Do You Have Digestive Difficulty?

Do You Have Digestive Difficulty?

By Sam Suska

Recently I have had a few clients (and associates) report to me that they have been eating yogurt and take, or are considering taking supplemental probiotics as a means to improve their digestive issues.  Over the past five years or so it has become trendy for general health enthusiasts and people with digestive issues to do these things to balance their 'gut flora' which they have been told may be the cause of their problem.  And they are right.......kind of.

According to recent medical research it appears that 90 percent of the genetic material in your body is not yours, but rather that of bacteria, fungi, viruses and other microorganisms that compose your 'gut flora'.  These microorganisms seem to play a large role in the function of your digestive system and immune system.  

Recently, researchers have found connections between certain types of 'gut flora' and irritable bowel which have lead me to believe that all digestive issues are connected to the proportion of the type of 'gut flora' one has.  The majority of 'gut flora' is beneficial within our body, and have been labelled as probiotics in order to market foods and supplements (that contain some of them) to health enthusiasts and the millions of Americans with digestive issues.  However, eating these foods and taking these supplements is a short-sighted, half-assed approach to improving your digestive issues.

We know that specific types of harmful gut flora stimulate the immune system (as in irritable bowel) and put the body in a state where it is permanently in 'defense-mode'. When the immune system is constantly activated in the gut fighting off the harmful 'gut flora'  a multitude of noticeable side-
effects form; bloating, constipation, gas and fatigue especially after meals.  

We also know that these harmful flora feed off and proliferate from sugars, alcohol, flour and even artificial sweeteners.  We also know that the walls of the small intestine (the powerhouse of the digestive

system) can be permeated by various substances in popular foods.   Peanut lectin, gluten and casein (proteins found in grains and cow milk respectively) are the most well-known and have been found in many studies (some in vivo, many in vitro) to permeate the lining of the small intestine which leads to heightened immediate and long-term immune activity.  

Therefore, if you want to improve your digestion you will need to do more than eat yogurt and take probiotics.  If your digestive issues go back more than a few days or a week then you should consider that you may have a 'leaky gut' in addition to disproportionate levels of 'gut flora'.  'Leaky gut ' is the term for areas in the lining (the wall) of the small intestine where the aforementioned substances created weakness that allows undigested food substances to enter the bloodstream and forms inflammatory conditions that leads to bloating and chronic fatigue.

Chronic digestive issues are therefore best addressed by reducing the sugars, alcohol, artificial
sweeteners, glutenous foods, peanuts and cow milk (ghee and whey protein likely do not have casein) in your diet.  If you really want to make a permanent improvement to your digestion and overall health then you would be best to eliminate these foods from your diet for a period of 28 days in order to put you in a position to see how these foods affect you upon re-introduction. During this 28 days you can also take some probiotics (I recommend soil-based) and some gut cleansing substances like baking soda and aloe vera which will facilitate the restoration of beneficial 'gut flora' and complement the reduction of foods that promote harmful 'gut flora' (sugar, alcohol, artificial sweeteners and flours).  

It is very likely that you will feel remarkably better in that 28 day period, so you may no longer want to include these food in your diet.  After all, these foods are have low nutrient density and generally promote silent inflammation (sugar and wheat especially) and lead to insulin resistance as well; the underlying conditions to metabolic syndrome.  If you want professional guidance to assist your 'health improvement' please e-mail me at truehealthservices@gmail.com.  Take care and remember that you can take control over your digestive difficulties.