of Edgar Cayce. His newest addition deals with Leaky Gut Syndrome, known professionally as Intestinal Permeability. Leaky Gut Syndrome does not appear as such in standard medical reference books such as the Merck Manual and/or the Physician’s Desk Reference. Due to lack of clarity and interest, this problem has been overlooked by orthodox medicine.
The unusual but proven gift of Edgar Cayce combined with the lifelong commitment and dedication of Dr. Pagano to interpret his works have prompted the publication of this book. I am sure there will be skeptics. However, the reader should approach this information, which is well researched and clearly written, with an open mind and determine its suitability on an individual basis.
Some disorders, not unlike consumer products which are well-promoted and marketed, need a sponsor. Ambiguous medical problems need education, research, proper diagnosis, appropriate treatment and an open mind towards new approaches. Major supporters of medical research are pharmaceutical companies, who, understandably, would not be interested. Diseases common amongst the poor and illiterate minorities are also thus overlooked. Universities seek out research projects where there is ample funding and public demand or the involvement of high profile celebrities.
Orphan diseases need recognition, and sometimes people outside mainstream medicine have a lot to offer. Such a person is Dr. Pagano!
Harry K. Panjwani, M.D.,
Ph.D. December 2007
Preface
What is it that arthritis, chronic fatigue, migraine headaches, celiac disease, psoriasis, diabetes, lupus, as well as many other diseases, have in common? At first glance they appear to be totally unrelated, yet, in the light of present day knowledge, they may very well be linked by a common denominator, hidden from view, but nevertheless held suspect as an underlying factor in many of mankind’s physical and even mental ailments.
I refer to a condition that probably existed since the dawn of history but was unrecognized until now: Intestinal Permeability or the Leaky Gut Syndrome (LGS). The name is a perfect description of what can and does happen within our intestinal tract that manifests itself in a number of ailments that mankind is heir to. That’s the bad news. The good news is that these seemingly insurmountable problems can be helped, alleviated, and in many cases healed. Once the underlying cause of a problem is recognized, one can proceed to correct the situation in an intelligent, reasonable manner rather than in a haphazard “hit or miss” way. It puts a handle on things. You know what you are doing, and more important, you know why you are doing it.
The purpose of this volume is to shed more light on the subject based on experience rather than on theory or speculation. Evidence of the efficacy of this approach will be included in this work. A picture is still worth a thousand words, so I make use of illustrations and before-and-after photos to substantiate my claims. Having authored two books on the subject and having lectured on five continents about psoriasis and eczema using the concept of the “leaky gut” as the basis of my approach, I felt honored and deeply moved when Charles Thomas Cayce, President of the A.R.E., Virginia Beach, Virginia, called in March of 2006 and asked that I write a book on this subject since so many letters and reports came in over the years proving how effective and satisfying this approach has been to the many sufferers of these two diseases.
Without question I look upon the Leaky Gut Syndrome as the underlying culprit behind many of the diseases known to man. These illnesses will remain his legacy until the basic causes are recognized, addressed, and removed. Fortunately there are answers and remedies for such a condition that may astonish you. It is my purpose to reveal those answers as I have experienced and witnessed them, and prove to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, that Intestinal Permeability, or a Leaky Gut, is something to be taken seriously and not brushed aside as an interesting but unimportant theory-and that therapy of certain diseases will not necessarily begin on the end organ affected, but on the origin of the problem, namely, in many cases, the Leaky Gut.
Dr. John O.A. Pagano
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
October 2007
1
The Anatomy of the Disease
What is meant by a “leaky gut” anyway? We’ve heard of a broken leg, a bleeding ulcer, a ruptured appendix, a torn ligament—but a leaky gut? Who ever heard of it? If it has been known in the field of gastroenterology I’d say it is one of their best kept secrets. It is anything but a household word, yet, as this elusive disease (or condition) has slowly come into focus as a possible cause of many other conditions, new light has been shed on health problems that heretofore were considered “unknown” or “incurable” when it came to origins.
Upon hearing the term for the first time, many of us may have visions of blood, lymph, body fluids, etc. seeping through the stomach wall and flooding the entire abdominal cavity. Such is not the case. Clearly, it is the exact opposite. The “leak” we speak of goes from the abdominal cavity into the blood, not from the blood into the abdominal cavity. The reason for this will become clear to you as we proceed.
I suppose it is only natural when you have a persistent headache, you hold your head with the idea that the problem starts in your head. In some cases, that is, of course, true, but more often than not the culprit lies elsewhere. I can’t count the number of times in my practice when a chronic, persistent headache has finally been relieved by a simple home enema, the patient having suffered from a fecal impaction in the colon. In other cases, a long-standing problem with headache dissipated with a change in diet! The patient was allergic to certain foods that he didn’t realize until he avoided them.
In another dramatic case, excruciating pain persisted down a patient’s left arm that seemed to originate from the left side of his cervical spine (neck). He could not sleep or function because of the great discomfort he was experiencing. All my testing indicated that he had a condition known as brachial neuritis originating in the 5th, 6th and 7th cervical vertebrae. I used every means at my disposal—electrotherapy, ultrasound, adjustments—but nothing seemed to work. I was at my wits end when the patient went to see his dentist for a problem he was having with a tooth.
This proved to be a godsend, for the dentist discovered an abscessed molar of long standing on the left side of his jaw. The dentist extracted the infected tooth, and my patient reported that the stench of infection was so pungent that the doctor and his assistant had to leave the room and open windows to air out the office. The area of the extraction was then cleaned and disinfected. Relief of my patient’s arm pain was immediate! No more neck pain, no more arm pain, only blessed relief—“God blessed relief”—is how my patient expressed it.
Of course, there is a scientific explanation of why such results were obtained, but the fact is that the patient didn’t care, the doctor didn’t care—the job was done and nothing else mattered.
The list could go on and on, but the essence of what I am saying is that the origin of many diseases may not be so obvious at first glance—that
