When I dug into the latest numbers and research for this article I read a shocking statistic. Approximately 80-90% of Americans suffer from leaky gut syndrome. This means that the gut lining is compromised in one way or another. A leaky gut occurs when foods, stress or a combination of both compromise the integrity of the gut lining. Think of the gut lining like the skin you can see on your arm. The gut lining is thin, like your skin. It’s sensitive to being cut, or torn, damaged by something.
What is Leaky Gut?
Leaky gut leads to a variety of health challenges in the body, namely autoimmune diseases and conditions. Leaky gut is when the gut lining gets torn or cut. This causes food particles to sneak through the gut lining and leak into the bloodstream. This is not where food or food particles are supposed to go!
The immune system, being intelligent to foreign invaders in the body recognizes this and sends immune cells and resources to handle these rogue food particles in the bloodstream. The problem here is that the immune system is using resources and becoming weakened by these food particles which are not real threats like a pathogen such as a bacteria or virus. The immune system does need to help clean this up however.
This effects the health of the body in a few ways. First, the nutrients (both macronutrients and micronutrients) don’t get fully absorbed and utilized because some of this is lost in the bloodstream. The second effect here is that the immune system has to work to clean this up out of the blood. Anytime the body uses resources these need to be replenished. The immune system is fighting a battle that it shouldn’t have to fight. This is why it’s called ‘autoimmune’ conditions. It’s an automatic response of the immune system to handle the cleanup. But we’d rather have our gut lining healed, our food absorbed and reserve our immune resources for a bigger battle such as a bacteria or virus.
There are five key mistakes that are made which lead to a leaky gut, which over time then leads to autoimmune conditions and diseases. Today we’re going to highlight these mistakes and what to do about them so that you can work backwards to heal and restore your gut lining.
The 5 Biggest Mistakes Causing Leaky Gut
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Dysbiosis Of Gut Bacteria:
The gut is in a state of symbiosis or dysbiosis. Symbiosis means that the gut bacteria is in harmony. Dysbiosis means that the bacteria balance is off. This is the #1 largest culprit in leading to leaky gut, so it is very important. This will effect the strength and integrity of the gut as well as mood, nutrient absorption, energy levels, immunity and so much more! The important thing here is to get more prebiotic and probiotic foods in your diet on a consistent basis. Prebiotics are fiber rich foods that have been fermented in their natural form by nature. These support a healthy gut microbiome. A few prebiotic foods are artichokes, bananas and cacao, otherwise known in it’s processed form as chocolate, without the sugar preferably. You can get cacao nibs or powder (in it’s pure, natural, non-sugar added form) in your local health food store or on amazon here.
Probiotic foods are also important as these help to give the gut the bacteria that it is missing. Probiotic foods include sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles as well as drinks like water kefir and kombucha. Visit FermentationMethod.com – This will teach you how to create your own fermented foods and drinks at home. These are far superior over probiotic pills. In fact, Dr. Mercola tested pills compared to his homemade sauerkraut that he had tested for probiotic content. He found that a small serving of 4-6 ounces of sauerkraut contained TEN TRILLION bacteria. That’s more probiotics than a 100 pill bottle!
Visit FermentationMethod.com by clicking here to learn how to fermented your own food and drinks from the comfort of your home. Control every ingredient in the process and turn your kitchen into a probiotic factory! -
Undigested Emotions:
This was a term that my mother, a naturopath coined. She shares ‘things happen, and they don’t know what to do with it’ in life. The stress of trauma, pain and suffering can weigh on us. Our gut is where feeling originates. We need to process and digest emotions and unhealed trauma and wounds. This is a form of stress, worry, anxiety and fear. These emotional states or mindsets ultimately lead to inflammation when they are held on too strongly. Inflammation is one of the causes of leaky gut that leads to autoimmune conditions. Inflammation causes the space in your gut to expand making the gut lining ‘stretched out’ and more susceptible to damage from any food passing through. This also instructs us that cold water is anti-inflammatory, so end your showers by turning it as cold as you can and letting that cold water get on your stomach specifically. This is anti-inflammatory and great for the gut and immune system as a whole.
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Gluten & ‘Sharp’ Foods:
Gluten and ‘sharp’ foods can be problematic for many people as they have sharp edges and can create inflammation in the gut. Bread in stores now is NOT the same as bread that was made hundreds of years ago. The most original and healthiest bread that you can make is sourdough bread with ancient grains. Sourdough bread is naturally fermented so it it has healthy bacteria, probiotics within it. This allows for it to digest much easier and is the way bread was intended to be made. The FermentationMethod.com will be launching very soon and will share with you how to make your own sourdough bread from home. This allows you to have a healthy bread and still enjoy it, while digesting it much easier. Many people who cannot have gluten have sourdough bread and are just find. This proves that it’s not necessarily the gluten but could simply be the form of gluten. Gluten without it’s fermented bacteria is not the same as gluten that is coated in healthy bacteria for proper absorption. Be sure to sign up for the Healthy Wild Free email newsletter at HealthyWildFree.com
This is another benefit of the Fermentation Method. The program teaches you how to make sourdough bread from home from scratch. Visit FermentationMethod.com today!
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GMO Foods:
GM foods are something you want to completely avoid. GMO stands for genetically modified organisms. GM (Genetically modified) foods are foods that take genes from one plant (or animal, which would never happen in nature) and inject them into another plant. This gene splicing ultimately creates plants that are not natural and that nature wouldn’t grow on it’s own. This is further complicated by making these seeds and crops dependent on a chemical fertilizer to protect it. In the case of GM foods roundup, a pesticide is used. This contains glyphosphate which is a toxic compound that when ingested sits in the gut and can eat away at the gut lining. The word ‘cide’ means death, so any ‘cide’ is not meant to be sprayed on food and eaten. Pesticide, fungicide, herbicide. These are petroleum based chemicals that do become ingested and create damage on the gut lining. Corn, soy and canola are common GMO foods to avoid. Make sure you’re eating organic if you’re eating corn or soy. Be sure to read the top 5 foods soaked in pesticides to avoid at all costs also.
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Inflammatory Foods:
Inflammatory foods can be different for everyone. While GMO foods are the same for everyone and you want to avoid these foods, inflammatory foods are foods that cause you to feel bloated. Bloating is either inflammation or water retention, or both. These foods are foods that you personally hae a sensitivity towards or perhaps even a food allergy towards. The best thing to do is pay attention to foods that you eat and how they make you feel afterwards. If you feel bloated or like you have inflammation (expansion) in your stomach beyond the regular amount of that meal, this could be an inflammatory food for you that you’ll want to avoid. My sister was eating kale (which is not a food, click here to read why) and she recognized she was bloated every single time she ate it. It’s important to know which foods cause inflammation and bloating for you, then to avoid them.
Recommended Product: Radiate 21 is a blend of 21 ingredients for the health of the gut lining to help repair it. The formula contains a sticky tree sap from Peru known as Sangre De Grado which helps to heal and seal the gut lining. The formula also contains ingredients that kill harmful bacteria, fungus and parasites. It also contains Adaptogens that help to modulate the immune system, meaning turn the immune system up or down based on the demands it has at any given time. The formula also helps to reduce inflammation. The gut lining being sealed, the dysbiosis being handled and inflammation tamed along with immune modulation really helps to support anyone with any autoimmune condition. You can learn more at Radiate21.com. Click here to visit.
