Your Gut Needs Loving Care, And So Do You!

“A well-functioning gut with healthy gut flora holds the roots of our health. And, just as a tree with sick roots is not going to thrive, the rest of the body cannot thrive without a well-functioning digestive system.” Natasha  Campbell-McBride.[i]

Food is body fuel, yes, but it is not a source of energy you can reduce to a calorie count. It’s not about quantity, but most importantly about quality.  if you give your body the wrong kind of energy – comparatively, if you used regular gasoline for a car that runs on diesel – it will eventually start misfunctioning and undergo quite a bit of damage. The “calory in, calory out” concept is an insulting oversimplification of the stunning and mind-blowing intricacies of your body’s inner works. 

To explain the importance of food quality in the middle and long run, let’s focus on level of the gut (small intestine) and colon (large intestine): This is where the nutrients present in the foods we eat are absorbed by our body. After that, they are dispatched wherever our body needs them.

After foods are chewed thoroughly and broken down in the stomach, nutrients are absorbed by the gut and more nutrients are synthesized in the large intestine. A body fed nutritious diet and which digestive tract is capable of absorbing and synthesizing nutrients will have a strong immune protection.  Nutrition is the foundation of our immune system, what protects our body from outside aggression and diseases.

Digestion and nutrient absorption are assisted by the bacteria present in our digestive tract, which in turn, ensures the protection of our body. A good balance in the bacterial population of our gut, the gut flora, is at the foundation of a balanced digestive system and a strong immunity.

Here is our dilemma: consumption of foods that aggress our digestive system combined with exposure to many environmental toxins can in the long run make the surface of our intestines – the very location of precious nutrient absorption – run thin and eventually leak. A leaky gut makes for a leaky immunity, a weakened immune system. This phenomenon of leaky gut wall is also called “leaky gut” or “increased intestinal permeability”.

 

 From there on, several things can happen, among which:

 

–   Abnormal gut flora can lead to autoimmunity[i]

 

Autoimmunity is an immune reaction produced against substances naturally present in the body due to infectious triggers. It is collateral damage caused by prolonged inflammation in the body.

As we explained above, “A person with abnormal gut flora has a constant flow of toxins, undigested foods and microbes coming into the body from the gut”, which can lead to autoimmunity. [ii]As a result, sometimes the gut no longer can do its job of distinguishing nutrients from aggressors. Usually, the body sends bacteria to break down and assimilate nutrients, and filter toxic molecules out. If the gut becomes porous, bigger toxic molecules or foods that haven’t sufficiently been broken down will pass through the wall of the gut into the blood. These are perceived by the immune system as aggressors and sends immune cells to fight them.

The more often molecules go through that are perceived as aggressors, the more the chemical barrier against aggression, i.e. inflammation, increases, and can become chronic.  Eventually it becomes so permanent, the body starts believing that what protein produced by our bodies are, in fact, aggressors, and send immune cells to fight it. In short, the body defends itself against itself; this is autoimmunity.   In short, prolonged inflammation or chronic inflammation can lead to disease as well as worsen autoimmune conditions.

 

– Absorption of nutrients is compromised

If my gut is leaky, the range of nutrients my body absorbs will not be optimal: Instead of assimilating the nutrients, bacteria follow the foods that haven’t broken down to defend the body against them. As a consequence, less bacteria can be mobilized for the job of absorbing nutrients into the blood to where they are needed in my body. Of course, some nutrients will be absorbed, but some might not be, and my body may not get enough of the nutrients it needs, despite best efforts to feed well. I absorb some, but not all. That may lead to nutrient depletion, chronic fatigue. In the long term, anxiety and depression and symptoms of nutrient deficiencies.[iii]

 

How do I know I may have a compromised gut?

 

It is fair to say that between poor soil, pesticides, and all environmental aggressors (medicines, pesticides, chemicals, etc.), many of us may have some degree of leaky gut. However, 1) we can prevent it from getting worse 2) we can repair the gut.

Symptoms of leaky gut, ranging from temperate to severe, include:

• Allergies or asthma

• Autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

• Bloating, diarrhea, and other GI symptoms

• Brain fog and headaches

• Hormonal imbalances, such as insulin resistance and disrupted estrogen

• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

• Joint pain

• Mood and cognitive issues, such as attention deficit disorder (ADD)

• Psoriasis and eczema

• Skin rash

• Thyroid issues

• Type 1 or type 2 diabetes

• Vitamin and mineral deficiencies

So, what can you do to AVOID such a problem, or REPAIR it? 

 

Let’s say your gut isn’t yet leaky, or not in too bad a shape.

In my mind, there are 5 principles to follow.

 

Even if your digestive system has been attacked and inflamed for a long time, it’s never too late to take good care of it. It does not have to be sudden, you can take it step by step!

 

1)    Work step by step to INCREASE your portions of healthy foods – i.e. whole foods, foods with no tags or packaging are ideal! From there you will naturally decrease the intake of processed and highly inflammatory foods.

 

2)    DECREASE the amount of unhealthy foods you eat, especially processed foods. These foods are aggressors, as they contain preservatives, additives, processed oils, chemicals that create INFLAMMATION in your body, which in the long term can put your body in a situation to constantly defend itself. Isn’t it exhausting? One noticeable advantage of making your own food is you know what’s in it. It makes it easier to pinpoint what your body is reacting to.

 

3)    Prefer a diet that is 70-80% plant based. You don’t have to go vegan! You don’t have to say goodbye to meat & fish if your body thrives on it! But make sure you have plenty of plant sources with it! These really play a vital role in the health of our digestive system: they had much of the fibers your healthy bacteria rely on to keep your GI tract in balance. What’s more, they are PACKED with nutrients that your body readily absorbs.

 

4)    Focus on NUTRITIOUS foods. The best way to keep them the most nutritious is to prepare them so as to preserve their natural i.e. organic qualities, the ones they have as they come out the ground / the tree:

a.     Color

b.     Odor

c.     Flavor

d.     Texture

These are good indicators that the food you are eating is nutritious! [iv]

 

 The more these qualities are preserved, the stronger their nutritional impact on your body. The more we process food, the more we tend to destroy their nutritious qualities.[v] The less we cook and prepare the foods, the more their taste and consistency stays intact, the less we will need to rely on unhealthy additives, dressings, sauces to compensate for lack of taste.  A little bit of olive oil and salt, and many a meal can taste quite wonderful!

 

5)    Make healthy nutrition a PRIORITY in your life. Keep in mind: It is MORE important than working out! YOU CAN’T WORK YOURSELF OUT OF AN UNHEALTHY DIET. But with movement and a healthy diet, you can lead a healthy life.

 

This is not a prescription for a physically inactive life, but fact is, nutrition is the main part of what keeps your body and metabolism health and in balance.

 

This why the energy you put into your human tank is so important !  That said, if your gut is leaky and you feel like you are experiencing some of the symptoms of leaky gut that may, in the long run, lead to autoimmunity, no fear! Your body has an AMAZING ability to heal,[vi] so you can REPAIR your gut and restore your health. Functional medicine has developed many tests to find out how you are doing, and has learned about the nutrients and supplements that can assist your body towards self-healing. An integrative nutrition coach specialized in gut health can educate you about them, and a functional medicine practitioner can provide care in a targeted manner and on a case by case basis.[vii]

 

These are the main guidelines. Of course, applying these in our daily routine isn’t necessarily as straightforward, depending on your own health situation. But remembering them can change quite a lot in your life!  And health coaches can help educate you and guide you towards your goal, in conjunction with your physician.

 

Bernadette Joyeux  

 

[i] Kinashi Y, Hase K. Partners in Leaky Gut Syndrome: Intestinal Dysbiosis and Autoimmunity. Front Immunol. 2021 Apr 22;12:673708. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.673708. PMID: 33968085; PMCID: PMC8100306. See Christine Bouguet-Joyeux, Jean Joyeux, Guide Pratique de Gastronomie Familiale :L’art et le plaisir pour la santé, Paris : Ecologie Humaine, april 2nd, 2009.

[ii] Campbell McBride, ibid. p.38.  

[iii] Campbell Mcbride, ibid. p.9   

[iv] See Christine Bouguet-Joyeux, Jean Joyeux, Guide Pratique de Gastronomie Familiale : L’art et le plaisir pour la santé, Paris : Ecologie Humaine, April 2nd, 2009.

[v] Processing foods to varying degrees does destroy nutritional qualities. Although we cannot have 100% fresh foods, we should be mindful of the degree of modification our foods undergo before we ingest them. Ideally, processing is done by us, as much as possible. Alternatively, we recommend being mindful of number of ingredients and additives, which are aggressors to our bodies. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/processed-foods/

[vi] https://nutritionstudies.org/body-heals/

[vii] For a list of functional and integrative medicine practitioners see the Institute for Functional Medicine database at www.ifm.org

[i] Natasha Campbelle McBride, Gut and Psychology Syndrome . 2018. Medinform Publishing.