I include in this list of culprits:
1. A poor diet over a long period of time: one that is high in acidic reactions, saturated fats, inflammatory foods such as the nightshades (covered later), yeast, grains and sugars
2. Stress factors
3. Spinal subluxations, especially areas of the 5th through the 9th thoracic vertebrae (See Chapter 5, The Spinal Connection.)
4. Negative emotions, harbored resentments
5. Chronic constipation
6. Too many sweets
7. Fried foods
8. Smoking
9. Alcohol
10. Transmission of toxins by the mother in the case of the newborn
Read the above lists. Does any item ring a bell in your mind? The chances are you will find one or more that stand out as something that applies to you. Take heed to it, for therein may lie your antagonist when it comes to food selection. Remember, he is a fool who thinks the nutritional value of a food is determined by its taste!
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAID)
Dr. Leo Galland, Dr. Zoltan Rona, Dr. Andrew Weil, and the Genova Diagnostic Laboratory Functional Assessment Resource Manual, as well as many other renowned researchers, list nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and overuse of antibiotics as a primary cause of the breakdown of the intestinal walls. These painkillers are prescribed especially in the treatment of chronic arthritic pain.
You would think that drugs are the answer when an overgrowth of pathogens, especially bacteria, viruses, and germs, are part of the problem of LGS. The fact is antibiotics kill all the bacteria in the intestines, not just the bad guys. There are innumerable bacteria throughout the intestinal tract—both good and bad. The trick is to be sure the good (friendly) bacteria dominate the bad ones at all times. This is called symbiosis. If this ratio is reversed, all sorts of havoc takes place throughout the intestinal tract. This is referred to as dysbiosis; they just don’t balance out right.
“Balancing out right” does not mean a ratio of 50/50. Remember, the friendly bacteria must override the bad ones by a large margin, or you are in trouble. This is not unlike the “normal” ratio of acid and alkaline foods that will be discussed in Part II of this book. Normal in the acid/alkaline balance of foods does not mean 50/50 either. Rather it means 70-80 percent alkaline formers to 20-30 percent acid formers. The difference is as crucial in food selection as it is in friendly bacteria and bad bacteria in the GI tract. That ratio distinguishes an unhealthy gut from a healthy one. When the proper balance is established, everybody gets along, harmony sets in, and symbiosis is the end result.
4
What to Do About It?
Are there answers to healing the leaky gut? Well, yes and no! This is not playing with words—it is an unmitigated statement of fact. There are answers as to how to heal the compromised gut wall. The question is, however, will the patient follow through?
Remember, according to most authorities, the inner lining of the intestinal mucosa regenerates itself about once a week. Therefore, we can assume it has remarkable healing powers, but, as mentioned previously, unless the irritant (whatever it may be) is removed from the scene, the cells of the villi and microvilli cannot heal. Consequently, through self-evaluation and the help of the patient’s personal physician, more often than not, one can figure out the cause of the problem.
The first thing I question my patients about is their diet. I seek out what their favorite foods are. In a majority of cases, I find that they not only like certain foods, they gorge themselves on them! What they do not know is that their favorite foods may be the foods that are tearing their guts apart. Literally! The greatest offenders will be covered later in this book.
Another question I ask my patients is whether or not they have been on drugs (prescription or otherwise) for any extended period of time. Another is whether or not the patient is a smoker or drinker, or both! In other words, do they consume too many gut irritants, and if so, for how long have they been doing it?
Here is what the questions should focus on. Once discovered and addressed, there is a good chance that the healing process can start. Again, the trick is to follow through. Avoid items that cause the breakdown, especially free radicals, consume those that built it up, such as antioxidants, and then—give time a chance! Like anything else, the patient must be committed. He cannot play at it and expect results.
[Author’s Note: The author recognizes the fact that the above explanation is relatively simple in its content. He also acknowledges the fact that many of his readers insist upon a more scientific, detailed explanation. For those who fall into this category, he enthusiastically refers them to the impressive work of Leo Galland, M.D., director of the Foundation of Integrative Medicine. His in-depth discourse “Leaky Gut Syndromes: Breaking the Vicious Cycle” can be downloaded from his Web site: www.mdheal.org/leakygut.htm.]
A Helpful Analogy
It may be helpful to consider the following analogy. You may compare your damaged intestinal villi to a neglected lawn. Grass cannot grow because it is being choked off by weeds, debris, stones, and all manner of things that prevent nutrition from reaching the roots of each blade of grass. Before long the grass withers, dries up, and dies.
But if the caretaker rakes the lawn, pulls the weeds, and picks up the dead leaves and debris, he will be preparing the land for the next step, re-seeding. He will then scatter the new seed and add nutrients to the soil. With regular watering, new sprouts will begin to show. Then he maintains the lawn with proper watering and regular care to keep the weeds and other destructive elements under control. All things being equal, a new lawn will beautify his property.
In essence, repairing a damaged, compromised gut wall is a similar process, only this time the blades of grass are the millions upon millions of microscopic villi that line the lumen of the intestinal tract. All in all, that twenty-two to twenty-eight feet of small intestines, if spread out, would cover the same area as a tennis court! The weeds, debris, stones, and dead leaves which cut off the normal elements (including sunlight) that provide growth, are analogous to the destructive elements that coat the deep recesses of the villi and microvilli. These deleterious elements are yeast and fungi in particular, but include bacteria, germs, viruses, fats, acids, undigested protein, and anything else the host consumes that can clog the junction of where the villi meet the intestinal wall. When this happens a slow, but steady, deterioration of the gut wall takes place.
To complete the analogy, the re-seeding of the internal lawn of the intestinal wall takes place when the probiotics (L. acidophilus and B. bifidus) are ingested and these good bacteria grow and populate the intestinal wall, overwhelming and replacing the bad bacteria and bringing about a state of symbiosis. The watering
