Most Important Step: REMOVE
We need to remove all the irritants that are creating dysbiosis in the first place.
To begin with this means dietary changes. Yes, you temporarily need to remove sugar, dairy, soy, carbohydrates, wheat, gluten, caffeine, etc. You must stop feeding the very army that you’re trying to defeat.
Simultaneously, we need to remove the enemies with natural antibiotics and anti-fungals. Wild Oil of Oregano, Colloidal Silver, and herbal blends of anti-microbials such as GI Microbe X are my top picks.
While you’re going through the process of killing these nasty creatures, you might experience some “die-off” and not feel so great. This is temporary and absolutely necessary. It really varies from person to person and there are many variables at play:
How well is your methylation cycle is functioning (to transform toxins)?
How effectively is your liver doing its job?
How severe is your dysbiosis?
You can set the pace, to some degree, with this step.
I find that most detox responses can be greatly diminished by incorporating a binder into their regime; things such as charcoal and clay work great for sweeping up all the dead matter, carrying it out of the intestines and preventing recirculation of toxins.
This is an important piece that I find most practitioners don't implement.
However, if you don’t make the dietary changes and stop feeding the monsters, you’re wasting your time (and money). Remember- healthy gut healthy you.
Let’s ‘Remove’ everything standing in the way of your vibrancy!
#2 – The Next Most Important Step: REPLACE
As we remove so much of the unwanted habits and culprits that are leading to poor digestion, we naturally must replace with the good. We must incorporate healthy foods that are going to support the removal process.
Incorporating replenishing supplements are crucial to this step as well. Most individuals with gut issues are dealing with a micronutrient deficiency.
This comes about for several reasons- our soil is so depleted that our food sources no longer carry the abundant amount of nutrients they once did, and the lining of our colons are damaged to the point that nutrients are not being absorbed.
Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals, as opposed to macronutrients like carbohydrates, proteins and fats (which we usually consume more than enough of).
We cannot heal in the absence of essential micro-nutrients that do miraculous things such as producing enzymes and regulating hormones. We can Replace our micronutrients with certain supplements and dietary changes like nano-particle minerals that have way superior absorption over all those powders.
Once we begin the process of removing the unwanted pathogens our bodies slowly begin to win the war. Change your gut change you.
The mucosal lining of our colons begin to heal, we absorb significantly more nutrients than we once did and energy returns. Gut wrenching symptoms begin to vanish.
It all starts to fall in place because the body WANTS to heal. Goodbye leaky gut.
Let’s ‘Replace’ with all the goodness that will lead to vitality!
R #3 - REINOCULATE
To win this war, it is essential that we incorporate an effective probiotic. When we are ill, the ideal 80:20 (good to bad) ratio is no more. Many things can affect our “eubiosis,”-our state of balance within the microbial population in the GI tract.
Things like infection, stress, age, lifestyle, medications (especially antibiotics and steroids), and diet greatly impact our microbiomes.
Replenishing our healthy flora can do wonders. Change your gut change you.
We especially need to repopulate the gut during the Removal phase because as we are taking natural antibiotics, we do indeed wipe out some degree of the good population as well. This is why it is important to take Removal supplements 2 hours away from our probiotics.
The oh-so sad topic of probiotics.
Let me tell you the tragic truth about the probiotic industry: It is largely unregulated.
The probiotic industry is a current fad. It brought in 87 BILLION dollars globally last year (2023).
Don’t get caught up in it. Educate yourself.
This means that the majority of companies out there selling probiotics are charging ridiculous prices for a product that arrives “dead” on the shelf (or mostly dead).
This is a huge subject and one that goes beyond this summary, however, please note that there are only a handful of legit companies producing a quality product.
If probiotics are not made in a very specific fashion, then they simply cannot stay alive. And to keep them alive, they absolutely need refrigeration (seriously-never ever buy a non-refrigerated probiotic, it is dead dead dead).
Even if it’s the best probiotic on the planet, over 75% of ‘traditional’ probiotics die in the acidity of our stomachs. This makes it impossible for them to colonize in our digestive tracts.
Taking a practically dead batch of organisms that meets its second death in your stomach will not do anything for your gut flora, it will merely drain your wallet.
Soil based organisms are the future of probiotics.
These organisms (also known as spores) do not require refrigeration and completely survive the acidity of the stomach. They literally come from soil/dirt. Spores are no joke.
These strains are changing lives (they changed my life). For an in depth look at how spores operate check out my blog here. Spores are offered as prescription by doctors in Germany- they are way ahead of us.
Once upon a time, as humans we had our hands in the dirt- we were outside in nature, we grew food with our own two hands. We picked up these organisms through the dirt and they kept our microbiome flourishing and our immune systems strong.
We are so far removed from such practices it is no wonder our guts are deficient and our immune systems failing.
Spores are revolutionary in the science of healing the microbiome
MegaSporeBiotic is a spore based product that has the capability of actually colonizing and creating natural antibiotics in the gut to really turn things around.
I have never seen desired results both personally and professionally in prescribing ‘regular’ oral probiotics. Eventually your ecosystem will rebuild itself from the inside out and maintain organisms’ that should be there naturally. Goodbye leaky gut! Healthy gut healthy you.
But for now- time to 'Reinoculate!'
#4 – The Final (but Crucial Step): REPAIR
With a compromised digestive system with gut wrenching symptoms there is much Repair to be done after decreasing the level of pathogens. The mucosal lining of the colon has lost its integrity. Inflammation has caused what are called the tight junctions to “loosen.” When these tight junctions are faulty, undigested food particles seep through the lining and end up in the blood stream.
Not good. Healthy gut healthy you- sick gut, sick you.
The immune system picks up on these particles as invaders, hence triggering more of an auto-immune response. We need to repair the mucosal cells, restore the tight junctions and say goodbye leaky gut.
I have found collagen to be the #1 thing to support a damaged intestinal lining. It contains high amounts of proline and glycine, key amino acids specific to repairing the GI cells and also boosts gastric juices.
It will tone and tighten……and not just your gut. When I began ingesting 2-3 tablespoons of high quality collagen a day people kept commenting on my skin. I was suddenly glowing!
Collagen is the most organic way to repair the mucosal lining, without risk. Change your gut change you!
Functional Medicine’s 4 Steps offer healing no matter what your diagnosis.
With Irritable Bowel Syndrome we must begin taking our health into our own hands! Goodbye Leaky gut!
How much do genetics matter?
Yes they play a part. However, only to a degree. Epigenetics could quite possibly be the most fascinating field of science today- the EXPRESSION of one’s genes.
Genes can be turned on or off; diet and lifestyle play a huge part in threatening genes being turned off. We can even influence the expression of our genes through meditation and affirmation. It can be done. Change your gut change you.
Science has come too far to look back and remain stagnant in an antiquated system.
Being your own detective gives you the power to treat your condition in the most effective way possible to get the results you’re seeking.
I believe in your power to heal.
It took me a long time to truly cultivate my own power to heal. I don’t want it to take so long for you. Take advantage of all this information. It didn’t exist 20 years ago when I was really suffering from horrible, gut wrenching symptoms. Even in the past ten years science has made enormous progress in understanding the microbiome. I wonder what the next ten years will bring us! Remember, healthy gut healthy you.
Become a digestive warrior……and thrive.
Karen Mullins DOM
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