Enjoy my 3 part series on how to Dial in your Digestion.
Above, is the first video, check out the whole playlist HERE.
Facts about Digestion:
- 60 million Americans have heartburn
- 35 million Americans have irritable bowel syndrome 60 percent to 65 percent of whom are female
- 90% of Americans have leaky gut syndrome and increased intestinal permeability
- 90% of Americans have some form of constipation
- 85% of Americans have parasitic infections
- 80% of Americans have Candida overgrowth…many try to treat it, without knowing what caused it, so it returns with avengance.
- 2 out of 3 in the world have H. Pylori bacteria, the major cause of stomach cancer, and is responsible for the majority of ulcers of the stomach and upper small intestine
- Over 40% of people in the U.S. report having more than one digestive symptom per month with women being higher than men
- In actuality, it is closer to 90% if you account for ALL the symptoms
- Chronic gut inflammation (which affects nearly 100% of us), raises the stress hormone, cortisol in the adrenals, which causes disruption in our sex hormones giving way to infamously popular symptoms nearly EVERY woman faces…chronic fatigue, painful or irregular periods, depression/anxiety, skin problems, low sex drive, food cravings and lack of sleep among many others.
The 4 Most Common Digestive Disorders that Afflict Americans:
- Leaky Gut Syndrome/subtle maldigestion/malabsorption- 90%+ or 200 million Americans have it YET 40% will not have symptoms. THIS IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE!*
- Constipation – 90 % of Americans have some form of constipation
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome – 20-25% or 67 million
SAD TRUTH: It's estimated that 83% of Americans who have celiac disease are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with other conditions. 6-10 years is the average time a person waits to be correctly diagnosed!!!
- GERD (gastric esophageal reflux disorder) – 10% or 20 million
NEWS FLASH: These are all reversible IF you do it in the right order, with the right foods, and in the right time. In our practice, we explore all potential areas of toxicity, immune system triggers, adrenal fatigue, gut disfunction and more. And depending on which is the root, we'll start there and work through something called the 4 R protocol. Every auto immune disease is said to be rooted in a leaky gut, which as you read above, the majority of Americans suffer from. Hence to reverse disease and most common symptoms today, it's CRITICAL to repair this gut lining.
I go into this in depth in Module 3 of The Warrior Cleanse, so you can take action on your own, but for now, the 4 R Protocol summarized is, in order:
- REMOVE – toxins and pathogenic triggers
- REPLACE – enzymes, HCL, digestive aids etc (since these are depleted when our gut lining is compromised)
- REPAIR – so as to not have to depend on digestive supplements and vitamins forever, it's CRITICAL that we regenerate this tissues that helps us absorb nutrients from food. Otherwise, you'll take 15 pills for 15 ills.
- REINOCULATE – reseed the gut (our second brain, that governs food cravings, how much fat we store, what we ‘look' like, who we pick as a mate, etc). 95% of probiotics on the market do not RESEED with new life, rather they FEED the existing life of good bacteria in the colon. This is a remarkable difference, where most who aspire for health greatness today, are going wrong. NO! – Refrigeration, higher CFU's and fancy yogurts are not superior ‘probiotics'; rather, these are more like ‘prebiotics' or ‘multivitamins' as explained by microbiologist and gut microbiome researcher, Kiran Krishnan HERE.
What the? You're probably thinking ‘Why have I never heard of this?'
Because it's CUTTING EDGE research and top tiered strategies that has worked to heal and reverse disease in nearly every patient we have worked with.
Not to worry! This is EXACTLY why I created the Warrior Cleanse (click on the image to get your FREE Sneak Peak module).
Because there's TMI today which is not an LOL matter! My goal is to simplify things for you and bring you truths that WORK!
A key message in the area of digestion is that just because you are free of symptoms, does not mean you are healthy.
Most people DO have or have had symptoms, they have just accepted them as normal, chosen not to listen to them OR have suppressed them (covered them up) with a prescription, cream or OTC remedy. There is no such thing as the magic pill with digestive upset as vast as the ones above. Chose to listen to them early, or suffer the consequences later.
What is Leaky Gut?
Leaky gut is exactly what it sounds like. The intestinal tract is like a fine screen or mesh, which only lets nutrients of a certain size through. The nutrients then pass into the hepatic portal blood vessels, which can bring nutrients to the liver, your chemical detoxification plant.
In a leaky gut condition, the intestinal tract becomes inflamed and the selective permeability (letting only digested food particle through) breaks down. This allows the passage of not only normal digested nutrient building blocks (amino acids, fatty acids and simple sugars from carbohydrates), but also the passage of larger food particles, like larger chain proteins, fats and carbohydrates, and toxins that were never meant to pass through. This can be likened to a window screen. If the screen is functioning properly with no holes in it, air will pass through, but the flies, mosquitoes and other bugs will not. In leaky gut, the intestinal barrier becomes inflamed. Instead of only letting the digested broken down food particles through, the larger food particles and toxins enter, causing the immune system to become weakened and over stimulated. This is like the screen that now has tears, making larger holes that allow all types of insects to get through.
This presents a few problems.
Larger chain proteins can trigger not only intestinal irritation and inflammation, but also all kinds of allergies, immune and autoimmune problems, and inflammatory joint conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.
Leaky gut can also result in toxicity, since toxins leak through the “screen” of your intestinal wall (because of the larger holes produced by the inflammation). These toxins ultimately end up in the liver, your chemical detox plant. Unfortunately, your liver is then overburdened, and the toxins end up circulating throughout the body, causing havoc wherever they go. If the toxins deposit in the brain, you might have foggy thoughts, possible memory loss and/or confusion, and even the start of neurological disease like multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease. If the toxins deposit in the joints, you will have arthritic-type pains. If the toxins deposit in organs that produce white blood cells (WBCs), your immune system will be weakened, making you more susceptible to illness, including cancer.
What causes Leaky Gut?
1. Stress causes lack of blood flow into the organs, including the bowel, which can result in leaky gut.
2. Food allergy/sensitivity is probably the largest daily cause of leaky gut in America. Big allergens are dairy, animal products and wheat- anything you eat cooked day in and day out becomes an allergen. What an eye opener to learn which foods I should avoid to STARVE the Candida and other bacteria that demand us to eat junk food…I offer a Food Sensitivities Test to explore this. Bacteria LOVE processed food, ditch the pathogens, ditch the food cravings for good!
3. Parasites can be found in all of us, especially intestinal parasites. They come mainly from beef, chicken, fish and pork, but they are everywhere. Especially for you world travelers out there.
4. Poor diet, usually manifested in eating food that is highly processed or preserved, or high in fat or sugar or animal content.
5. Toxic heavy metals—like metallic lead, mercury or cadmium—cause irritation to the intestinal lining. See my VIDEO on birth control, how the Copper IUD rid me with copper toxicity, among other metal toxicity, such as from mercury fillings.
6. Drugs have many side effects 7-500 that can result in poor assimilation. Drugs kill the normal flora of bacterial growth in the bowel, allowing pathogenic bacteria to grow back in a greater proportion. Candida, or yeast, also overgrows the bowel, causing leaky gut. Other drug side effects are corrosion to the gastrointestinal tract, causing the inflammation and leaky gut. Acne meds, birth control, skin meds and antibiotics are VERY yeast inspiring, especially Accutane, which I took when I was 18. Talk about a train wreck that causes!
7. Eating or Drinking Toxic Food containing Chemicals and/or Toxins. When we eat or drink food containing chemicals or toxins this directly causes intestinal lining irritation and inflammation which leads to a leaky gut. This is primarily animal products, dairy. More toxins as you eat up the food chain at least 16X more.
8. Eating acid pH forming food causes stress on the digestive tract and on your total health. This inludes cooked animal /dairy products and refined sugars and flours.
9. Eating dead or deficient food causes very poor digestion because once you cook the food, the enzyme content of the food is destroyed This not only causes leaky gut but also greatly reduces one’s total health. So, next garage sale…ditch the microwave ay?
10. Gluten is like sandpaper to the lining of our small intestine. Talk about battery acid for our insides. How do you feel after you eat bread? Likely happy! But then BOOM, crash! Then you feel you need more. Addicted? You probably shouldn't be eating this junk.
What is Candida?
Candida or systemic yeast overgrowth is a epidemic in America. Approximately 80% of Americans (mostly females) have the overgrowth. Practitioners in the natural health field are giving Candida blame for virtually every health problem under the sun. From skin rashes to cancer, while candida overgrowth IS a legitimate health issue.
Candidiasis is the overgrowth condition of Candida, an infection caused by a yeast called Candida albicans. Candidiasis means “the condition of”, and albicans meaning “white.” How do we get such a infestation? It starts in bowel. Even in a healthy bowel there are unfriendly organisms. However, in a healthy bowel the ‘bad guys' will be held in check.
In our society we tend to add things to our bodies that disrupts our natural balance and allows the unfriendlies to take over. All medications especially anti biotic's will kill the friendly or “pro-biotic”. Biotic meaning “life.” In fact, once a female has her kidney or bladder infection “dealt with” via anti-biotic, doctors will often say come back in a week to see me about the yeast infection you are about to get.
Poor digestion will kill the Pro, or friendly bacteria too. In the thousands we have tested in FDN, we have never found someone with good digestion. If you have poor digestion and you consume carbohydrates you will produce something called fermentation. Same with Protein, poor digestion will cause protein to putrefy in the intention. Both purification and fermentation will kill probiotics and create an environment in bowels that is not conducive to the friendly bacteria. This environment will allow the the ‘bad guys' to take over. Alcohol and stress are also major destroyers of probiotics.
There are 3 types of Candida infestations. The first includes bloating and or diarrhea which is related to the overgrowth in the bowel. Symptoms are strongest after eating especially when eating refined carbohydrates as Candida love sugar. Second type of infection is if the yeast overgrowth is concentrated on a specific area of the body part such as the vagina, toes, tongue (thrush), etc. Thirdly and the one we will concentrate on is the most popular and that is a systemic infection.
This is where the yeast leave the bowel and move into the blood stream, which is when $h*t really begins to hit the fan and clients MAKE their health a priority because this is when your body really makes it know that something is wrong. Nausea, the onset of Auto Immune Disease, joint pain, chronic fatigue, insomnia, bad acne, hair falling out, and all sorts of other lovely external clues our body is communicating to us that we simply can't tolerate. Sadly, once we can't stand looking at ourselves any longer is when people make it a priority to explore what's wrong, although your body has been trying to drop hints at you for a long time now. The majority of people will have had frequent visits to their doctor over decades, usually, as was in my case, for small symptoms and signs here and there, with no help from our doctors…here take this Prednisone, this
How Can I test for these? Are there accurate tests my doctor can recommend?
Unless your doctor is practicing Functional Medicine and run tests that aren't approved through your insurance, the answer is likely no. First off, I am the Poster Child to yeast symptoms that doctors suppressed with:
*Diflucan for Oral Thrush
*Anti-biotics for unknowns
*Athletes Foot creams for Athletes Foot
*Acutane, Differin, Tetracycline and beyond for my cyctic acne…til one day…
I HAD ENOUGH! I wasn't getting answers, my body felt horrible with the drugs and creams, and it kept coming back. Did anyone ever run a test on me to check for Candida or other pathogenic load (bacterias, parasites, etc)? NO
And even if they did, the tests run through the standard model of health care are reactive in nature and mainly detect if there's already a war happening in your body rather than catching it early, taking steps to detox it in the right order from your body, and investigating the root cause as yeast is a symptom, a secondary condition created by our body in response to an internal stressor that it's trying to protect us against. Our bodies are so intelligent that in my case, it was likely the abundance of heavy metals, excess estrogens and other bacteria I had taking up real estate in my system…this ‘other bacteria' hitching a ‘FREE RIDE' in our bodies can be explored, with the type of stool testing we offer.
Many doctors and uninformed practitioners will advise incorrect and uncomprehensive steps to detox the Candida, only to find that it returns with more force in response to the root cause that still exists in the body that inspired it in the first place and has been left unaddressed. Make sense? This is why just grabbing a ‘Candida Detox' box from the shelves of your local health food store, while fueled by good intention, might be the WORST thing that you can do for yourself. So, let's get to the ROOT of the problem by investigating intelligently, shall we?
The best part…the tests can be administered anywhere around the world!
We work with the majority of our clients remotely, so if you'd like to discuss how we can turn your life around and bring you back to life, please contact us. For a quick phone consultation to explore your goals and to determine if we would be a good fit for one another, you can SCHEDULE HERE.
This is a few images of what we see on a lot of tests, such as Candida, bacteria overgrowth, high Triglycerides (pre diabetes), and things such as fat malabsorption (which leads to sleep, sex and stress hormone imbalance) and protein maldigestion (mood disease) + bacteria in the small intestine is fed by carbohydrates that swell our tummy and make us look distended and ‘3 months pregnant'. So many things to explore beyond what conventional doctors see as GI issues (many clients I see have IBS rooted in parasites, which doctors see as a non issue…once we remove the parasites, our clients experience a ton of relief, most claiming to improve from a 2 to an 8 in health and happiness, energy levels and body image.
The last image is a list of WHICH herbs would either work to remove pathogens from each specific client or make the bugs more resistant and hence intelligent, inspiring further growth. This is why everyones healing protocol will be different and why some who try herbs work and others don't. This is a key point to discern with customized lab testing.
